# A-number 1



## entrapta

I found this: someone is praising an adwoman and says:"she was an A-number 1 advertising man (because back then they were basically only men)". Is it to say that she was a real number 1?


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## CPA

Sì, era bravissima.


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## london calling

entrapta said:


> I found this: someone is praising an adwoman and says:"she was an A-number 1 advertising man (because back then they were basically only men)". Is it to say that she was a real number 1?


I would have said: "a number 1 advertising man", but yes, it still means "era il numero uno", in my opinion!


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## andym

I'm not sure if you're quotation is right. Do you mean 'she was a number one advertising man' or 'she was the number one advertising man'? 

At the time, because the industry was so male-dominated, the term 'advertising man' could have been used as a synonymous term to describe someone working in the advertising industry. The number one advertising man would be the best advertising man (or, in this case, a woman).

I hope that makes some sense and answers your question.

Strictly speaking, it doesn't (usually) make sense to say that someone is _*a*_ 'number one whatever' - they either are *the* number one or they aren't. But people will understand what you mean, and it's the sort of thing native speakers will say all the time - much to the irritation of other, more pedantic, native speakers.


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## entrapta

Sì era solo che non avevo mai visto l'A-number 1, anche se i lsignificato era abbastanza chiaro.


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## CPA

E' americano


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## beccamutt

CPA said:


> E' americano


 
What's American? You don't say use _number 1_ as an adjective?


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## TimLA

Sicuramente è AE.

A-1 = fantastico! bravissimo! il migliore!
A number 1 = lo stesso, ma la parola "number" da più enfasi al concetto. = bravississimo!


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## CPA

I meant the term "A-number 1" is AE.


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## ectropion

Hi TimLA, una piccola correzione


TimLA said:


> A number 1 = lo stesso, ma la parola "number" da più enfasi al concetto. = bravissimissimo!


 Per inciso, non troverai questa forma in nessuna grammatica, ma nel parlato si usa...


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## andym

'A number 1' is both British and American English. I don't think an 'A-number 1' exists in either: you can be the 'number 1' you can be 'a number 1' but you can't be an 'A-number 1' it doesn't make sense. Just as it wouldn't make sense to say un 'Un-numero uno'.


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## ectropion

Pensate un po', io credevo che A in questo caso indicasse un voto, una categoria (la più alta)...


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## CPA

I'm sure I've heard the term "it's A-number 1" used in the sense of "it's great, the best".


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## andym

The expression would be 'it's a number 1'.

Honest. If you don't believe me try Googling for 'a-number 1'.


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## CPA

Ok, I believe you!


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## ectropion

Hi people! Look at this entry in the UD:

*a-1 *(AKA A number 1) Of the highest rating.
_This steak is really A-1! _(Urban Dictionary)


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## CPA

Grazie della conferma, ectropion. Frank Sinatra lo scandisce bene in "New York New York".


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## andym

Well yes, but they are two different expressions. You can stick A-1 and 'a number one' together mix them up and produce some sort of hybrid. Or you could, but the result would be ungrammatical nonsense.


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## CPA

But that's the beauty of AE! Uhmmm... or is it?


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## andym

I really don't believe an American would say 'An A-number 1' - there are two indefinite articles in there. It's as illogical as an Italian saying 'Un Un-numero uno'.


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## ectropion

@andym: Hai considerato l'ipotesi che quella A non sia un articolo indefinito ma una lettera dell'alfabeto, la prima, che indicherebbe la prima categoria, il top del top? Nota che è usata la maiuscola...


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## andym

Oh for heaven's sake. This expression simply does not exist. Please try to find it on Google (I did try before my first post). 

There are two expressions: 'to be in A-1 condition' (IIRC this derives from the fitness criteria used by the US army) and derivatives from it, and 'it's a number one [besteseller] whatever' or she's the number one in the organisation (though it would be more usual to talk about the number two rather than the number one - don't ask me why). There is no hybrid form.

