I. adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a big/little kiss
▪
She put her arms around him and gave him a big kiss.
a bit more/less
▪
Can we have a bit less noise, please?
a bit/little scared
▪
I was always a little scared of my father.
a lesser evil (= a bad thing, but not as bad as something else )
▪
She knew that she couldn't leave the children, so she opted for the lesser evil and stayed.
a lesser offence (= one that is not as serious as another offence )
▪
For rioting you can receive ten years in prison, while for the lesser offence of violent disorder you can receive five years in prison.
a little bit
▪
Everyone needs a little bit of encouragement.
a little bit
▪
Aren’t you being a little bit unfair?
a little brother ( also a kid brother American English ) (= younger brother )
▪
My kid brother was always annoying me.
a little chat
▪
Why don’t you call her and have a little chat.
a little click
▪
The neon sign made little clicks as it changed colour.
a little misunderstanding (= one that is not serious )
▪
We need to clear up this little misunderstanding.
a little niche informal:
▪
I feel as if I've found my little niche in life.
a little scream
▪
Mrs Wood gave a little scream.
a little secret (= a personal secret that very few people know )
▪
You must promise me that this will be our little secret.
a little talk
▪
I’m glad we’ve had this little talk.
a little town
▪
a pretty little town in the French Alps
a little walk
▪
I just felt like a little walk.
a little/a bit nervous
▪
I was a little nervous before the interview.
a little/faint/slight smile
▪
She gave him an apologetic little smile.
a little/kid sister (= a younger sister )
▪
She was very fond of her little sister.
a little/many/some/any more
▪
Can I have a little more time to finish?
▪
Are there any more sandwiches?
a little/minor mistake
▪
The essay was full of little mistakes.
a little/minor mystery
▪
It was a minor mystery how the file had survived the fire.
a little/short rest
▪
He decided to stop and take a short rest.
a little/short sleep
▪
I always have a little sleep in the afternoon.
a little/short while ago
▪
Tom got a letter from him just a little while ago.
a little/short while
▪
Wait a little while before deciding.
a little/slightly unfair ( also a bit unfair British English spoken )
▪
You’re being slightly unfair on him.
a little/slightly worried ( also a bit worried British English )
▪
I was a bit worried about my exams.
a little/small sigh
▪
Quinn let out a little sigh and closed the book.
a little/small/tiny creature
▪
tiny creatures such as mice
a little/somewhat/slightly surprised
▪
He was a little surprised by her request.
a little/tiny bit
▪
The floor was covered in tiny bits of glass.
a short/little nap
▪
A short nap may make you feel better.
a short/little/small laugh
▪
He let out a nervous little laugh.
a small/little cry
▪
The child gave a small cry and burst into tears.
a small/little favour
▪
Can you do me a small favour?
a small/little movement
▪
She made a restless little movement.
at least one occasion (= once, and probably more than once )
▪
On at least one occasion he was arrested for robbery.
be little/no consolation
▪
The fact that there has been a reduction in crime is little consolation to victims of crime.
be (little/no) room for optimism (= have a possibility that things might get better )
▪
There is little room for optimism in the current financial situation.
be more so/less so/too much so
▪
The band is popular and likely to become more so.
▪
Jerry is very honest, perhaps too much so.
be of little/no importance
▪
Where the money came from is of no importance.
bear little/no resemblance to sb/sth
▪
He bore little resemblance to the photograph in the newspaper.
bear no/little relationship to sth
▪
The allegations bore no relationship to the facts.
could at least
▪
You could at least say that you’re sorry.
dirty little
▪
you and your dirty little deals
far more/less
▪
I enjoyed it far more than I expected.
(far/rather/a little) too much
▪
There was too much work for one person.
▪
It would cost far too much to have the thing repaired.
have little to eat (= not have enough food )
▪
The refugees had very little to eat and no clean water.
have little/no incentive to do sth
▪
Poor farmers have little incentive to grow crops for export.
have little/no patience with sb
▪
I'm afraid I have little patience with bureaucrats and their official rules.
have little/no reason to complain
▪
The school is good and parents have little reason to complain.
have more/less luck
▪
I hope you have more luck in the next competition.
have no/little alternative (but to do sth)
▪
He had no alternative but to resign.
have no/little doubt
▪
I have no doubt that you are right.
have no/little option but to do sth (= have no other choice than to do something )
▪
I had no option but to fire him.
have some/no/little credibility
▪
By then the president had ceased to have any credibility.
have some/no/little say in sth
▪
The workers had no say in how the factory was run.
higher/larger/less etc than normal
▪
The journey took longer than normal.
hold (little) interest/appeal/promise etc
▪
Many church services hold little appeal for modern tastes.
just/a little short of sth
▪
She was just short of six feet tall.
least worst
▪
Often it’s a question of choosing the least worst option.
leave no/little doubt (that) (= make people sure or almost sure about something )
▪
The evidence left no doubt that he was the murderer.
less advantaged
▪
Some of the boys come from less advantaged backgrounds.
less than perfect (= not perfect )
▪
So many excellent writers, for example Byron and Keats, were less than perfect spellers.
less well-off (= have less money )
▪
Many pensioners are less well-off than they used to be.
less/least likely
▪
The smallest puppies are the least likely to survive.
less/least likely
▪
The smallest puppies are the least likely to survive.
limited/little opportunity (= not many chances )
▪
They had little opportunity to discuss the issue beforehand.
little boy (= young male child )
▪
What a polite little boy you are.
little boy (= young son )
▪
How old is your little boy ?
