Worst Case or Worse Case

No, because we're too lazy to tweak the cliched phrase for grammar agreement. :)

"Worst-case" is a compound adjective that I've also seen modifying words like "performance" and "outcome." The use with "scenario" was popularized by a morbid, but cute, little yellow book called "The Worst-Case Scenario Handbook." (Don't ask.)

I'm not sure where the phrase originated, but my guess would be in military strategy, where several (i.e. more than two) projected results of any given decision would naturally be examined.

Persephone, if there were only two cases, the worse of the two would still be the worst-case scenario. However, if there were THREE, then I suppose the middle one would be the worse-case, but not the worst-case:).
And Häakon, I'd just love to hear you describe having your photo prints developed by the Photo Prince.
Don't even get me started on "for all intensive purposes..."

It's "C", Pismo. You could still make it a contraction, but it would be: "this vendor isn't too bad, there're worse." I only recently noticed just how common this type of mismatched case has become. It's just plain easier to say "there's", "here's", etc. "There're" is harder to say, but correct for the plural case. Its proper use also requires forethought. Oh, and remember, "vendor" may be singular, but "there are worse" really means "there are worse vendors".

C is standard, but B sounds ok to me too. It is common to use "there's" as an indeclinable element that is used with both singular and plural nouns.

I mean A sounds ok to me too.

The thing you all over look is that the part of the brain that controls language is always striving for the more efficient way to communicate. This same argument was has 100 years ago about the use of contractions I am vs I'm... eventually the more efficient way wins...

Worst case scenario = you have many, many children that bleed, break your bank account, and finally form a line to come punch you in the gut while you're on your deathbed just before they take turns unplugging and plugging back in your life support system just to see you suffer some more.

Don't knach it- there's always wurst

As long as we're sort of on the subject, here's a page discussing the phrase "worse comes to worse": http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/worse.html

Pete said:

It would be possible for someone to say that, but not correct. The correct statement is "I have a seen a case worse than that". Also, it's "I have seen cases other than that", not "I have seen other cases than that".

I am sure worst case scenario is correct, but I want to know about the hyphen. Should there be a hyphen or not? I would think not, but I could be wrong..

UIP, the link you listed is interesting, but everyone should be aware, it is really part of a list of a particular college professor's pet peeves, not an authoritative grammar reference. Yes, he is an English professor and much of his complaints are valid, but many of them are questionable.

From Grammerbook.com - A common error in using adjectives and adverbs arises from using the wrong form for comparison. For instance, to describe one thing we would say poor, as in, "She is poor." To compare two things, we should say poorer, as in, "She is the poorer of the two women." To compare more than two things, we should say poorest, as in, "She is the poorest of them all."

SO... in this case, it goes from bad to worst.
One = bad, Two = worse, Three or More = worst

I disagree that all language evolution comes about through laziness. Some people just can't pronounce certain sounds, especially when they are before or after other sounds. This can be caused by dialects, accents, and even physical make-up. When that sort of person either raises children or holds a position of influence, the new "way" of speaking spreads. Anyway, for whomever started this thread - "Really?". The concept there in that statement is essentially asking, "what is the worst that could happen?" Therefore, what scenario is the worst? Worse means anything from slightly less positive than something to horrible, but not necessarily the "worst". In my opinion, language on something like this could potentially evolve due to ignorance of what you are saying, not laziness...

I actually think worse-case is the better usage when describing all possible outcomes.
One could say "The worst-case scenario is that we don't meet sales projections"
But that can easily be topped by "Actually, the worst-case scenario is that we don't meet sales projections and we all get fired."
You can easily see how its not really possible to define a "worst-case" scenario from all possible outcomes as the list of negative effects can continue to grow.
Now if you are picking from a limited set of scenarios then I would agree that worst-case outcome is feasible.

Hey Guys and Gals, I thought Worst was a German Sausage!!!

Worse-Case-Scenario = is a win or lose situation but even if you lose, you still got an option to win after losing.
Example:
You boot up your PC, then a blue screen occurred, then PC can't recognize the hard drive. So, you removed the hard drive from its slot then put it back again. Now this is the worse case scenario, cause if the PC recognizes the hard drive, you win, but if not, you lose but you still got other options to win the situation, it's either you borrow or buy another hard drive, on that moment, you win.

Worst-Case-Scenario = is a win or lose situation, period. It has no secondary option if you win or lose, it is like, live or die.
Example:
A dam is about to overflow on a city and you are the only one who can stop it from happening. If you managed to stop it, you win, if not, millions will die. Now, this is a worst-case-scenario.

worst-case

adjective
(of a projected development) characterized by the worst of the possible foreseeable circumstances:
in the worst-case scenario, coastal resorts and communities face disaster
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/worst-case

Let's assume; you need to score at least an average of 55 points over 2 tests to pass for an exam. It was decided that no matter how bad you did, to applaud you even took the effort to sit down and take the exam your lowest possible score is always 10 points. Now you did your first test brilliantly (score of 100 points!), so you can say that for the second test even in the 'worst-case scenario' - in which you only get 10 points - you would still pass. In this case (of which there are more you can think of) there is a clear limit to how negative the scenario can be. For me, in a case like this you would not have to take into account that you might be run over by a bus on the way to the exam or that the school goes up in flames so you are not even in the opportunity to take the exam!

Worst case, we'll get arrested and put in jail.
What's the worst that can happen?
At worst, we'll have to find another job

I meant to write:

Worst case, we'll get arrested and put in jail.
What's the worst that can happen?
At worst, we'll have to find another job.
In the worst-case scenario, the company gets sold to its long-time competitor.
Think of the parallel construction: good, better, best, i.e., bad, worse, worst.
When you use worst-case scenario, maybe you only need worst case.

Does anyone ever say or write "Bes Case" instead of "Best Case"? Funny how the lazy tongue disappears when there is no actual word matching the phonetics of the truncated word. I always pronounce the 't' in best, but am equally guilty of not pronouncing it all the time so that it comes out sounding like 'worse case'. However, when writing it, I always write it as 'worst case'.

So, is it "...you all..." or "...y'all..."?

@Thoughtless - I'll leave that one to a Southerner to answer, but for some Scots it's 'yous' - 'See yous all later, then'

It's not laziness to not pronounce the "T", although it isn't proper English either.

"worse-case" is a comparison between TWO degrees of tribulation. Which one of the TWO options is worse than the other?
"worst-case" implies that there are many degrees of tribulation, and it is the worst of many options.