Many years ago when we were in Hong Kong we visited our friends Jacky and Malcolm Andrews and they took us to see this Buddha.

The Buddha near the HK airport in bad weather

At the time it was new and claimed to be “The Worlds, Largest, Outdoor, Seated, Bronze Buddha.” This carefully constructed superlative claim charmed us and now we often use the phrase “Bronze Buddha” to mean a superlative claim based on an absurdly narrow group.

A superlative is the best or highest degree of a group.  The highest mountain or the tallest tree are examples.  Almost anything can have a superlative if you define the set narrowly enough.  I am looking at the tallest, dying, live oak tree on Wynn Road.

An example of a “Bronze Buddha”: “He is the best hitting, active, left-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic.”

Another example:  “The oldest, continuously occupied synagogue in the original United States.”

So please be on the look out for “Bronze Buddhas” and if you find a great one send it in to swcamborne.