Little Britain
little detail (= not much detail )
▪
Maps of the area showed little detail.
Little did...know (= she did not know )
▪
Little did she know that years later she would have her own pool and luxury apartment in Florida.
little enthusiasm (= not much enthusiasm )
▪
In the nearby villages, there’s little enthusiasm for the airport.
little extras
▪
It’s got lots of useful little extras .
little finger
little foibles
▪
We all have our little foibles .
little kid
▪
She’d always loved animals since she was a little kid .
little people
▪
It’s the little people who bear the brunt of taxation.
little regard (= not enough regard )
▪
He drove himself on, with little regard for his own health.
little reward
▪
They have to work very hard for very little reward.
little scally
▪
You rude little scally !
little significance
▪
This information on its own is of little significance.
little/a lot of/no persuading
▪
He took a lot of persuading to come out of retirement it was hard to persuade him .
little/lower/high/greater etc likelihood
▪
There was very little likelihood of her getting the job.
little/no success
▪
Attempts to resolve the dispute met with little success.
little/small/minor
▪
Old cars often develop minor engine problems.
little/small/tiny
▪
He lived all his life in a small cottage by the river.
little/small/young girl
▪
I’ve known Mollie ever since I was a little girl.
lovely little
▪
He was a lovely little boy.
more/less fortunate than sb
▪
We’ve been more fortunate than a lot of farmers.
more/less frequent
▪
Her headaches are becoming less frequent.
more/most/less/equally importantly
▪
Most importantly, you must keep a record of everything you do.
nasty little
▪
You’re a nasty little brute!
no/little/not much chance
▪
The prisoners knew there was little chance of escape.
not hold out much hope/hold out little hope
▪
Negotiators aren’t holding out much hope of a peaceful settlement.
not in the least bit
▪
I’m not in the least bit interested in whose fault it is.
not matter much/matter little
▪
I don’t think it matters much what you study.
of little value
▪
The information was of little value.
or at least
▪
We’ve cleaned it all up, or at least most of it.
puny little
▪
a puny little guy
quite a bit more/less
▪
They’re worth quite a bit more than I thought.
rotten little
▪
a rotten little brat
see little/no merit in sth (= think that something is not a good idea )
▪
I can see no merit in violence.
see more/less of sb (= see someone more or less often )
▪
They’ve seen more of each other since Dan moved to London.
slightly overweight/a little overweight ( also a bit overweight )
▪
He was tall and slightly overweight.
▪
He’s a bit overweight, not too much.
slightly/a little embarrassed
▪
Tom looked slightly embarrassed when his name was called out.
small/little
▪
It’s a small island, barely twenty miles long.
small/little/tiny
▪
They come from a small village in Laos.
some/a little/a long way ahead
▪
The clinic was now in sight, some way ahead.
sth happens when you least expect it
▪
Bad luck tends to happen when you least expect it.
sth is one of life’s (little) mysteries (= it is something that you will never understand – used humorously )
▪
Where socks disappear to after they’ve been washed is one of life’s little mysteries.
the little guy American English (= ordinary people rather than a powerful organization such as a government or a large company )
▪
He wanted to get elected and fight for the little guy.
there is no/little/some doubt (= used to talk about how sure people are about something )
▪
There is little doubt that he will play for England one day.
tiny little
▪
a tiny little baby
to a lesser extent ( also to less extent ) (= less )
▪
The same is true for women, though to a lesser extent.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
as
▪
Moving himself as little as possible, Chick leant forward and pressed a button.
▪
Which as a practical matter is usually about twelve years and can be as little as eight.
▪
But if they do not leave, he said, ecological disaster could be as little as five or 10 years away.
▪
These sets are no bigger than a transistor radio and cost as little as $ 100 at the nearby discount electronics store.
▪
He waited until she had closed the door then went back up, making as little noise as possible.
▪
Flipping a thousand bunches can earn a worker as little as $ 30.
▪
Mr Guerin's lawyer said he had advised Mr Guerin to say as little as possible for the time being.
▪
Subscribers also need to buy a special device that costs as little as $ 20.
relatively
▪
Even when it is in session it devotes relatively little energy to the serious scrutiny and debate of government policy.
