Why not just say - "most successful"? "Winningest" sounds like a marketing catchphrase used to make someone feel better about themselves.
Where did this travesty of a word come from?
Printable View
Why not just say - "most successful"? "Winningest" sounds like a marketing catchphrase used to make someone feel better about themselves.
Where did this travesty of a word come from?
Yeah, I don't know. But the word has been around for a decade or two at least, and has bugged me for all that time.
It's a stupid word spawned by sub-literate sports commentators.
We could do this with all sorts of phrases.
Instead of saying, "She has the most range of all our vocalists," you could say, "She's the rangingest!"
Instead of saying, "He has won the most court cases of this type," you could say, "He's the lawyeringest!"
Instead of saying, "Little Dakota is at the top of his class," you could say, "He's the Aingest!"
Okay, it could use some work.
Who's got the highest post count? They are the Melloingest!
*twitch*
I disagree, languages change and winningest is a simple construct with an obvious and clear meaning and is probably older then you think.
Missed the edit window:Quote:
Originally posted by Sarahfeena
I am still slightly ahead of Zuul but technically as I was well ahead of Zuul back on Dumbo, Zuul has the most posts on Mello.
Top 12 posters as found in Member list sorted by posts.
1. What Exit? 8,638
2. Zuul 8,560
3. Oliveloaf 5,764
4. Sarahfeena 5,623
5. OneCentStamp 5,015
6. ivan astikov 4,756
7. CatInASuit 4,413
8. Cluricaun 3,616
9. Orual 3,483
10. jali 3,460
11. featherlou 3,209
12. Elendil's Heir 3,116
Should it be "bestest" instead?
How am I not in the Top 12? I've got work to do!
I think my biggest problem with the "-ingest" construction is that it's simply very awkward looking. When I look at it, it reads as two words to me: win and ingest.
I'm with Jim, it seems like a perfectly cromulent word to me.
Hmm,
happy, happier happiest.
mellow, mellower, mellowest.
winning, winninger, winningest.
Actually, this is the kind of thing Charlie Sheen would say. I am winninger
the word has 2 suffixes, "ing" & "est" ... the suffix has a suffix, it practically goes out of its way to be horribleQuote:
Originally posted by What Exit?
i agree language is constantly evolving, creating new words and ditching old ones, and i respect the fact that if anyone is using it as a word then it is technically a word.. but come on now
Don't have time to make a point about the word right now, but just wanted to say "Welcome, theregoesjb".
Wish I'd done it earlier.
Very good points about the word. Thanks for dropping in to make them, theregoesjb!Quote:
Originally posted by theregoesjbthe word has 2 suffixes, "ing" & "est" ... the suffix has a suffix, it practically goes out of its way to be horribleQuote:
Originally posted by What Exit?
i agree language is constantly evolving, creating new words and ditching old ones, and i respect the fact that if anyone is using it as a word then it is technically a word.. but come on now
I respectfully disagree about the two suffixes being a problem.
:)
Ah, but "fully" is a suffix (and word) in its own right.
Hmm, if I doubled my post count I'd still be nowhere near the top 12.
Hmm, if I doubled my post count I'd still be nowhere near the top 12.
Oops, single post, my bad.
thanks for the welcome,
i found this site while googling to see if this was a real word... my girlfriend and i were having the same discussion
Welcome to the site.Quote:
Originally posted by theregoesjb
Did you manage to come to an amicable result?
oooooo touche, although i think i agree with Zuul that since 'fully' is its own word it might not count, then again this could also go back to Zuul pointing out that 'ingest' is a word... : )Quote:
Originally posted by What Exit?
either way i must admit I have found myself keeping an eye out for words with two suffixes... seems like the english language must have a few somewhere
well a few of the online dictionaries have it so that may be all it takes to make it "official" but i also saw a lot of people discussing their surprise to find that it is used as a word (similar to this discussion). not to mentin a facebook page dedicated to it not being a word. I forget what source it was but for what it's worth i read on one of those online dictionaries that it was first used in the 60s or 70s.Quote:
Originally posted by CatInASuit
OK, if people don't like it, fine, but how can anybody seriously argue that it's not a word? It's commonly used by native speakers with an understood meaning. What more is needed?Quote:
Originally posted by theregoesjbwell a few of the online dictionaries have it so that may be all it takes to make it "official" but i also saw a lot of people discussing their surprise to find that it is used as a word (similar to this discussion). not to mentin a facebook page dedicated to it not being a word. I forget what source it was but for what it's worth i read on one of those online dictionaries that it was first used in the 60s or 70s.Quote:
Originally posted by CatInASuit
Foolishly should count.
Care - careful - carefully. The fully portion is actually two suffixes.
Others
Willfully
Carelessly
Lefthandedly
Now for another ingly
Exceedingly
Amazingly
Hrm, true. We accept -ingly without any problems.
OK, curtesy of a scrabble page:
Charmingest
Swingingest
Cunningest
Knowingest
Willingest
None of those are in my dictionary, but I'll concede them as commonly used and accepted in casual contexts. I hear "most willing" more often than "willingest", but the -ingest form still isn't that uncommon.
If I ever used any of those in an English paper, my teacher would have laughed me out of class.Quote:
Originally posted by What Exit?
It does leave you wondering, what exactly is wrong with "most *blank*ing"? Why, when I was a kid, we used the word "most" and we liked it.
Well, I dunno, as with everything, I think context is the key.
"The New York Yankees are the most winning team in the history of Major League Baseball." Term paper.
"The Yankees are the winningest team in MLB history." Sports page.
"The New York Yankees are the most successful team in the history of Major League Baseball." English paper. :p
"The NY Yankees are the winningest team of all time" just sound great any way you say it. But CIAS' way looks the best to me. Also, while the Yanks are the most successful team, one of the NL teams may well have more wins. I'm thinking Cards and Giants both do. They had a 20 year head start.
good call on the ing-ly
yeah at the end of the day i agree, if it is being used as a word then it is a word. (but i will shamelessly have this same discussion next time i hear a friend use 'winningest')Quote:
Originally posted by Rube E. Tewesday
The team with the most wins is not the most successful team. Huh?
Oh wait, this is because your sports have playoffs isn't it? Most wins to get to the playoffs does not mean the team that is successful at the end of the year.
Well, it wasn't for truth value, and maybe "term paper" wasn't the best choice of example (maybe "slightly stuff sports page" against "ordinary sports page", but I think my point stands -- each expression "works" in a context. Words can't simply be evaluated as if they existed in some Platonic realm.
"Winningest" has a fine, jaunty ring well suited to casual sports journalism and to sports magazines that have space constraints/pay freelancers by the word.
The last part is 100% true. It works well where it is normally seen and heard; the sports pages and sports news.Quote:
Originally posted by Rube E. Tewesday