Is GOAT a meaningful concept?

[Mathman]

The question that was asked by the OP was NOT 'who is or is not a or the Greatest of All Time/GOAT', but (speaking as a lexiconophiliac who cares as much about words than the musicians here do about composers, or most of us do about figure skating) if the actual term is a meaningful concept.

Guilty as charged.

I always got a kick out of the way the USFSA handled Michael Kwan hype. They always referred to her as "the most decorated skater in U.S. figure skating history." This is a well-defined statement. It is settled by taking all the medals and trophies that she won over the course of her career and weighing the total mass. If it is greater than anyone else's, then she is the "most decorated."