It doesn't have to mean "THE most". Now, is this a grammatical issue or stylistic issue? In a set group based on criteria there can be "the best thing." The two situations can co-exist.". Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. 7 votes It only takes a minute to sign up. If the latter, the semantic discussion must also consider the intended meaning of "Proper". Permalink Regardless, please get the words right. Some really good writers have a horrible grasp of these things. My point is that common usage overrides the rules. I just couldn't help myself. most synonyms, most pronunciation, most translation, English dictionary definition of most. First of all, as John said, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with ambiguity. My point in what I have been saying is that logic alone is enough to establish the case I am making, no authority need be cited. And, as I said before, usage pressure changes language rules very slowly, though admitedly it does exert functional pressure. Report Abuse. You can't apply set theory to it. Truth be told, most of the "bad" examples are perfectly fine, both semantically and syntactically. When "best" refers to multiple items, assume a range, not a discrete entity. Brian W said:"So, I grant you, it is a commonly used construction. I can't believe that anyone these days would say that split infinitives are unacceptable. Furthermore, "one of the most" and "one of the more" don't mean the same thing. Context examples . Of course, that is an application of reductionism, a logical fallacy. Here it is. Classical Benders decomposition algorithm implementation details. How do we determine what the rules are? The old champion was the word "set," which had 430 definitions in the Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary published in 1989. Now I know that the same questions can be asked with respect to "taller," but shorter is a comparative word, whereas shortest is one with a much more ultimate connotation. (Functional Relationship, NCI Thesaurus) Though the sample will be small – only a couple of pounds at most – it will be a time capsule of sorts recording our solar system's creation. "I read the book on the chair" doesn't actually convey a complete thought, due to its ambiguity. This may include three or five or ten or a hundred books. It preserves the "there should only be one 'most' anything" notion nicely. Another part of the evidence is opinion of usage commentators. How do I place the seat back 20 cm with a full suspension bike? For the ceremonial titles, Most Christian, Most Honourable, Most Noble, Most Reverend, etc., see those adjs. Definition of make the most of in the Idioms Dictionary. Learn more. I don’t think it gets used all that very much anymore. I realize full well when I do that I am doing so, but I do so anyway to make my point. If you Google it you’ll find dozens of examples from various sources, some reliable (The New Yorker …), others less so. Does he mean 'incorrect', or is this a normative assertion? We use other things instead: context, (shared) world knowledge, and powerful inference systems. Positive: tall, many/muchComparative: taller, moreSuperlative: tallest, most, 0 vote But the size of the set is not established, leaving the phrase devoid of the minimum clarity I believe is ought to have. Usually, ambiguity is resolved purely by the context. Can you figure out what it is?Okay, I’ll tell you. Yes, very well put. Meaning of one of the best. Some (few) people object to the use of superlatives in a wider encompassing fashion. How Do I Compress Multiple Novels' Worth of Plot, Characters, and Worldbuilding into One? (Saying "Him went there," and "Me went there." The objections towards "one of the most" are mostly misguided. In my opinion "one of the most" is completely comprehensible and there's nothing wrong with it. What is an effective way to evaluate and assess employees on a non-management career track? - The Economist - This faithfully reflects the different levels of respect for Balcerowicz and Tusk in Poland. I remember feeling awkward about the phrase “one of the most” when I was first learning English. I believe an English teasher would lower a student's grade on a paper if it had an abiguity such as "I read the book on the chair." I think the problem stems from in the fact that "most" may be used in either a singular or a plural sense: Jane has the most friends.Most people like Jane. Yet I assert that it is a violation of grammar. It's always "one of the (superlative).". What does one of the best mean? Earth is accelerated out of the solar system - do we keep the Moon? So we can say "the best of the best" and still make sense as long as you don't throw away all of the extra stuff that we use to make sense of utterances. One of the most, as I said before, being ultimate rather than comparative, implies membership in a set. I am not obliged to say "I am eating 3-1/4 ounces of chicken." )So is "My house is comprised of rooms." "One of his best films" doesn't tell us either way whether some were not quite up to scratch. Shouldn't we say, if speaking to one person, "you is right", rather than "you are right? To be more specific: all items in the group are of more importance than any outside the group. How to use foremost in a sentence. Cujo's Hidden Meaning Makes It One Of The Most Compelling Stephen King Books. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc. Translations. In a larger set "the best thing" of smaller sets can form a new set "the best things"(or "those that fits best thing criteria of all finite sets"). Poach the pears in apple juice for perhaps ten minutes at most. I think that rules of grammar can be determined by looking at the evidence - how the language is used, and the opinions of usage writers. I'm not trying to scold anyone--please don't take it that way. This set is finite, and "one of the best things" makes sense. Back in the 70s a teacher friend asked her class to write down examples of a variety of "incongruities" common in the use of English.The list included "hanging prepositons" and "split infinitives".She received a wide variety of examples of "hanging prepositions", but 35 out of 36 kids listed the same example of a split infinitive.It was fairly obvious which TV show was their favourite. Has a different meaning than `` Jane is one of the best.. That anyone these one of the most meaning would say that split infinitives are unacceptable ) most damage to the of. Are unacceptable not the same as asserting a universal ( nothing is relevant '' theory grammar. 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