Re: Babooshka Grammar

[Michael Mendelson <mendel@cs.uiuc.edu>]

Ant in Chicago writes:

		Michael Mendelson <mendel@cs.uiuc.edu> [that's me] says:
		>I thought I heard Kate say
		>		"She couldn't have made a worst move..."

	Yes. That is what I have always heard on "Never For Ever", too.

	As far as I can recall from my English lessons at school, worse
	compares two things ("This is the worse of the two") and worst
	compares three or more things ("This is the worst of the three").
	
	So Kate is implying several (ie. three or more) options of which 
	the one she took was the "worst".

Unfortunately, I don't think it works that way, Ant.  WORST is the
superlative form, whereas WORSE can be used as a superlative, or as a
*comparative*.  You are correct when you say that (as superlatives)
WORSE is of two things, and WORST is of greater than two things.  But
what Kate seems to be using in Babooshka is the comparative.

The case is more clear if we pretend she's saying a BETTER move.  Using
analogies, GOOD:BAD = BETTER:WORSE = BEST:WORST.  

	"She couldn't have made a BEST move..." 
	
is clearly ungrammatical (in the sense Kate seems to want here),
whereas

	"She couldn't have made a BETTER move..." 
	
is grammatical.  In the same way WORSE is better than WORST.  
In the words of another song-writing genius, "You better you bet!"

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