Do I need a comma? [duplicate]
Solution 1:
Whether or not you use a comma has to do with what type of adjectives you think you're using.
If you can either swap the position of the adjectives or put an and between them without altering the meaning, then you are using coordinate adjectives and should use a comma.
Take this as an example:
❔ It was a dark stormy night.
Do we need a comma?
✔ It was a dark and stormy night.
✔ It was a stormy dark night.
So, it uses coordinate adjectives, and a comma should be used:
✔ It was a dark, stormy night.
Note that you can always use an and instead of a comma. In this case, most people would probably use an and. But a comma is also fine.
But adjectives that cannot be rearranged or have an and inserted without changing the meaning should not use a comma:
❔ It was an exquisite custom houseboat.
✘ It was an exquisite and custom houseboat.
✘ It was a custom exquisite houseboat.
In this sentence, exquisite is directly modifying custom. (The custom houseboat was exquisite.) If the two words are separated or their position swapped, the meaning of what's being described changes.
Therefore, this is an example of cumulative adjectives, and there is no comma:
✔ It was an exquisite custom houseboat.
In some cases, it's not immediately clear what the meaning of a phrase is. Your own sentence is one of those.
It's not clear which of these you actually mean to convey:
He was a smelly middle-ager. He was also a redheaded middle-ager. This uses coordinate adjectives:
→ He was a smelly and redheaded middle-ager. OR
→ He was a smelly, redheaded middle-ager.He was a redheaded middle-ager who was smelly.
This uses cumulative adjectives:
→ He was a smelly redheaded middle-ager.
So, really, you just need to ask yourself if your sentence still works if you add an and between the adjectives. If it does, then you can either use an and or you can use a comma. (But you shouldn't leave it with nothing between the two adjectives.) On the other hand, if inserting an and changes what you want to convey, then don't use a comma.
My personal opinion is that I think it would sound a bit awkward with an and (or, therefore, a comma). If you really do mean them to be separate adjectives, I suggest rephrasing the sentence:
The man I met was a redheaded middle-ager. He also smelled.
Or something like that. But that goes beyond the scope of explaining the difference between the two types of adjectives.