Adding an adjective before a verb?


In this lyric "隣で歌う声怖がりな背中を押して" I'm confused how the がりな背中を押して works. I know
how 背中を押して is used thanks to [this
post](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/36342/%E8%83%8C%E4%B8%AD%E3%82%92%E6%8A%BC%E3%81%99-phrase-
meaning). But what does 怖がりな note. Is the person or the action 怖がりな?




Structurally, 怖がりな must connect to a noun, not a verb. 背中を押して, despite being
an idiom, isn't an atomic unit by itself; it consists of a noun 背中 taking the
を-marked place of the verb (in te-form) 押して. Thus, 怖がりな modifies 背中.

If we describe the "back" that is being "pushed" (with the understanding that
this is an idiom that describes encouraging a person) as "cowardly", it stands
to reason that this is really describing (by
[metonymy](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/metonymy)) the
person who needs encouragement.




Structurally, 怖がりな must connect to a noun, not a verb. 背中を押して, despite being
an idiom, isn't an atomic unit by itself; it consists of a noun 背中 taking the
を-marked place of the verb (in te-form) 押して. Thus, 怖がりな modifies 背中.

If we describe the "back" that is being "pushed" (with the understanding that
this is an idiom that describes encouraging a person) as "cowardly", it stands
to reason that this is really describing (by
[metonymy](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/metonymy)) the
person who needs encouragement.