▪
Of his formal education we know relatively little .
▪
And for better or worse, the new interactivity brings enormous political leverage to ordinary citizens at relatively little cost.
▪
The puppy will then settle in with relatively little difficulty as a member of the family.
▪
Research has reflected relatively little success in teaching moderation to severely dependent alcoholics.
▪
These facts and figures added relatively little to what was already known in outline.
▪
As a result, import prices rise relatively little even when the dollar plunges.
so
▪
The apathy of the people towards unemployment was one of the things that caused so little notice to be taken of it.
▪
These people here have so little conception of our world that sometimes I feel myself as if I must have dreamed it.
▪
She must have passed out, but then she had drunk so little .
▪
Most of us are like sleepwalkers here, because we notice so little .
▪
It may well be the reason why this motility pattern has previously attracted so little attention.
▪
So many stories, so little time.
▪
Or are we perhaps just a little surprised that it should take so little to set nation against nation.
too
▪
Too much there or too little ?
▪
But that would be too little too late.
▪
By the time the mare impacts occurred there would probably have been too little dust available to fill the maria.
▪
Although the licensing agreement is good news for Apple, some wonder whether it is too little , too late.
▪
Surely there'd been too little time, but then her father wouldn't have needed much time, would he?
▪
Conversely, there might be too little capacity for decisive action in a cabinet system when there is no stable majority.
▪
Too much time was spent on systems considerations and too little on financial management.
▪
The question is whether it is too little too late.
very
▪
At any time, very little visiting took place and the women were always alone.
▪
The rich supposedly think otherwise -- and manage to pay very little .
▪
When Roeder began he found very little material and much that was written erroneously, even in the Dictionary of National Biography.
▪
Each is a hermetically sealed universe, bumping off the others with very little cross-pollination.
▪
The great course has changed very little since then.
▪
There would be very little potential in the relationship.
▪
We used to live in this poky flat in the middle of London when I was very little .
▪
The thin carbon dioxide atmosphere on Mars admits sunlight to the surface with very little attenuation.
■ NOUN
attention
▪
Relatively little attention has been paid to the origins of labouring class poetry.
▪
I paid little attention to him.
▪
It may well be the reason why this motility pattern has previously attracted so little attention .
▪
We spend little time on peers' expectations, for the managers devoted little attention to them.
▪
When connected and adjusted, an air pump needs very little attention .
▪
One of his great failings was paying too little attention to the daily news.
▪
Yet television paid relatively little attention to them.
▪
It was a loaner from a manufacturer and had received little attention from the borrowers ahead of me.
bit
▪
We have even found ourselves teaching a little bit of linguistics, since some of the comrades seemed interested.
▪
I got hit a little bit with Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis.
▪
She didn't like any of this, not one little bit .
▪
A little bit of sleep was the nearest thing to consolation left for people like us.
▪
While climbing the last little bit I couldn't help thinking of all the mates who had been killed.
▪
At first we got a little bit of static from nonparents.
▪
I prefer to talk a little bit .
▪
I had to make minor adjustments, moving the steering wheel a little bit this way, a little bit that way.
boy
▪
He was unable to find work and went back to the North to be near his little boy .
▪
The little boy was too innocent to realize the implications of telling adults what they want to hear rather than the truth.
▪
Forget Sophie, who was given to drama and tantrum anyway, what about Ben, my little boy ?
▪
Even the little boys polished their groins when she clipped by on the sidewalk.
▪
It was something of a shock to him to realize how fond of the little boy he had become.
▪
B.. Once there was a little boy whose name was Henry.
▪
But then they were just two little boys .
▪
The little boy laughed and ran back to where she was sitting.
brother
▪
On that occasion it was my little brother Jerry who shone.
▪
They look like big brother and little brother.
▪
It was Tess who worried and worked and felt responsible for her little brothers and sisters.
▪
He had gone on an expedition with his little brother to a discount shopping mall in Reading, Pennsylvania.
▪
He had been seeking out the spot on which his little brother was strangled and we had encountered the murderer there.
▪
She is also mean to my little brother .
▪
Francis, my husband, was like a little brother to me.
▪
And little brother Ernest would follow.
chance
▪
If there are six people walking abreast there is little chance that they will create an avenue for you to go through.
▪
This leaves little chance of obtaining job satisfaction.
▪
He believes that there is little chance of him finding a job in the near future.
▪
Despite their gains of recent weeks, opposition leaders acknowledge that they have little chance of toppling the Khartoum government by force.
▪
But that process would be complicated, and stands little chance of success.
▪
The women had claimed they were channeled into low-paying jobs with little chance for promotion.
▪
Without a theatrical release in their own domestic market, they stood little chance of recouping the money lavished on them.
▪
Or are the few crabs that we see so voracious that any new recruit stands little chance of survival?
child
▪
Suffer the little children ...
