[Ads-l] one of the only?

[Ben Zimmer]

Some relevant blog posts...

Jan Freeman:
http://throwgrammarfromthetrain.blogspot.com/2014/07/observations-on-one-of-only.html

James Harbeck:
https://sesquiotic.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/are-you-one-of-the-only-people-bothered-by-this/

Gabe Doyle:
https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/are-they-trying-to-misunderstand-what-people-say/
https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/rejecting-a-form-thats-too-true-a-new-complaint-against-one-of-the-only/

Bill Walsh:
http://theslot.blogspot.com/2006/08/im-one-of-only-prescriptivists-who.html


On Wed, Aug 31, 2016 at 8:16 PM, Flourish Klink <flourish.klink at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I agree. Shockingly low standards from the Grey Lady. And I am a
> millennial!
>
> On Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 5:09 PM George Thompson <george.thompson at nyu.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > From a recent obituary
> > ​in the NYTimes:
> > ​
> > Toots Thielemans, one of the only musicians to have a successful career
> as
> > a jazz harmonica player, died on Monday in Brussels. He was 94.
> >
> > ​
> > I would write "​
> > the only musician to have a successful career as a jazz harmonica player
> > ​" or
> > "​
> > on
> > ​e of ​
> > the
> > ​few ​
> > musician
> > ​s​
> > to have a successful career as a jazz harmonica player
> > ​"
> >  --
> > ​ ​
> > no doubt because I am an old codger.​
> > ​
> > I believe that the first statement is true, the second the sort of
> waffling
> > that is common in the press, leading to statements like "the Battle of
> > Gettysburg is widely regarded as an important event in the Civil War",
> but
> > that's another matter.​
>

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