Example sentences of "was [adv] the [adj -est] of " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | There was only the thinnest of pretence that the Soviet Union embodied ideas of socialism or communism or human development . |
| 2 | There was only the slightest of pauses for communal reflection before twenty-nine pairs of shoes were duly launched at the teacher in charge . |
| 3 | But Denholm was aboard the Ariadne not because of his many connections with the highest echelons of society — heir to an earldom , his blood was indisputably the bluest of the blue — but because , without question , he was the right man in the right place . |
| 4 | Occasionally he was referred to by those who saw him at services as ‘ the old canon ’ though he was much the youngest of the canons . |
| 5 | Born in Aberdeen , he got on well with Colquhoun and MacBryde , was physically the smallest of all Minton 's boyfriends , but also the most aggressive ; after his periods of leave Minton often had a black eye . |
| 6 | Alexander was not the best of men , certainly not the ideal Christian knight but , as a king , he ruled Scotland well . |
| 7 | He is the first to admit that he was not the best of patients . |
| 8 | Seb was not the best of patients . |
| 9 | However , Mazzin was not the calmest of the guards and might easily panic and shoot us . |
| 10 | The failure of the Masai to ‘ come out ’ on the side of right was embarrassing enough , but that was not the worst of it . |
| 11 | The inn was generally the largest of the three , providing accommodation as well as beverages , and was typically located in market places or on through routes . |
| 12 | Like the other Pyrenean divisions , Béarn is medieval ; this was once the largest of the furiously independent mountain states , a viscounty which came into existence as early as 820 , was at different moments of its history the vassal of Aragon and England , became joined by marriage with the powerful viscounty of Foix and with Basse-Navarre , and finally , when Henri IV , ‘ le grand Béarnais ’ , became king of the whole of France in 1589 , was integrated with the Crown . |
| 13 | Contract was once the greediest of legal categories intent on devouring as many areas of the law as possible ( e.g. quasi-contract ) and indeed was even invoked to explain the nature of the state itself . |
| 14 | She was always the best of us . |
| 15 | Dad was always the politest of men , but we were never in doubt that his respect was given for character only , never for mere rank or status , and there seems to be a streak of non-conformity in all his descendants so far . |
| 16 | Gedge thought Charman was technically the worst of all the contenders but he liked the right bands in The Folk Devils , Josef K and The Three Johns , and more especially , he had an obsessive interest in The Fall . |
| 17 | There was still the faintest of chances that Mickey Annan might still be among the living . |
| 18 | Davidson , who was probably the closest of Baldwin 's confidants at the time and who also had the advantage of being present at Aix , was equally muddled in his explanations . |
| 19 | country with an outrageous climate , was probably the greatest of all navvying adventures . |
| 20 | The fourth import into New Zealand , again from Australia , was probably the best of the early imports . |
| 21 | It was n't the best of mornings for camping out particularly under just a make-shift tent . |
| 22 | I mean , her dad was n't the best of dads to her so |
| 23 | ‘ When I had the accident , that was n't the worst of it . |
| 24 | ‘ When I arrived I could n't speak a word of Spanish , did n't know anything about the photographic scene in Madrid and had never worked as a professional photographer before , so it was n't the easiest of situations to begin with . ’ |
| 25 | Mind you , that was n't the biggest of the week . |
| 26 | It was fitting that Webb scored two outstanding tries , but Gloucester made sure it was n't the happiest of endings . |
| 27 | Although her candidacy was dismissed in most quarters as irrelevant , she was potentially the best-funded of the candidates ( although much of her wealth was believed to be inaccessible in frozen Swiss bank accounts ) and had the advantage of the remnants of her husband 's huge patronage network . |
| 28 | It was indeed the best of times and the worst of times , as I have found most prolonged expeditions to be . |