▪
The little child , the wood dove, was going under.
▪
There were several families under the trees now, with little children running around and babies crawling about in the grass.
▪
The little child did not look dead at all.
▪
Shoals of little children reach up to this counter with hot handfuls of change.
▪
But you sleep softly, little child , Sunk deep in rest within your cheerless home, Only a box, brass-bound.
▪
It went faster and with more noise than the roundabouts for little children with engines and ducks and bicycles fixed on.
▪
On her second morning in Motijhil she found five little children waiting for her.
difference
▪
This little difference adds up to a large saving.
▪
It was that hour of dusk when the streetlights and headlights come on but make little difference .
▪
They drag on from generation to generation and emigration to Britain makes very little difference .
▪
The pressing seemed to make little difference and only with the extended salting times.
▪
There is little difference between the two.
▪
At the time it made little difference what it might be since I glided in and out of consciousness throughout the procedure.
▪
Amongst Sun readers, there was little difference between Labour and Conservative identifiers in their perceptions of its anti-Labour, pro-Conservative bias.
▪
The adults would take turns staying awake and fanning those sleeping, but this made little difference .
doubt
▪
There is little doubt that their handwriting skills develop at a slower pace than their linguistic skills.
▪
But there was little doubt that the Chiangs were somewhere in the background.
▪
There seems to be little doubt , however, that the development of the form imbricata is determined genetically.
▪
There is little doubt that this man deserved to die.
▪
There is little doubt that the effectiveness of the strike was greatly impaired by its internal difficulties and external opposition.
▪
There is little doubt that those Roman writers who equate slaves with concubines were telling the truth.
▪
There is little doubt that the effect would be to drastically reduce the number of generic substitutes supplied by pharmacists.
▪
There seems to be little doubt that work-inhibited students have limited faith in their ability to persevere in academic life.
evidence
▪
And there appears to be little evidence that that will occur soon.
▪
Long-term studies on mortality showed that there was little evidence to believe that losing weight will prolong your life, either.
▪
The other grave goods provide what little evidence we have for the economic basis and material culture of its population.
▪
Until recently, most studies found little evidence that job turnover was on the rise.
▪
These suppositions are rejected because there is little evidence to support them.
▪
There is little evidence of economic outcomes.
▪
There is regrettably little evidence to support or to challenge this.
▪
As yet, there is little evidence to support this conclusion.
finger
▪
Margaret offered Maura her little finger with a shy smile.
▪
The last thing he did was bite off the little finger of her left hand.
▪
The little finger is not used in harp-playing.
▪
Before long, Jennifer has Carlos wrapped around her little finger .
▪
I use it on my little finger and my fingers are real thin.
▪
I gave a little finger wave and he waved back.
▪
He nodded politely to Wakelate and took the glass of brandy with a crooked little finger .
▪
The green eyes and brown summer skin and slim legs and shapely little fingers .
girl
▪
Eva was only two then, and all I could think was that he'd stolen my little girl .
▪
One day the serious little girl brought him a small mirror, much cracked.
▪
Why not settle in, raise your little girl , sign up for the concert and drama series.
▪
She was a little girl who lived across from Ali's old Louisville home when he was at the top.
▪
The little girl lit another match.
▪
You're just an ordinary little girl .
▪
When she called me a little girl , I remember I wanted to cry.
help
▪
At present very little help can be given to such enquirers.
▪
Center Ray Ferraro made it 2-0 with a little help from Verbeek.
▪
And with a little help from its friends, the big multinational companies and landowning farmers, it is spreading its roots.
▪
There are only challenged people, who with a little help can be just like everyone else.
▪
Paul Reece keeping out Bobby Barnes, with a little help from the cross-bar.
▪
With little help from her father, she raised the younger children and saw them all through college.
▪
The concept of responsibility offers little help .
▪
Both programs are the product of congresses dominated by Democratic liberals, with little help from Republicans.
hope
▪
There's little hope in this film - the forces of law are as bad in their way as the drug barons.
▪
The Standing was in its ninth month, and there seemed little hope of compromise.
▪
And there was little hope that government intervention would bring about a more flexible cinema industry.
▪
It may seem to some of you that there's very little hope left for us in Krishnapur.
▪
Bloodied but unwilling to give up, he has little hope of winning Florida or any of the Southern state primaries Tuesday.
▪
If that is right, there is little hope unless they can quickly persuade people to start buying again.
▪
Around me I could find little hope ....
interest
▪
At first sight these distinctions may seem of little interest to the archaeologist.
▪
They had little interest in matching the four-year, $ 4. 5 million contract the Florida Marlins threw at Hernandez.
▪
The Government has no little interest in this as the negative food trade gap is about £5.7 billion.
▪
With fuel cheap these days, the market has shown little interest in the issue.
▪
Increasingly high standards favour the larger wealthy companies that have little interest in tropical diseases.
