The Many Uses of Best

The Many Uses of Best The Many Uses of â€Å"Best† The Many Uses of â€Å"Best† By Maeve Maddox Besides its use as a simple adjective meaning,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"of the highest excellence, excelling all others in quality,† the word best serves as other parts of speech and occurs in many English idioms. As a verb, to best means to get the better of, get an advantage over, outdo; to outreach, outwit, circumvent. â€Å"Jack’s wife always bests him at bridge.† Best can be a noun. â€Å"Marilyn wanted nothing but the best for herself and her family.† As an adverb best modifies a verb. â€Å"All the boys are good at drawing faces, but James does it best.† Here are several common idioms that make use of the word best. The list is by no means exhaustive. best man: the chief male attendant who stands up for the groom at a wedding. With the advent of same-sex marriage, the term is beginning to lose its gendered meaning. the best people: people considered better than most, either because they come from old, established families, or because they possess superior moral qualities. â€Å"The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice.† Ernest Hemingway best boy: the principal assistant to the chief electrician in a film crew best seller: what every writer wants to have or to be. The term usually applies to a book or other product, but sometimes it stands for a best-selling author. (Yes, best-selling takes a hyphen.) second best: next in quality to the first. No one wants to be â€Å"second best,† but whether or not it’s a bad thing depends upon who or what is â€Å"first best.† For example, in the Forbes list of the richest people in the U.S., Warren Buffett is â€Å"second best.† His net worth of a mere $58 billion puts him in second place after Bill Gates. Gates has $72 billion. to do one’s best and to give it one’s best shot: both expressions mean â€Å"to do something to the best of one’s ability,† but they have differing connotations: â€Å"I always try to do my best.† (applicable to any situation) â€Å"I may not have time to pick up the laundry, but I’ll do my best.† (implies that the effort may be futile) â€Å"Everyone else in the contest has more experience, but I’ll give it my best shot.† (the odds of failure are greater than those of success.) to make the best of it: adjust to a bad situation. â€Å"The tornado destroyed our house, but we’ll make the best of it.† for the best: better than it seems or seemed at the moment. â€Å"His bride left him at the altar, but it was for the best because he met and married someone better.† the best of both worlds: a situation in which you can enjoy two very different things at the same time. Nina Dobev, who portrays both human Elena and her doppelganger, former vampire Katherine in [ The Vampire Diaries] said she gets the best of both worlds. Some â€Å"best† expressions are hyphenated: best-built best-aimed best-bred best-dressed best-kept best-laid best-managed best-meaning best-meant best-preserved best-intentioned best-natured best-tempered Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 English Grammar Rules You Should KnowHow to Play HQ Words: Cheats, Tips and TricksTypes of Ignorance