Talk:Tweet Kimball

Latter?
"Kimball established a foundation prior to her death, preserving her collections, the castle, and ranch land – the latter of which includes portions of the Cherokee Ranch petrified forest ... " Latter is used to specify the second of two - and only two - items — but three are listed here: collections, castle, ranch land ... so 'latter' is incorrect. The easy fix is this: "Kimball established a foundation prior to her death, preserving her collections, the castle, and ranch land – the last of which includes portions of the Cherokee Ranch petrified forest ... " Prisoner of Zenda (talk) 10:46, 21 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Simple grammatical changes rarely require a talk page discussion. Additionally, you're incorrect: see Britannica and Merriam-Webster. ~ Pbritti (talk) 13:31, 21 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Pbritti. Extract from Merriam-Webster: "This use [of latter for the last in a series] is common enough that most modern dictionaries make mention of it in their definitions for latter — and indeed they should, since our evidence for this particular use is several hundred years old. Despite this evidence, however, there are still those who object to its use; if you are concerned about such things, use last to refer to the last item in a series of three or more." I'm obviously in the latter group! Had I not raised this on the talk page, I'd have changed the article, and possibly incurred your wrath. Unfortunately, incorrect usage becomes normalised, even though it's incorrect; e.g., many people use 'mitigate' when they mean 'militate' - but few seem to be able to recognise the difference. I'll pull my head in, and leave the article as it is. Prisoner of Zenda (talk) 01:21, 22 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Please note that statements like Had I not raised this on the talk page, I'd have changed the article, and possibly incurred your wrath are failures to assume good faith. Indeed, you should feel safe to edit boldly. In this case, there is no indication that latter should be considered incorrect usage, as "this particular use is several hundred years old" and "most modern dictionaries make mention of it". As such, your error would have most likely been reverted with a brief explanation. I made yesterday, which was  with such an explanation. It's all part of the process! ~ Pbritti (talk) 03:08, 22 August 2023 (UTC)