▪
An angry crowd gathered, confronting the police, who showed little interest in dispersing them, and began taunting the marshals.
▪
Those involved in the experimental approach to athletics showed little interest in boosting performance.
▪
They show as little interest in their customers as do the worst government bureaucracies.
kid
▪
Me and this little kid of 12.
▪
Even that, the poor little kid didn't like.
▪
Will: For little kids it was better as a puppet show.
▪
A group of little kids were doing what is called the Carrot Dance, over by the groceries.
▪
The little kids seemed to like it.
▪
Oh yes, one of her sons has leukaemia, poor little kid , hasn't he?
▪
Last week, we got a little kid outfitted with glasses.
man
▪
The impatience of the genius with the follies of littler men gives thrust and venom to Swift's satirical output.
▪
It tickles me to see the little man so happy with him-self.
▪
The little man nodded his bald head, his eyes simple as a child's.
▪
A chubby little man in a short-sleeved sport shirt and baggy gray twill pants came out the door.
▪
In Cowley's opinion, the arrogant little man should be invited to leave the country in the very near future indeed.
▪
Before them stood a little man about the same size as the Munchkins.
▪
Before he could, the little man brought out a small laser pistol from a pouch at his belt.
▪
Walking in front of Converse was a little man called the Caporal who carried a Browning automatic rifle decorated with hibiscus.
room
▪
It was a dismal little room .
▪
I went back to my dark little room .
▪
The codes of governments and religions are usually quite explicit and allow little room for diversity or change.
▪
I went to my little room and did not turn on the light.
▪
She could see partly into the little room at the end of the main tunnel.
▪
There was another little room , the Quiet Room, plain concrete block walls without chairs or windows.
▪
Now this little room was subdivided into a dressing area and a cement-floored shower.
▪
The present world has little room for such quaint people.
sister
▪
There was a lot of deep feeling in his little sister , Joe thought, in spite of her gaiety and light-heartedness.
▪
Hold on a minute, little sister .
▪
She and Nick, and a few tough-looking boys, and an ugly girl with a squint who had two little sisters .
▪
Fifi and Carmencita watched while Mundin unwrapped the snake from around his neck and poked one end at his little sister .
▪
His little sister had sickened and died before her second birthday.
▪
His little sister gripped a shoot of fuchsia bougainvillea and wailed.
▪
She was very fond of her little sister , so pretty, so volatile, so amusing.
▪
We called my little sister Face because she had such a pretty one.
smile
▪
And Judge Lawrence Verney allowed himself a wry little smile .
▪
I gave in to that little smile .
▪
And Katie would give a smug little smile and then whisper about it half the night.
▪
It is just a little smile , and it fades fast.
▪
They only gazed back at us with eerie little smiles .
▪
A little smile , out of focus at the edge of my vision.
▪
Nicolo Sabatini permitted himself a little smile .
▪
I prompted, and he found my name and checked it off, turning to me with a cheering little smile .
thing
▪
It's an absurd little thing really and yet somehow or other it's important.
▪
They are little things that snowball against the weaker team until the contest becomes no contest.
▪
It was the little things that disturbed him.
▪
But there were frequent little things he did in speech that irritated me.
▪
Lots of little things have been suggested.
▪
He was so good in every department, they figured it would be easy for him to learn this one little thing .
▪
Inchbad was pleased to see Fenella, pretty little thing , approach them.
▪
Well now, one surely would have thought that for such little things those great big waves might have seemed threatening.
things
▪
It's the little things in life really.
▪
They are little things that snowball against the weaker team until the contest becomes no contest.
▪
The witness began to cry, and said they had a quilt and other little things .
▪
My husband continues to lie about little things , such as what he spent money on or where he had lunch.
▪
I cost him a lot in little things , but I know he wants me to ask for something big.
▪
Such little things , snow in July, are indelible.
▪
There were a lot of little things that I felt were wrong.
▪
We take the little things serious, and the big ones as a joke.
time
▪
So much remained to do, and he had so little time in which to do it.
▪
But Republicans and Democrats are wasting little time in maneuvering for political advantage.
▪
When I make the stake-out it takes too little time .
▪
Everywhere there is a hurry, and little time for dallying, or grieving.
▪
What he was asking her to do required a degree of trust that he had too little time to earn.
▪
Promoting literacy, then, will be Hass' calling for the next two years, leaving him little time to compose.
▪
Ironically, the sublime progress of Knight and Singh left little time for the real enforcers.
▪
Lamar Alexander, who spent little time in the state, got only 7 percent of the vote.
town
▪
This can be done by direct road, passing through a number of attractive little towns on the way.
▪
Coming from a little town like Westfield, we were all accepted.
▪
Le Palais, where the ferry docks, is an agreeable, unspoilt little town of ancient houses and cobbled squares.
▪
The little town crowns a low plateau just out of reach of the flood plain of the nearby Deerfield River.
