grammaticality - Is "baddest" a proper word?


I just came across this documentary:


The World's Biggest & Baddest Bugs by Animal Planet



The World's Biggest & Baddest Bugs by Animal Planet



Is "baddest" a proper word? Shouldn't it be "worst"? What is going on here?



Answer



The OED shows baddeste and baddyst as Middle English forms and baddest as being in use from the sixteenth century onwards. It notes, however, that baddest is now non-standard and regional. For that reason it should be avoided in formal Standard English. Not all contexts, however, require formal Standard English and the package illustrated is clearly one that does not. It was no doubt chosen for alliterative effect.


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