that superlative + of +Plural Noun

[peggydingyu]

How to understand the superlative structure "in that dreariest of subjects" in the following sentence: When our class was assigned to Mr. Fleagle for third-year English I anticipated another grim year in that dreariest of subjects? (Russell Baker's Sketch of Mr. Fleagle - Scrapbook of Styles - Passages for Rhetorical Analysis)

Why isn't there an article before "subjects"?

[Soup]

How to understand the superlative structure "in that dreariest of subjects" in the following sentence: When our class was assigned to Mr. Fleagle for third-year English I anticipated another grim year in that dreariest of subjects? (Russell Baker's Sketch of Mr. Fleagle - Scrapbook of Styles - Passages for Rhetorical Analysis)

Why isn't there an article before "subjects"?

... English is the dreariest of subjects [of all dreary subjects].

[peggydingyu]

Thank you, Soup. Is this structure common?