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"As nothing could induce the child to leave him alone, however, or to touch anything in which he was not the first and greatest sharer,..."
Der Quibblemeister says of two parties, comparative would have been preferable.
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I agree with der Quibblemeister. Greater would have been better.
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Des Quibblemeister's Nitpicker asks where you got the notion that only two parties are involved.
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I'm assuming that the Quibblemeister thoroughly read all around the given passage and that only two parties were involved. In fact, I had thought to ask the Quibblemesiter about that very same observation, Faldaggio, but then thought that this particular quibblemeister would have noticed most definitely whether there were a third party involved.
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Well, I dunno. Some people just like to quibble.
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Dear Faldage: I have lots of company.
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I know what you mean, Dr Bill. On the TVR Forum Worst Words someone complained about the pronunciation of cretin that she always hears, the one with the long E. It's the only pronunciation listed in AHD, MW online and the brick and mortar OED.
Meanwhile, does the st ending of first indicate a superlative background? And, if so, what would be the comparative?
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fustest with the mostest
Dear Faldage: you helped unlearn a phony fable:
Did Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest really say he could, "git thar fustest with the mostest?"
No, although uneducated and one not given to writing, Forrest has been misquoted throughout history and continues to be this very day. What he said was, his Civil War campaigns were successful because he "Got there first with the most men."
It seems to me that "first, second, third..." just identify
relative position in an infinite series.
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This rule seems to have been introduced comparatively recently. In Jane Austen's day, it was perfectly acceptable to use the superlative form when only two people were involved.
Bingley
Bingley
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Dear Bingley: just for the fun of it I tried to see if I could find out when that "rule" came into use. No luck,so far. But I found this, which it amuses me to quibble with:
Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form
hot hotter hottest
ripe riper ripest
creamy creamier creamiest
spicy spicier spiciest
fragrant more fragrant most fragrant
well-done more well-done most well-done
flavorful more flavorful most flavorful
Der Quibblemeister asserts there is no comparative of
"well done". More than well-done would be "over done".
If you're talking about roast beef, you would do better
to ask for it by color, red, pink, and gray.
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