How many is most? Most of the time, most people, the most iconic photographs, the most...pick a topic and you can find a headline that starts with this word.
The greatest in amount, quantity or degree. It is a determiner, a pronoun and an adverb. It forms a superlative - "the most important event of my life".
And what percentage is considered most? Quora commenters weigh in on this one:
"While “most” literally just means more than half, it is best used to mean something like 60% to 90%. Below 60% you should consider terms like “more than half” or “a small majority”. Above 90% you get in the territory of “almost all” or “a large majority”. Of course, this depends on context."
But most isn't really a percentage word, is it? Not anymore, it seems. Looking at the headlines, it is a boasting word, a bragging term. At the least it is a comparative based on opinion and draws our attention to it.
That's why I think we are so attracted to headlines with most in them. There aren't any movies, songs, or websites named "Most". There is a city in the Czech Republic, but none in the US or Canada. Don't expect to find it recommended as a baby name. By itself, it doesn't have much to say.
A search on the single word - most - reveals a lot about us it comes up with: most beautiful women, most attractive men, most expensive cars and most beautiful places in the world. There are lots of other mosts, but these are the top ones.
Here's an iconic flower of summer - the sunflower.
