[Ads-l] most/majority

[Bill Mullins]

But saying "with Trudeau winning the most seats but not a majority..." has problems as well -- he didn't win the most seats, his party just won more than any other party did.


I suppose it would be correct to say "with Trudeau winning the most seats of all the candidates but not a majority . . . " is grammatically correct, but at some point it is easier to believe the speaker just screwed up.


(a thought I often have when strange or novel uses of words and phrases are reported here -- "No, that's not the harbinger of a new sense of XXX, the writer is simply a moron and doesn't know how to use English correctly.")

>

> > On Oct 22, 2019, at 12:58 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM<mailto:thegonch at GMAIL.COM>>

> wrote:

> >

> > Or "the most" instead of "most”.

>

> Probably so, but although, as Bill says, the news reader (or writer) must have

> intended “plurality”, “majority” is also often (mis)used in the same way.

> Proportions is tricky.

>

>

> >

> > On Tue, Oct 22, 2019, 12:40 PM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com<mailto:amcombill at hotmail.com>>

> wrote:

> >

> >> From NPR's hourly news this morning (the 10/22/2019 8AM ET set here

> >> https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500005/npr-news-now )

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >> "With Trudeau winning most of the seats but not a majority. . . ".

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >> I suppose he meant "plurality" instead of "most".



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