Superlatives: Good Better Best

A reader wrote in: A recent USA Today headline: "Michelle Obama posts rare photo of youngest daughter Sasha for 24th birthday." Unless the Obamas have a third child only USA Today knows about, please comment on the persistent misuse of youngest and oldest when referring to 2 children.

First, the wording is incorrect because it uses a superlative adjective instead of a comparative adjective. When comparing just two things, we should use the comparative form (better, worse, more interesting), and when comparing three or more items, we should use the superlative form (best, worst, most interesting).

With the grammatical explanation out of the way, why the "persistent misuse?"

Superlatives can sound more emphatic, formal, or smarter — "best" feels stronger than "better." It's the same phenomenon that causes people to use five dollar words like utilize, procure, or implement instead of use, get, or do.

I'm not arguing that a simpler word is always a better choice (see what I did there?), but we all know people with the kind of verbal tic that comes off as pompous rather than clear.

But most of the time, it's just habit — the source of all kinds of errors, not just in language use. We use superlatives all the time in casual conversation, and everyone knows what is meant.

When we "put our best foot forward," no one wonders which of three (or more!) moves first. Or what about having "the best of both worlds" and so on.

(Yes, I know these idioms are not as straightforward as all that, but again, I'm referring to how they are popularly used and why the superlative "sounds right.")

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