bumpo

Hey, I never received the original post...
And I thought I'd noticed that in other threads recently too. Anybody else?
I hate missing posts.

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It has to do with optimal readability depending on point size.
Comparing the newspaper and the book for example, the latter format tends to point sizes optimal for immersive reading, while the former uses smaller sizes to promote portability and reduce cost. As a result, books use fonts with generous extenders to promote boumas (word shapes*, the core of immersive reading) while newspapers use fonts with generous x-heights to promote legibility (through plain old visibility) in adverse conditions (like a bumpy, dark train).

* Or more accurately letter-cluster shapes.

The optimal vertical proportions of a font depend on its intended balance between readability and legibility - as well as the particular language's usage of the Cartesian space.

hhp

As ever sir, you are both a gentleman and a scholar. Thankyou.

That's a bit much.
But I guess it counter-balances the other extreme on a certain other list...

hhp

Although I am unfamiliar with "lowering the x-scale", I suspect that it refers to horizontal scaling (along the x-axis) rather than x-height.