One More Gorgeous than the Next

Question

Hi.Would you please help me understand what "one more gorgeous than the next" mean?Thailand is a rush for your senses: a bustling, exotic, and vivid culture that never ceases to amaze visitors. On this cultural tour, visit Thailand's gilded temples, one more gorgeous than the next, in the cities of Bangkok, Ayutthaya, and Chiang Mai.Best,Hiro

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

Hello Hiro,

I wonder if the word "each" is missing? "Each one more gorgeous than the next."

That means that you see one that is beautiful, and you see the next, and it's even more beautiful, and then the next one after that is even prettier. It's used as hyperbole to mean "All of these are really, really pretty."

Mister Micawber · Answer

They are all very gorgeous.  I just had this discussion [url=]HERE[/url].

HSS · Answer

Nope, GG. I don't see "each" in the expression.

Correct me if I'm wrong. This could be paraphrased as "one (after the next) (being) more gorgeous than the next," couldn't it?

Hiro

Khoff · Answer

Shouldn't it be "(each) one more gorgeous than the last?" ("last" here meaning previous, not final.) If each is better than the next, then the first one would be the best, and all the rest would be more and more disappointing.

HSS · Answer

That's why I put "after the next" after "one." This way you'll keep seeing one more gorgeous than the last.

Hiro

BarbaraPA · Answer

Oh yes! I totally agree. Each one more gorgeous than the last! I didn't even notice that, because I completely expected the fixed expression to be there.

CalifJim · Answer

First one ... next one ... next one ... next one ...Last one.

But if each one is more gorgeous than the last one, then the last one has to be the ugliest.

(I prefer to useprevious; last is ambiguous.)
_______

more ... than the next is a common idiom. the next may mean the previous in these turns of phrase when an ordered line is involved.

Alternately, and I favor this interpretation, the next (one) actually means the one beside. If each one is more X than the one beside X, then all of them are more X than any other one. This is a deliberate logical contradiction to say that all are so X that it is impossible to decide which is most X. The intention is to create in the reader, by proposing a contradiction, the same sense of overwhelming confusion and indecision that exists in the mind of the person trying to make the judgment of which is most X.

CJ

HSS · Answer

Oh, okay. I was thinking in terms of the following.

the last ... one

the last ... one

the last ... one

With this, as you go further down, you see a more gorgeous temple. (You look at "one" and "the last one, " to compare them each time)

But since the expression is "one more gorgeous than the next," I thought in terms of the following.

(one [after the next] more gorgeous than the next)

... the next ... the one after the next.

the next ... the one after the next

the next ... the one after the next

With this, as you go further down, you see a more gorgeous temple again.

Nonetheless, now that CJ pointed out how it should be interpreted, I see the expression completely.

Much appreciated.

Hiro

One More Gorgeous than the Next

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