▪
A mile or so north of Milford is the little town of Belper.
▪
Hard to believe, but Oro Valley was actually just a nice little town prior to becoming a sprawling, master-planned community.
▪
Take, for example, the attack on the little town of Gibeah in Judges 20.
▪
I was raised in upstate New York in a little town called Rome.
while
▪
I can't stay but a little while .
▪
Every now and then there are ledges I can rest on and even enjoy myself for a little while .
▪
A little while on my own.
▪
At least for a little while .
▪
Concentrating on Emma would help to keep her worries at bay for a little while .
▪
A little while after Castro came in.
▪
A little while later he gave his horses a rest, and returned to the spot they had refused to pass.
▪
He came down from Massachusetts for a little while and paid a call on Whitman in Brooklyn.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
at the (very) least
▪
But, at the very least , we want to be cut in on the deal.
▪
Each tier was held in place by tiny press studs which sprang apart at the least pressure.
▪
He threw noisy tantrums at the least provocation.
▪
I suppose I had expected anger, an outburst of violence, at the very least surprise and furious disbelief.
▪
I was sure, at the very least , that diet does had done thousands of women like me no good.
▪
Obviously, organic does signify better, or at the least an improvement, but the buyer must beware.
▪
People's lives could be at stake, or at the very least their futures.
▪
That there should be, at the least , periodic review.
(it's) no/small/little wonder (that)
a (proper) little madam
▪
She was madam , all right, a proper little madam.
a big fish in a little/small pond
a little bird told me (sth)
a little something
▪
Before that, and this should tell you a little something , it was not much more attractive for Stanford.
▪
Can yet give us a little something now, Morreen.
▪
Let me just tell you a little something !
▪
Mrs Fanning also stood up and said she could stand to leave behind a little something .
▪
Pawlowski knows a little something about horsepower.
▪
So I thought, a little push, a little shove, a little something extra to shake it loose.
▪
This time aliens stop by for a visit and leave a little something , um, behind.
▪
Well, I ate a little something in my room earlier.
a nice little earner
▪
Bethlehem will always be a nice little earner .
▪
However worthy his motives, the good doctor is on a nice little earner .
▪
It has become, let's face it, a nice little earner .
▪
Some of the nurses found it a nice little earner on top of their poor weekly pay.
▪
That would be a nice little earner for us.
▪
With an eye for a nice little earner , Del Trotter dictated his letter of application to chief sports writer Roy Collins.
at least
▪
At least fifty people were waiting in line.
▪
At least you should listen to his explanation.
▪
His name is Kevin. At least that's what he told me.
▪
His parents should at least go to his graduation.
▪
The food was terrible, but at least we had a nice view.
▪
The law has changed, at least as far as I know.
▪
Everyone on the Cardinals' roster should be here for at least part of the minicamp.
▪
For the time being, at least , the Falls was safe.
▪
It goes against calls from the London Chamber of Commerce which wants at least 1000 more free parking spaces for bikes.
▪
Lastly, they want to give tax advantages to causes deemed worthy, or at least popular.
▪
That would mean at least $ 7. 28 an hour in wages and benefits.
▪
There are at least four companies, perhaps five, that would like to start a 24-hour news channel.
▪
To all appearances, it kept a grip on at least 30 million Muslimsmore than the entire population of the Maghreb today.
▪
Unless I see at least a hint of contour, I assume a crotch has been padded.
be nothing less than sth
▪
Japan's economic recovery was seen as nothing less than a miracle.
▪
They way they treat their workers is nothing short of barbaric.
▪
But of course to Miss Hoity Toity Grenfell, it was nothing less than she expected.
▪
He come to the remarkable conclusion that Ardakke was nothing less than the setting for the next evolutionary step for mankind.
▪
In such context, between such gilt-lettered cloth-bound boards, the concession was nothing less than munificent.
▪
It is nothing less than an opportunity to save or change the world.
▪
Learn each week in 60 seconds why fashion is nothing less than a full-time job!
▪
Milosevic is nothing less than a traitor.
▪
The experience of being on Iona is nothing less than magical and I am moved to tears.
▪
The result, and the acceptance of it, is nothing less than an outrage.
black/elegant etc (little) number
good 'un/bad 'un/little 'un etc
in a world of your own/in your own little world
in less than no time
it's the least I can do
last but not least
▪
Last but not least, I would like to thank my wife for her support.
▪
Last but not least, let me introduce Jane, our new accountant.
▪
And last but not least, I thank Begona Canup for her interest in the book.
▪
Social Security has reduced poverty, and last , but by no means least, it has been a good deal for participants.
▪
And last but not least, the baby of the family.
▪
And last but not least, there are all those damn kids sharing files and scaring the media moguls shiftless.
▪
And, last but not least, its growth and production has a huge impact on the environment we live in.
