Can "spiralling" be a transitive verb too?
Original article title:
> Astronomers Unveil Strong Magnetic Fields Spiraling at the Edge of Milky Way’s Central Black Hole
HN title:
> Astronomers unveil strong magnetic fields spiraling Milky Way's black hole
It's probably sort of being mixed up with the transitive verb "to circle", which goes the other way, with the subject ending up in a state of circling.
I was unfamiliar with football terminology so had to google it. Most references talk about "throwing a spiral" (noun), rather than "spiralling a football" (verb, transitive). But I can imagine this being a common usage. I have heard similar terms in other sports where you "verb" the ball, instead of throwing or bowling a "noun" :)
So I presume when a player "spirals a football" it means the player imparts a spin to the ball. (As opposed to player moving his/her own body around the ball in a spiral path :) )
Whereas the HN title uses it in a slightly different (second) sense -- "magnetic fields spiraling Milky Way's black hole" meaning something like "magnetic fields moving around / orbiting the Milky Way's black hole"
Semantics. literally.
Spiralling at the edge of black hole.
Spiralling out of control.
Spiralling incessantly.
Transitive verb usage would be more restricted in what it can refer to.