Example sentences of "only by a [adj] [noun] " in BNC.
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1 | With the sun below the horizon it was only by a perceptible lightening of the sky in that direction that it was possible to place themselves in the great ocean of trees . |
2 | Only by a greater yield from the land could a growing population be supported , and savings and a market be created for a resumption of ‘ lost ’ industrial prosperity . |
3 | It was flanked by two towers and its entrance was reached only by a narrow stairway , but by no stretch of the imagination could it be called a fortress . |
4 | The cottage stood about two hundred yards back from the road , accessible only by a narrow drive flanked on both sides by stone walls . |
5 | I justify this departure from intention by advancing a theory that Skye was obviously once a part of the mainland : a study of the map confirms that it is separated only by a narrow channel , Kyle Rhea , the configuration of the shores on either side matching as though torn apart in ages past . |
6 | The barn owl can swoop down on a mouse in total darkness , guided only by a faint rustle in the undergrowth . |
7 | It could be transformed only by a Western victory in a Third World War or by a voluntary Soviet withdrawal . |
8 | A century ago , later life was a privilege reached only by a fortunate minority : average life expectancy was under fifty years . |
9 | Abortion is a political act , and as a simple act of Parliament has brought about the slaughter , so only by a political action can the law be changed to stop it . ’ |
10 | To ease the credit policy , the Federal Reserve Board cut interest rates to their lowest level since November 1964 after chairman Alan Greenspan admitted that January 's and February 's surge in growth may have been caused only by a mild winter after all . |
11 | Rawls assumes without argument that the social role can be fulfilled only by a perfect doctrine of justice , i.e. , one which establishes a perfect government for his actual society . |
12 | Writers of textbooks have a clear view of what they are trying to achieve , and , encouraged by their own success when developing the material , too easily believe that other teachers will use it in the same way when guided only by a well-written instruction , or even just the ‘ clear ’ implication of style in the material itself . |
13 | Albert Dawes signed for Crystal Palace FC from Northampton Town on the Wednesday before Christmas 1933 and , in two periods with the Palace before the war ( interrupted only by a fifteen month spell when he helped Luton Town to the 3rd Division South championship in 1937 ) , he became Palace 's third highest goalscorer of all time in the Football League — only Peter Simpson and George Clarke have improved upon Albert 's total of 91 League goals . |
14 | It may delay the onset of Aids , even if only by a small amount . |
15 | The interior of the bus was lit only by a small torch made to look like an old lamp , the type you see in Westerns , and from what I could see I was glad there was no more light . |
16 | It 's hard to divine the facts of her early life since her autobiography , Lady Sings The Blues , is full of tawdry details which are as likely to be figments of a pulp imagination as they are the truth : the way she tells it , she was routinely mistreated and beaten , recruited for a brothel and more or less saved only by a small talent for holding a tune . |
17 | The outward calm she was managing to project was achieved only by a supreme effort of will-power . |
18 | The dead silence was broken only by a regular drip , drip , drip . |
19 | Five minutes after half-time he was frustrated only by a glorious flying save by Beasant . |
20 | Finally , to his delight , he came upon a 41-ship convoy from the Baltic , escorted only by a 20-gun sloop , the Countess of Scarborough , and a 44-gun frigate , the Serapis . |
21 | His brother , who succeeded him as the Emperor Leopold II , was able to restore peace in the disturbed areas only by a skilful mixture of force and concessions . |
22 | Therefore one is warranted in making the inference from the behaviour to the beliefs and intentions of the speaker only by a general assumption of sincerity , or cooperativeness ( see Chapter 3 ) . |
23 | As schools increase in their heterogeneity , those that serve areas where there is a concentration of disadvantage will watch helpless as the more motivated , more able , more ambitious children move to the favoured schools , leaving them to cope with the rest , and worse , suffer the ignominy of having their results on national tests published , protected only by a general statement from the local authority , indicating ‘ the nature of socio-economic and other influences which are known to affect schools ’ ( Task Group on Assessment and Testing , para 134 ) . |
24 | In fact , a particular variable may have more than one function , but it is only by a close analysis that treats speaker variables as independent that we will be able to determine whether this is so . |
25 | In that case it is legitimate to require some special process of constitutional amendment say that the legislature may amend the Constitution only by a two-thirds majority or after a general election or perhaps upon three months ' notice . |
26 | They passed through a room furnished only by a great oak table and two benches . |
27 | The last US military personnel based in the Philippines were withdrawn on Nov. 24 , thereby ending a presence which had existed since 1898 ( broken only by a three-year period of Japanese occupation during the Pacific War ) . |
28 | The two conformations differ only by a slight repuckering of a single sugar ( 30° change in phase ) and were separated by less than 2 Kcal/mol in internal energy . |
29 | In many cases there is a hefty bank and ditch marking the village boundary , but in others this may be marked only by a slight change in level or by the continuous line of the rear of the platforms . |
30 | It was dawn on the northern frontier of France ; a border marked only by a shallow stream which ran between the stunted trunks of pollarded willows . |