▪
And, last but not least, my cousin Bishop Malduin of Kinrimund with, no doubt, his stepson Colban.
▪
And, last but not least, they might re-read the scores while listening.
least of all
▪
Dave doesn't take anything seriously, least of all himself.
▪
Nobody wants to stop you from following the career of your choice, least of all me.
▪
She told no one, least of all her husband, what she planned to do.
▪
James was no model of deportment anywhere, least of all in his marital and other personal relations.
▪
Life is no bed of roses for the new dealer, least of all if female and of a gullible disposition.
▪
No one thought it was a goal of mine, least of all me.
▪
Nobody, least of all the chancellor, one suspects, is banking on this.
▪
Not least of all, it is the San Diego neighborhood that many gays have long embraced as their own.
▪
They were not people who smiled much, least of all at children.
▪
This wasn't yet a case for the police, least of all for him.
▪
Truth is, no one has laughed at the inconsistent Campbell lately, least of all the Nets.
leave little/nothing to the imagination
▪
His creation left nothing to the imagination .
▪
Plastics - that here leave little to the imagination - were widely used in fashion.
less and less
▪
The fighting has become less and less frequent.
▪
They began spending less and less time with each other.
▪
As the war progressed, this position be-came less and less tenable and was eventually discarded.
▪
Changes over the course of 250 years meant that realities accorded less and less with formal appearances and official regulations.
▪
However, they are less and less willing either to hide or to lead lives of celibacy.
▪
It is merely that there is less and less justification for her position.
▪
It turned out not to be much-and, as it happened, he needed less and less as time went on.
▪
Now I seem to care less and less.
▪
She liked the mail-order concept, saying that working women have less and less time to shop at stores.
▪
Staff were separated less and less from pupils; they used the same library and the same resource centres.
less and less
▪
As the war progressed, this position be-came less and less tenable and was eventually discarded.
▪
Changes over the course of 250 years meant that realities accorded less and less with formal appearances and official regulations.
▪
However, they are less and less willing either to hide or to lead lives of celibacy.
▪
It is merely that there is less and less justification for her position.
▪
It turned out not to be much-and, as it happened, he needed less and less as time went on.
▪
Now I seem to care less and less.
▪
She liked the mail-order concept, saying that working women have less and less time to shop at stores.
▪
Staff were separated less and less from pupils; they used the same library and the same resource centres.
less of sth
less than helpful/honest/enthusiastic etc
▪
Although he did not reject a fact-finding mission outright, Major was clearly less than enthusiastic about the idea.
▪
But in the same interview Mr Dole, as is his way, was a little less than helpful to the president.
▪
But the way in which they are present may be less than helpful.
▪
In this dilemma, Eliot was less than helpful to his apologists.
▪
Not surprisingly, the reaction of local residents to the schemes was less than enthusiastic.
▪
The refugees are naturally less than enthusiastic about this.
▪
Those who had known him from that earlier period, however, were less than enthusiastic about his elevation.
lesser/ordinary/mere mortals
▪
A penchant for setting oneself apart and above mere mortals .
▪
And together we were emphatically co-operative that neighbouring forces were populated by lesser mortals .
▪
However, such models of the universe are not of much interest to us ordinary mortals .
▪
Lords, ladies, dukes and duchesses figure prominently among the names as well as more ordinary mortals of obviously substantial means.
▪
Miracles can be worked by Him alone, although mere mortals may entreat Him by prayer to perform them on their behalf.
▪
She held herself raised by her great prosperity above all that ordinary mortals fear and reverence.
▪
This increased exposure allows them to exploit their advantages over more ordinary mortals more easily than their predecessors could.
little horror
▪
And that little horror Zach was around.
little/old devil
▪
A true old devil , Manson vanishes in a puff of smoke.
▪
I really miss the old devil .
▪
Impotent old devils and dried-up hags always deride the efforts of the young.
▪
Indeed, I worship the little devil , but only as a travelling companion.
▪
Not that he's the worst of them, poor old devil .
▪
So much, thought Blanche, for flirting with the lascivious old devil .
▪
There was one old devil with red eyes.
little/young ones
▪
As Jack goes on hunting, the little ones look at him as an expert.
▪
Bowel frequency, for example, was little greater in the older patients than in the younger ones .
▪
Happy shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!
▪
Helping with academic or social tasks, the older children develop a sense of responsibility for the younger ones in the building.
▪
Mr Preston had recently cleared out his old trees and planted new young ones .
▪
Older respondents tend to state their replies in honorifics; younger ones are less reverential.
▪
The older kids were at school and two of the women had taken the younger ones to the park.
▪
They were thinking of wives and little ones far away, and wondering if they would ever see them again.
more haste less speed
more or less
▪
"Did they have what you were looking for at the hardware store?" "Yes, more or less."
▪
There were 50 people there, more or less.
▪
This report says more or less the same thing as the previous one.
