Kudos

[abcdefz]

....did you know that "kudos" is the singular form? I did not know this until this morning.

Correct: Kudos is deserved.
Incorrect: Kudos are deserved.


I guess I should see what the plural form is, then. "Kudi," perhaps, or "kudzu."

[marsdaddy]

Kurds and Whey?

[abcdefz]

Wheys and Means. On first.

[voltanapricot]

Too much to think about. I'd go with MAD PROPZ! if something were to surpass the standard for KUDOS. Too much thinking otherwise, swift praise, swift praise.

[Lex Diamonds]

Surely kudos is a singular plural though? As with "cheese". You could say "he deserves a cheese" just as you could say "he deserves cheese". (y)

[abcdefz]

The first result in a search I did gives me this:

USAGE NOTE Kudos is one of those words like congeries that look like plurals but are etymologically singular. Acknowledging the Greek history of the term requires Kudos is (not are) due her for her brilliant work on the score. But kudos has often been treated as a plural, especially in the popular press, as in She received many kudos for her work. This plural use has given rise to the singular form kudo. These innovations follow the pattern whereby the English words pea and cherry were shortened from nouns ending in an (s) sound (English pease and French cerise), that were mistakenly thought to be plural. The singular kudo remains far less common than the plural use; both are often viewed as incorrect in more formal contexts. • It is worth noting that even people who are careful to treat kudos only as a singular often pronounce it as if it were a plural. Etymology would require that the final consonant be pronounced as a voiceless (s), as we do in pathos, another word derived from Greek, rather than as a voiced (z).

[Bob]

Too much to think about. I'd go with MAD PROPZ! if something were to surpass the standard for KUDOS. Too much thinking otherwise, swift praise, swift praise.

is MAD PROPZ! singular or plural though? i'm sure i've heard "mad propz is" in a rap song before

[abcdefz]

Somehow I don't think your average rapper consults Strunk & White very often, though.

[Bob]

Somehow I don't think your average rapper consults Strunk & White very often, though.

y'know, i bet we'd be surprised

[abcdefz]

It takes just one.

Back in the day, with The Police, Sting admitted to using a rhyming dictionary. And, you know -- listening to "Every Breath You Take"? -- I believed him.