"First and Only"

[Tom Zurinskas]

Right.  One would only say "first" if there were at least a second.

Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL7+ 
see truespel.com phonetic spelling


 
 





 
> Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:12:05 -0400
> From: aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM
> Subject: Re: "First and Only"
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> 
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Re: "First and Only"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> There are over 12 million raw ghits for "first and only"--over 26000 for
> "first and only president" alone, e.g.,
> 
> "photo of Jefferson Davis, first and only President of the Confederate
> States of America"
> 
> The sample content demonstrates how this description can be useful and
> accurate. This does not mean that it is _always_ useful or accurate. But
> I can see how someone may describe "first and only visit" in the context
> of a second planned visit that never occurred. And, after that, it's not
> much of stretch to extend the use of such language to all exceptional
> events.
> 
> VS-)
> 
> Bill Palmer wrote:
> > In today's NY Times, Leon Hoffman writes "Sigmund Freud arrived in =
> > Hoboken, N.J., 100 years ago today on his *first and only* visit to the =
> > United States"
> >
> > If there is no second time, can there be a first? Is an ordinal number =
> > ordinal, if there is no order? Why not omit the "first and"?
> >
> > Bill Palmer
> >
> >
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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