In Monday’s edition, a profile story on Page 1 bore the headline: “West Lowndes 4th grader bests mostly 8th graders to win count spelling bee.”
The headline prompted a steady flow of calls and email from readers who said the headline contained an error — using the word “bests” when we meant to say “beats.” Were that true, it would certainly be an embarrassing error, especially for those who suggested it was a spelling error on a story about a spelling bee champion.
If this were a matter of using the wrong word or, even worse in this case, a misspelled word, we would be inclined to take our lumps and promise to do better.
But we plead not guilty on this charge. “Bests” is the third-person present of “best,” as in “get the better of.”
We will grant that the word “best” is most often used as an adjective or an adverb, but can also be used as a verb. It may not be the “best” verb, based on the reaction from readers, but it certainly “bests” the verb “dispatches,” which we avoid for obvious reasons.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
