NewsBlues mrsbgrammar Page 141
Chapter 2 Word Choice
131
kudos
Ah, Mrs. B is treading on sacred ground today.
She's about to bring down the curtain on "kudos" as a plural and on
"kudo" as any kind of word at all that you should be using.
Here goes.
"Kudos" is a singular noun.
It takes a singular verb.
It means credit or praise for an achievement.
It comes from a Greek word (kydos) that means "glory."
Even though "kudos" has an "s" on the end, it is NOT plural.
You may have heard or read "kudo."
You may have seen it in some dictionaries as what's called a "back-
formation," a creation of a word by those who misunderstood
"kudos" as a plural.
v
KUDOS is (not are) due her for her handling of breaking news.
v
KUDOS is in order for the assignment editor.
"Kudos" doesn't come in "several" or "many."
It comes in "much."
"Rave reviews" come in "several" or "many."
v
Much KUDOS is in order for every reporter who made deadline.
Mrs. B's students will receive much KUDOS for their command of
the language.
