"mediocre"

[David Bowie]

From:    "David A. Daniel" <dad at POKERWIZ.COM>

> Mediocre, like pretty much everything else, is relative. "My 280-yard drives
> always win the long-drive competitions at my club, but would be mediocre on
> the PGA Tour." So, excellent at one level can be mediocre at another. It all
> depends on the frame of reference. That's why, in my first note on this, I
> said "mediocre major-league pitcher" would be an oxymoron because major
> league as an adjective means the best or among the best, top level, such as:
> A major-league ballet company. But, mediocre Major League (capitalized)
> pitcher is clearly possible, and not even surprising, Major League (with
> capitals) being a specific frame of reference...

But would "mediocre major-league pitcher" and "mediocre Major League
pitcher" be perceptibly different in spoken language? Would it be
different if the speaker or hearer was a baseball fan or not?

No level of snark here, these are serious questions.

<snip>

--
David Bowie                               University of Central Florida
     Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
     house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
     chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.

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