identify the first from the last in a series.

This, I think, is the root of the argument. I haven't posted anything here yet because it's been fun to watch you guys argue. Anyway, I think the whole problem stems from there being no first from the last, i.e., the first from the last is the same as the last. (Why is this starting to sound vaguely Biblical? "And the last shall be first and the first shall be last..." Obviously they have struggled with this question for something like 2000 years! )

Anyway, we only really talk about the second-last, third-last, fourth-last and so on. And why hasn't anyone noted the above forms (that is, with hyphens) in this discussion? Those would be the ones I most commonly hear and read.