Tidenes

Tidenes is a Norwegian grammatical form used as a possessive determiner derived from tid, meaning time or period. The expression is formed from the definite plural tidene, “the times,” with the genitive suffix -s, yielding tidenes. As a prepositive modifier, tidenes creates a superlative sense, roughly equivalent to “the greatest of all time” or “the most … ever.” It commonly appears before adjectives in phrases such as tidenes beste and tidenes verste nedtur.

Usage and nuance

Tidenes functions as a hyperbolic intensifier and is widespread in media, sports, entertainment, and everyday speech. It signals extremity and is typically used in informal or semi-formal contexts. While it can accompany positive and negative descriptors, its tone is often emphatic rather than strictly formal.

Examples

Dette er tidenes største overraskelse. This is the greatest surprise of all time.

Han leverte tidenes dårligste kamp. He delivered the worst game of all time.

Det er tidenes lengste ventetid. It is the longest wait of all time.

Cross-language notes

Similar constructions exist in other Scandinavian languages: Swedish uses tidernas, and Danish uses tidernes, with the same function of intensifying adjectives to express “of all time.”

Usage note

Tidenes is common in headlines and opinionated prose but can feel sensational if overused. In highly formal writing, alternatives such as “det beste noensinne” or a neutral formulation may be preferred.