Internet meme advisory
Dear Internet,
The way the thing goes is thus: "[X] is one of the best [Y]s of all time." That "one of" is important, because it makes the statement much more inconclusive and therefore funnier. Please keep this in mind.
Love,
GeoX
PS. Example: Yes, this sign (scroll down to the third image) is good, but it would be great if it didn't omit the "one of." Let us work together to stamp out this terrible scourge.
The way the thing goes is thus: "[X] is one of the best [Y]s of all time." That "one of" is important, because it makes the statement much more inconclusive and therefore funnier. Please keep this in mind.
Love,
GeoX
PS. Example: Yes, this sign (scroll down to the third image) is good, but it would be great if it didn't omit the "one of." Let us work together to stamp out this terrible scourge.
posted by GeoX, one of the GeoX boys. at 8:20 PM
Yeah, I do have a problem with the inconclusiveness of using "one of." But what if X is not really the _best_ Y of all time? What if there are like 3-4 other Ys that are about equally good? Sure, you can say something like "X is one of the all-time best Ys" to emphasize that the set of all-time best Ys is small and highly selective, but it also sounds clunky. You can also say "X is one of the five best Ys of all time," but that also sounds weird and arbitrary.
SK