7.58 Compounds

Figurative compounds of the sort bull’s-eye or crow’s-nest retain ’s in the plural:

• bull’s-eyes
• crow’s-nests
• shepherd’s pies

When the possessive of a compound noun or a noun phrase is formed, add ’s to the last word only, unless there is a possessive relation between the words within the phrase itself:

• someone else’s problem
• her brother-in-law’s address

but

• John’s father’s problem

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