Speaking of usage issues ...

I mentioned The Chicago Manual of Style's online Q&A a couple of posts back. Well, today I saw this on the BBC Website: "Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia."

This sort of phrasing has always bothered me. Isn't it equally true to just say: "Canada is the largest country in the world after Russia"?

And if it's true to just say "largest," with the qualifier that follows, isn't it equally true to then say "first largest," like so: "Canada is the first largest country in the world after Russia." And, so, aren't "first" and "second" therefore equivalent?

Norman, coordinate! :)

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