I really hate the word "last". I still use it every day, but that doesn't make it less of a frustrating word. "Last" means both "final" and "previous". How is that not the most confusing (and therefore obnoxious) word?
Certainly, context clues tend to illuminate which meaning we intend, but the ambiguity still exists. In certain situations, it is not clear which definition is used, and can cause all sorts of head-scratching.
A reason to use "last" is that it is more common. Not that "previous" or "final" are uncommon words, but "last" is more colloquial. So I'm not saying to avoid the word, but to be very aware of how it might be interpreted.
If you're not careful, you may do something stupid like give your blog post a title that sounds as if you are ending it.
About Me
- Kevin Bahler
- I am a writer. A writer is one who writes. By the same logic, I am also a thinker, an observer, and a puzzle solver. I am a graduate from the State University of New York at Cortland with a degree in Professional Writing. The idea of the program is that one studies all three aspects of writing as a whole: Creative Writing, Technical Writing, and Rhetoric. The knowledge I have gained in those subjects is put to use in every aspect of my life. The worst thing a person can be is boring. I am most interested in people who can pique my interests. An example is people who can correctly use the word 'pique'.
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