How to understand the noun phrase "a touch heavy-handed"?

Question

From Graham King. (2000). Good Punctuation. p.113.

If this chapter on hyphens has seemed a touch heavy-handed you might consider the words of writer and grammatical realist Keith Waterhouse: 'If you write second-hand and car salesman, should you write second-hand-car salesman, which is fussy, or second-hand car salesman, which suggests that the salesman is second-hand? Fruitless hours can be spent pondering such questions. It is usually-better to leave all the hyphens out than allow them to pile up.

^{(Emphasis added)}

Should it be "a heavy-handed touch"? If so, why does "heavy-handed" follow "touch"? If not, what is the usage?

Answer 1

[1] If this chapter on hyphens has seemed a touch heavy-handed ...

[2] If this chapter on hyphens has seemed a heavy-handed touch ...

[1] and [2] have quite different meanings, a heavy-handed touch being far stronger than a touch heavy-handed, as well as having a somewhat different meaning. In [1] a touch heavy-handed relates 'to this chapter on hyphens' where the meaning of a touch is similar to a little, while, by contrast, in [2] the heavy-handedness relates to touch, which here is a noun.

I'd say that [1] conveys the intended meaning, where a touch heavy-handed is not a noun phrase but an adjective phrase with the complex determinative "a touch" functioning here as modifier of the compound adjective "heavy-handed".

The head of the adjective phrase is heavy-handed which requires a modifier (here, a touch) to be in attributive (pre-head) position.

Compare also if this chapter on hyphens has seemed a little heavy-handed ..., where the complex determinative a little has more or less the same meaning here as a touch.

Answer 2

I don't think this is really a question about hyphenation.

In the phrase

a touch heavy-handed

the "touch" is an adverb meaning "just a little" modifying the adjective "heavy-handed".

The phrase

a heavy-handed touch

suggests a very heavy hand.

7 : something slight of its kind: a touch of fever
a small quantity or indication : touch of spring in the air

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/touch

Answer 3

This can definitely be confusing! Let's break it down - the word touch is being used as an adverb here to describe the phrase "heavy-handed." You might say "isn't touch usually a verb that means to physically come into contact with something?" You're right! but in this case it means something different.

Touch as an Adjective or Adverb

In this case, touch is being used as a measurement to mean "a little" or "a small amount." You'll see this word used in the same way in phrases like:

• "Add a touch of wine to the sauce."
• "My house is pretty clean but just needs a touch of tidying."

Some synonyms are

• tad
• smidge
• little bit

Heavy-Handed

The phrase heavy-handed usually means "overdone," "overly controlled," or "not elegant." This shows up in a wide range of contexts, from cooking, to writing, to politics. Here are some other examples:

• "That speech was heavy-handed, the president gave too many metaphors and it felt like she was lecturing the audience."
• "Don't be too heavy-handed with the cream in the soup. We only want a little bit."
• "He is such a heavy-handed driver - I feel like I am constantly being thrown around in his car."

Putting it Together

In this case, the author saying "a touch heavy-handed" means "a little bit overdone" or "a little bit too much." They might mean that the thing being talked about was almost right and only ended up in the overdone category by accident, or they might be using sarcasm and mean that it was actually very overdone.