MrPernickety  +  826661 Sun, 19 Jul 09 04:19 PM Hi,   I think I heard this on the Simpsons:   You were born to runner-up   Now, I know that the runner-up is a competitor who comes in in second place, so I naturally assume that the sentence means "you were born to be second-best" or something that amounts to that. Am I correct? Do you hear "born to runner-up" on a routine basis ? Would I raise a few eyebrows if I uttered that sentence ?   Thanks ! MrPernickety Joined on Sat, Oct 25 2008 Regular Member 858 Marriage is grand, divorce is fifty grand Sentences

	RayH  +  826678 Sun, 19 Jul 09 04:57 PM MrPernickety “Do you hear "born to runner-up" on a routine basis ? Would I raise a few eyebrows if I uttered that sentence ?” I've never heard it. Yes, you probably would raise some eyebrows if you said it to someone. EDIT: I just did a quick Google search and found the explanation (such as it is): http://simpsonswiki.com/index.php/Lisa%27s_Rival RayH Joined on Sat, Mar 22 2008 Contributing Member 1,732 Native speaker of U. S. English. Not a grammar expert. Sentences

	MrPernickety  +  826687 Sun, 19 Jul 09 05:15 PM Heh, turns out it is just a reference to a popular song, and it is not recognizable among lay folks, who haven't seen that explanation. Then that phrase is not worth my while.    Thanks for taking the trouble to dig up that article! MrPernickety Articles, Business, References, Career, Songs, Music

	CalifJim  +  827914 Mon, 20 Jul 09 09:47 PM MrPernickety “Then that phrase is not worth my while.” No.  It isn't.  Nevertheless, you will sometimes hear "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." "to play second fiddle/violin (to someone else)" which express ideas in the same semantic field. CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 24,223 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Semantics