I am trying to point out the location (-2,2), which one is more idiomatic, "lower left hand corner" or "bottom left hand corner"?
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2Statistically, upper and lower are about twice as likely as top and bottom in Ame (they're about equally common in BrE). They're all perfectly idiomatic though, so just use whichever you prefer. And for stylistic reasons, stick to those pairs as given (avoid using both upper and bottom, for example). Note that you don't need the word hand at all, so if you're going to have to use several of these constructions you should probably omit that in all cases, in the interests of brevity.– FumbleFingersCommented Jun 11, 2019 at 11:53
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I would say 'lower left corner'– SmockCommented Jun 11, 2019 at 12:28
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@FumbleFingers that would make a good answer– GamoraCommented Jun 11, 2019 at 15:50
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@Bee: The essence of my comment was "use whichever you prefer" (it's a stylistic choice) - to justify my closevote as "Primarily Opinion-Based".– FumbleFingersCommented Jun 11, 2019 at 15:56
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Fair enough. I thought that perhaps, in cases where it is unclear that it is opinion based, saying that it is actually opinion based would be a valid answer.– GamoraCommented Jun 11, 2019 at 15:58
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1 Answer
As usual, this is all about context - if you are talking about an item as clear as that graph, then bottom is more appropriate (if you are indeed referring to the bottom, as opposed to 'near the bottom').
If the context was less clear, such as if there were numerous graphs on the same page, then it might be better to refer to the lower edge/corner as a reference to the bottom might be taken to mean the bottom of the entire page.
In other words, 'bottom' is an absolute position, whereas 'lower' is relative.
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Right, there is no need to say lower hear. The lower and upper house (of government. upper and lower school. Lower is really comparative.– LambieCommented Jun 11, 2019 at 16:50