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DS Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
Abuse of "One of the Most"
I hear a lot people use "one of the most" in their conversations, one of the most important experiences, one of the first women to ever do this, one of the greatest challenges in life. I undersrtand the use of "one of the most" as a commom english expression, but do people really mean they have so many experiences, many chanlleges that what they are talking about is literally one of them, or it's just the way english users speak and the chances are they don't realize the implication?
Top answer
If I understand your question correctly, they are talking about one thing/person that is in a group of the highest level of something. For example, if you asked me about the best meals I've eaten, I can think of about 10-12 truly exceptional dining experiences. I would then tell you that my dinner at The Inn at Little Washington was one of the most exceptional meals I've ever had.
- If I understand your question correctly, they are talking about one thing/person that is in a group of the highest level of something.
- For example, if you asked me about the best meals I've eaten, I can think of about 10-12 truly exceptional dining experiences.
- I would then tell you that my dinner at The Inn at Little Washington was one of the most exceptional meals I've ever had.
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6 Answers
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If I understand your question correctly, they are talking about one thing/person that is in a group of the highest level of something.
For example, if you asked me about the best meals I've eaten, I can think of about 10-12 truly exceptional dining experiences. I would then tell you that my dinner at The Inn at Little Washington was one of the most exceptional meals I've ever had.
For example, if you asked me about the best meals I've eaten, I can think of about 10-12 truly exceptional dining experiences. I would then tell you that my dinner at The Inn at Little Washington was one of the most exceptional meals I've ever had.
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If someone says "The food here is amazing, it's the best diner I ever went to" in the exactly the same way as he says "The food here is amazing, it's one of the best diner I ever went to,"I mean this man went to this dinner and later told both his girlfriend and his mom about this place, but he said it differently as above. Will his girlfriend and his mom thought about the diner differently?
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If he says that it is one of the best diners, he is suggesting that there are other diners that are as good as this one. If he says it is the best diner, then he is saying that no other diner is as good.
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Here is another example. There is a race with 2000 people. Of the first 100 to cross the finish line, 15 of them are female. Mary came in 3rd overall (behind two men), and Susan came in 8th and Sarah came in 12th.
Mary was the first woman to cross the finish line.
Susan was one of the first women to cross (one of the group of 15 women in top 100 racers overall). Sarah w
Mary was the first woman to cross the finish line.
Susan was one of the first women to cross (one of the group of 15 women in top 100 racers overall). Sarah w
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In your example "one of the first women" is defined as a member of 15 female athletes in the top 100, that means you can be one of the first as long as 1)you are a woman and 2)you were in the top 100, but how would I know if I randomly joined a conversation or I heard on the radio that such details were implied, I mean do you bother to ask your friend "excuse me, by what do you mean
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It depends on how important it was to you.
Do you care if there were 15 or 20? Do you care if it means among the first 100 or among the first 75? If you care, then ask.
In most cases, it's just not that important.
Do you care if there were 15 or 20? Do you care if it means among the first 100 or among the first 75? If you care, then ask.
In most cases, it's just not that important.
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