“He was feared by other, lesser, men.” is this sentence correct in grammar? [duplicate]

I found this sentence in http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lesser

“He was feared by other, lesser, men.”

is this sentence correct in grammar?

I can't make sense out of it. I suppose it should be "He was feared by other lesser men". is my opinion correct? thank you

Solution 1:

In your sentence He was feared by other lesser men, he is a 'lesser man' and other men, who are also 'lesser men', fear him. In the dictionary sentence He was feared by other, lesser, men, the parenthetical commas separate out the 'lesser' making it clear that he is feared by other men, who are lesser.

See section 4 here for use of parenthetical commas.

Solution 2:

It is grammatically correct.

With the commas, the sentence means that men who were lesser than "He" were afraid of him.

Without the comma, it would mean that -

1. There were men and lesser men (two categories).
2. "He" belonged in the second category (he was one of the lesser men).
3. The other lesser men (lesser men just like himself) were afraid of him.

Et voila.

Solution 3:

I would write "he was feared by other, lesser men." It is standard to use a comma to separate two adjectives pertaining to the same thing. I believe the second comma is unnecessary.

Solution 4:

In terms of the usual rules of grammar, the second comma is unnecessary, but that second comma is what makes this an elegant, powerful sentence. The second comma introduces weight to the word "lesser" by conveying how the word would be spoken. If an actor, speaking the words from a screenplay, said, "He was feared by other, lesser men," the line would come out flat. The actor reading "He was feared by other, lesser, men," would know to speak the word "lessor" with a lower voice, giving it more weight. Parentheses would achieve something like the same effect, but that second comma does it more powerfully.

Solution 5:

Surely 'lesser' qualifies 'other' so the commas are acting as a parenthesis? Not all other men feared him, just those of the others who were lesser. The meaning is the same as: 'He was feared by other (lesser) men.'