Talk:last

Pronoun

Should a pronominal sense be added, such as singular/plural {he was - they were} the last of the Tudors, --Backinstadiums (talk) 20:08, 21 October 2018 (UTC)

I don't think so. It's like "they were the richest of the elite", "I am the heaviest in my class". Equinox ◑ 20:29, 21 October 2018 (UTC)

@Equinox: Those are comparative forms, but last isn't (it'd be later); other dictionaries sanction the pronoun --Backinstadiums (talk) 00:46, 22 October 2018 (UTC)

the 17th last

What does "the 17th last" mean in the example? --Backinstadiums (talk) 18:11, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

Noun

1. One that is at the end or last: the last to be chosen; on every page but the last. 
2. The end: held out until the last. 
3. The final mention or appearance; latest: haven't seen the last of our troubles.
https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=last

--Backinstadiums (talk) 16:20, 4 August 2020 (UTC)

These are the last of our apples.  We finished the last of the milk at breakfast.
(The least likely) Known for their self-sufficiency, fishermen would be the last to admit to mental strain
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/last1_3

--Backinstadiums (talk) 11:35, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

[uncountable; the + ~] the end or conclusion: We are going on vacation the last of Sep. --Backinstadiums (talk) 16:56, 12 March 2021 (UTC)

before last

Before the last such time period. This phrase is usually used with quantities of time, such as years, months, and weeks. I got my degree the year before last. --Backinstadiums (talk) 18:25, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

the night before last JMGN (talk) 16:55, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

The event before the latest one is “the last one”

Page 265 of the Collins English Usage reads

If one of a series of events is happening now or has just happened, you refer to it as the latest one.
You refer to the event before the latest one as the last one. If no event of the kind you are talking about has happened recently, you refer to the most recent one as the last one.
If someone keeps having or producing a series of things, you refer to the one they have now or the one they have produced most recently as their latest one.
You refer to the one before their latest one as their last one. If they have not had or produced one recently, you refer to their most recent one as their last one.

I do not understand the use of the last for the one before the latest one, and unfortunately no example is given for it. --Backinstadiums (talk) 15:55, 14 September 2020 (UTC)

You take off for the powder room and that's the last I see you

What meaning is used in You take off for the powder room and that's the last I see you ? --Backinstadiums (talk) 20:17, 1 March 2021 (UTC)