Most people strive to be their best at something, with
some making more effort than others. There was the Kobe Bryant principle: you
have to invest 10,000 more hours than your closest competitor in order to stay
at the top. Languages, of course, have numerous terms expressing that ideal
state, including English. They refer to nature, height, relative status or
personal comparison. As for which is the choicest expression, that is a matter
of opinion.
Nature provides a rich source of comparison, even if the context does not always make sense. The cream of the crop and the borrowed French crème de la crème refer to the rich part that rises to the top of the milk, the tastiest bit. If someone is the cat’s whiskers or the cat’s meow, there is no better if you are a cat lover. Similarly, dog purchasers can fully understand the pick of the litter as not all dogs are born equal. By contrast, regarding a bee’s knees, it is difficult to observe a bee’s knees or grasp their perfection, but that is the term. On the inanimate front, some people are the salt of the earth, which relates to the importance and rarity of salt in pre-refrigerator days, which also explains the word salary. Being the gold standard requires a bit of historical knowledge. It took a while before people trusted “greenbacks” as US paper bills were initially referred to (maybe similar to the attitude toward bitcoin today). A strange expression from long ago is the best thing since sliced bread. I am too old for that to make any sense to me. However, when I was a kid, we used to refer to peers with extraordinary skill as hot shit, most curiously, a positive expression. The natural world is a rich source of vocabulary.
Of course, the best are always above the others as
reflected in a plethora of comparative expressions. To be head and shoulders
above everybody is even better than being second to none because the
gap is larger. If a person is top-notch or tip-top, the endpoint
of a literal or figurative scale, they reach where others cannot. Thus, we look
up to them. On a classical note, a person that is the Mt. Olympus in
his/her field is almost godlike. In a similar vein, a person can be a real
Michael Jordan, Mark Spitz, Mickey Mantle or Michael Jackson, to name a few,
who represent the pinnacle of success in their profession at a given time. Alas,
age takes its toll. By contrast, if an object is isolated from contact with the environment, it can remain in mint condition, as perfect as it was when it was produced. The point is that
these people were the epitome of perfection in at least one aspect of
their lives. The higher, the better.
Yet, success is relative. It is fantastic to be an
all-star but it is better to be a GOAT, the greatest of all time. (Michael
Jordan or LeBron James?) Likewise, to be recognized as a real pro is an honor
but being called a pro’s pro is a cut above. Every student knows
that parents appreciate the words “cum laude” but top of the class
brings a shine to the face of the entire family (as well as leads to future scholarships
and attractive jobs). Such people are in a class of their own. It is
great to be a man among boys. Interestingly, as far as I have ever heard, nobody ever says a “woman among girls” but maybe I am wrong. For all I know, women may use it
today to describe the queen of their circle. Success is relative
As Carly Simon sang so poignantly in the James Bond movie “The
Spy Who Loved Me”, it can be said about some people in some areas of life that “nobody
does it better”. Not only that, in English, it is possible to express that compliment
in so many ways.
