Pedantics

[eldar]

Please take the following three lines, and imagine that you know nothing of the composition of the Family Rosoff:

Alexis - That would be etc.
Carly - That would be Alexis's youngest sister.
Jen - That would be Alexis's eldest sister.

Now tell me, based entirely upon those three statements, what you know about Alexis, Carly, and Jen, and their relative ages.

My answer would be:
Alexis, Carly, and Jen are sisters. Alexis (and thus Carly and Jen) have at least two sisters. Carly is younger than Jen. Alexis and Jen have no sisters who are younger than Carly. I have no idea if either Jen or Carly is either younger or older than Alexis.

P.S. Let arosoff know your views as well :)

Comments

[clarisinda.livejournal.com]

I too have sisters, both of whom are younger than me, and I have the same problems trying to define them in relationship to me without having to stop to explain...

My youngest sister is easy to describe - and if people don't have the common sense to assume that she's younger than me, their pedantry is their own problem.

My other sister, the middle of us three siblings is more difficult to refer to succinctly. My "middle sister"? My "older younger sister"?

If only she'd been a boy like she was supposed to have been, it would all have been a lot simpler.