last but one

[MikeNewYork]

Maybe it's a BrE/AE difference, but I think that 'last but one' would be more common that 'next to last' in BrE. I checked with the British National Corpus and they gave 2 for next to last and 22 for last but one. They also gave 161 for penultimate, many of which appear to be spoken instances.

Google:

Web Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 300,000 for "last but one".

Web Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 1,390,000 for "next to last".
Web Results 1 - 10 of about 4,430,000 for "penultimate" [definition].

I find the last to be surprising.

[nyggus]

Google:

Web Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 300,000 for "last but one".

Web Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 1,390,000 for "next to last".
Web Results 1 - 10 of about 4,430,000 for "penultimate" [definition].

I find the last to be surprising.

But note that penultimate is often a name of a company, 'typeface design group,' bar, or other things. It is, then, not an objective comparison. One should always be careful when using Google for comparing the use of several words.

Best,
Nyggus

[MikeNewYork]

But note that penultimate is often a name of a company, 'typeface design group,' bar, or other things. It is, then, not an objective comparison. One should always be careful when using Google for comparing the use of several words.

Best,
Nyggus

It was still surprising to find over 4 million pages.

[nyggus]

It was still surprising to find over 4 million pages.

Yes, indeed, it was!

[MikeNewYork]

Yes, indeed, it was!