There's a post over at Shot in the Dark on the use of "uber" as a superlative prefix. Of course Mitch uses the u-umlaut, but since I don't know how to type an u-umlaut, I don't. And since few Americans can pronounce an u-umlaut, it really doesn't matter.
Anyway, I've been wanting to make a ranking of superlative prefixes for a while, and now I will. They are, from lowest to highest:
super
mega
ultra
uber
super-ultra-mega
hyper
mega
ultra
uber
super-ultra-mega
hyper
(e.g. Mega-Man is superior to Superman. Which should be obvious. A robot who steals the powers of his enemies is obviously better than an alien who is allergic to rocks.)
Interestingly, hyper is used far more often than the lesser super-ultra-mega. (53 million Google hits vs. 100,000) My guess is it is laziness on the writer's part. Fewer keystrokes and all.
Well, I hope I've helped with folks trying to figure out just how good something that is awesome really is. This is important after all. This post was in no way a simple attempt to pad my posting stats.
Have a happy 2009!
Your Auld Lang Syne leader.
Interestingly, hyper is used far more often than the lesser super-ultra-mega. (53 million Google hits vs. 100,000) My guess is it is laziness on the writer's part. Fewer keystrokes and all.
Well, I hope I've helped with folks trying to figure out just how good something that is awesome really is. This is important after all. This post was in no way a simple attempt to pad my posting stats.
Have a happy 2009!
Your Auld Lang Syne leader.
