# Is this use of 'penultimate' correct?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-use-of-penultimate-correct/841216>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [October 3, 2019, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-use-of-penultimate-correct/841216 "2019-10-03T18:59:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-use-of-penultimate-correct/841216/61 "2019-10-07T20:05:24Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Development should be rapid without sacrificing quality.

Something else to consider - namely, what exactly you want to convey by the above. That is, is it standard boilerplate, or are you saying ‘we will not compromise on quality even if it impacts deadlines’.

If it’s ‘we expect to meet all the specs, and all the deadlines’, that’s fine. IME that’s taken for granted for every proposal. Every worker in every technical field runs into the ‘do you want it Thursday, or do you want it to work?’ sooner or later. And has received the standard management answer of “we need both”. :eek:

Regards,  
Shodan

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**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-use-of-penultimate-correct/841216/62 "2019-10-07T22:48:37Z")

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> [@Muffin](#):
>
> Do not use big words or less common words, such as penultimate or practicable.

I agree with this.  
“Penultimate” means second-to-last in chronological order. Nothing more, nothing less. But it sounds like a big fancy word, and folks think they sound smart by using big fancy words, even if they use them incorrectly.

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**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-use-of-penultimate-correct/841216/63 "2019-10-08T05:46:34Z")

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> [@Shodan](#):
>
> Something else to consider - namely, what exactly you want to convey by the above. That is, is it standard boilerplate, or are you saying ‘we will not compromise on quality even if it impacts deadlines’.
> 
> If it’s ‘we expect to meet all the specs, and all the deadlines’, that’s fine. IME that’s taken for granted for every proposal. Every worker in every technical field runs into the ‘do you want it Thursday, or do you want it to work?’ sooner or later. And has received the standard management answer of “we need both”. :eek:
> 
> Regards,  
> Shodan

I want it to work, but it doesn’t have to be gold-plated when shiny is good enough. Speed is secondary.

Being of quality is not the same as being perfect / having no flaws. After quality is achieved, speed is secondary.

That’s what I mean.

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