In my experience (both here and on the Spanish forum) it's quite frequent for people to get expressions wrong - they may have misquoted, or the original author may have made a mistake (it happens!). It can cause a lot of confusion and wasted time (as it has done here).

The serious point here is that if I posted a question about an Italian expression, and I got that expression wrong, I would hope that the Italian speakers on here would correct me. I really can't see how it benefits the original poster, or other users of this forum, to learn expressions that don't exist in English. Yes you might be understood, and no one would mind, but you'd risk sounding odd, or even silly or ignorant. If you're happy to run that risk then that's fine by me.


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## ectropion

Sia chiaro, il tuo intervento è prezioso, perché dà conto del grado di accettabilità/accettazione di quest'espressione presso gli anglofoni. Ma non è forse la lingua fatta in modo da ammettere al suo interno espressioni, per quanto sgrammaticate, praticate dai suoi parlanti (magari localmente)? I actually googled it, as "an A-number 1", and that's what I found...
Detto questo, sarò ben accorta a non utilizzarla, prendendo atto che non ha trovato accoglienza sufficiente nella lingua standard.


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## TimLA

andym said:


> Oh for heaven's sake. This expression simply does not exist. Please try to find it on Google (I did try before my first post).


 
The expression may not exist in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in the works of the Bard, nor in the Oxford English Dictionary.

But it does exist, and is commonly used by the lesser beings on the west side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Should our Italian friends know that it exists and know how to interpret it?
Yes.

Should our Italian friends use it in normal conversation?
I leave that to them.


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## andym

Ectropion

Yes you're absolutely right.

Please accept my apologies (and CPA as well).

Tim - I was misled by my initial Google search - as someone said I should have put the expression in quotation marks  (I'm surprised it made such a difference to the results, but here you go). My comments were based on the mistaken belief that this was an expression that wasn't in use - not as to whether it is 'right' or 'wrong' - there are plenty of expressions that start off as common mistakes (which this one might or might not be) and end up as standard usage.


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## beccamutt

CPA said:


> But that's the beauty of AE! Uhmmm... or is it?



Please be careful, CPA -- just because a certain expression doesn't exist in BE doesn't automatically make it AE.  It can be an unusual construction formed by one person, making equally as "non-existent" on both sides of the pond.  



TimLA said:


> But it does exist, and is commonly used by the lesser beings on the west side of the Atlantic Ocean.



And why is it that we're "lesser" exactly?  Please explain.


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## andym

beccamutt said:


> And why is it that we're "lesser" exactly?  Please explain.



I think that one was directed at me rather than users of the expression.


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## TimLA

beccamutt said:


> And why is it that we're "lesser" exactly? Please explain.


 
Irony.

Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act III Scene 2

Mark Antony: "But Brutus is an honorable man"


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## CPA

My feeling is that "A" is not used as an indefinite article but as the beginning of the alphabet. Sorry, I don't know how to explain it. A is the first letter, 1 is the first number. As TimLA specified right at the beginning, the term is simply a double reinforcement that has nothing to do with grammar.  I think you have to assume that, in this context, "A-number 1" means brilliant or the equivalent.


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## ectropion

ectropion said:


> @andym: Hai considerato l'ipotesi che quella A non sia un articolo indefinito ma una lettera dell'alfabeto, la prima, che indicherebbe la prima categoria, il top del top? Nota che è usata la maiuscola...





andym said:


> Ectropion
> Yes you're absolutely right.
> Please accept my apologies (and CPA as well).
> Tim - I was misled by my initial Google search - as someone said I should have put the expression in quotation marks (I'm surprised it made such a difference to the results, but here you go). My comments were based on the mistaken belief that this was an expression that wasn't in use - not as to whether it is 'right' or 'wrong' - there are plenty of expressions that start off as common mistakes (which this one might or might not be) and end up as standard usage.


Esattamente: un "super-numero uno". I've already noted in a preceding post that the A could be the first letter of the alphabet and finally Andym understood our point, so I think there's nothing to add to this topic.


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