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Rpsh Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

the Alphas mocking the Betas

Don't get me wrong- my career there was a complete disaster. This is not a case of one of the Alphas mocking the Betas. This is a Gamma mocking the Betas.

What does the writer mean?
  

Top answer

Alpha is often used to refer to the dominant group, while Beta refers to the subordinate group, the designation coming from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. This most often occurs, I believe, when talking about the sociability of animals. For example, my sister has an alpha-male dog that is not good around strangers, as he feels the need to assert his authority.

— Philip

  • Alpha is often used to refer to the dominant group, while Beta refers to the subordinate group, the designation coming from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet.
  • This most often occurs, I believe, when talking about the sociability of animals.
  • For example, my sister has an alpha-male dog that is not good around strangers, as he feels the need to assert his authority.
  • I think the author here is extending that designation by adding the third group, the Gamma, [ 3rd letter of the alphabet ] to refer to a group that is even lower in rank than the Beta .
  • You will also find A-list and B-list in the ranking of popularity of people in a particular social setting.
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4 Answers
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Alpha is often used to refer to the dominant group, while Beta refers to the subordinate group, the designation coming from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. This most often occurs, I believe, when talking about the sociability of animals. For example, my sister has an alpha-male dog that is not good around strangers, as he feels the need to assert his authority. I t
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This remind the me a phrase that something like "from Alpha to Omega". Do you know the phrase? It seems to mean from begining to ending maybe.
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rpshThis remind the me a phrase that something like "from Alpha to Omega". Do you know the phrase? It seems to mean from begining to ending maybe.
That is exactly what it means. I think the most famous reference is in the New Testament of the Bible.
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Ah! That's it! I find it in my allusion-tagged documents at length. It's "the Alpha and Omega" Haha. Thank you so much!
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