▪
What she says is more or less true.
▪
Alexei was a mining engineer in the Kuzbas, but he had more or less refashioned himself into a translator.
▪
And then I was using it more or less daily for years ....
▪
As things are, it's more or less useless.
▪
Lesbians, being women, were more or less ignored as in-consequential so long as they were quiet about their sexuality.
▪
Look also for R Centauri, a red Mira-type variable more or less between the Pointers.
▪
Some programs will let you set the size of the buffer to keep more or less text.
▪
The Trilogy helped create this new man of labor, who is more or less a paralegal.
▪
This time she saw pebbles laid out over the whole of the surface, more or less evenly spaced.
more than a little
▪
Educators, meanwhile, often view business with more than a little suspicion, distrust, and envy.
▪
Gordon was, he admitted, more than a little relieved.
▪
He was more than a little disappointed that his son was not athletic.
▪
It may be no more than a little park near work or a church that you stop by during lunch hour.
▪
Love: the word would be utterly meaningless in this context; no more than a little blast of sound.
▪
Many of these ideas depend more than a little on what you believe in.
▪
The ex-boyfriend is more than a little interested.
much less
▪
I doubt Clemson will even make the finals, much less win.
▪
Even Libertarians, who advocate much less government, are happy to accept public campaign money.
▪
Even today, most politicians rarely wear neckties, much less power suits.
▪
I will become much less easily tired ... much less easily fatigued ... much less easily discouraged ... much less easily depressed.
▪
In the end, the tax brought in much less revenue than originally forecast.
▪
Its development costs are not much less than the firm's total asset value.
▪
That had to ne injected daily, but her husband recalls the injections being much less frequent.
▪
The bill now goes to the Senate, where its fate is much less assured.
▪
Try dowsing without rods: it's much less cumbersome.
much/still less
▪
The average person is unlikely to pick up this type of book, much less read it.
▪
Equally, science would be much less advanced than it is if the only available data were intuitive estimates of quantities.
▪
Half a century earlier his behaviour would have seemed much more normal and aroused much less criticism.
▪
In the end, the tax brought in much less revenue than originally forecast.
▪
On the battlefield armament was still much less important than discipline and fighting spirit.
▪
She could not afford the bus fare to see a doctor, much less his fee.
▪
The grouping of other languages of the world-and even of their number-is much less clear.
▪
There is not much chance of finding a razor blade, much less using it in the appropriate way.
▪
There was to be no pause for reflection, nor - much less - for a changeover from military to civilian rule.
no less
▪
And if his comparison was contrived, it is no less valid for that.
▪
And now ... Ace's face was no less expressive.
▪
Housman's style is no less vulnerable to the distortions of the rhymed quatrain.
▪
It is no less barbaric than killing people on a street corner.
▪
One could remain in life, in the selfless performance of secular tasks, and arrive no less securely at the goal.
▪
This helped Airtours generate no less than £8m in interest alone during the year.
▪
Yet priorities are no less a matter of concern here than in other areas.
not least
▪
There are many factors which limit productivity; not least is employee education.
▪
Alex Ferguson will have loved this, not least because questions had started to be asked of his team and star names.
▪
And it annoyed her intensely, not least of all because she still felt a long way from figuring him out!
▪
And last but not least , the baby of the family.
▪
I didn't relish this: not least because it meant that I didn't break my silence until the cheese course.
▪
Like all good music it speaks of love, not least of the medium itself.
▪
Nevertheless it requires separate assessment, not least because it drew on certain areas of experience not directly dominated by the monarch.
not the least/not in the least/not the least bit
nothing less than sth
▪
The change in Bob's behavior has been nothing less than a miracle.
▪
He is aware that what he is involved in now is nothing less than Thatcherite self-help.
▪
It is nothing less than an opportunity to save or change the world.
▪
It is nothing less than national economic and social suicide.
▪
The result, and the acceptance of it, is nothing less than an outrage.
▪
There is nothing less than a cultural cover-up about depression in men.
▪
They had stumbled in upon what was quite clearly nothing less than a pagan sacrifice.
▪
This gave her hope, for it was nothing less than a re-birth that Maggie was aiming for.
of little/no/any etc consequence
▪
Choosing the gender of your baby is an individual decision of no consequence to anybody else.
▪
During the bad weather we experienced a few disasters and events, but they were of little consequence .
▪
It clearly ranks as the first written literature of any consequence .
▪
Neither country had other exports of any consequence .
▪
No signal can be received outside that range but this is of no consequence .
▪
They were of no consequence , I knew they were of no consequence.
of no/little account
▪
Gelbspan's speech was of no account .
▪
As she grew up, her father had been of no account to her.
▪
Charles Coffin continues: The cavalry of the Army of the Potomac had been of little account .
▪
Epictetus' magic wand can make poverty of no account .
▪
In a transforming instant, the est intellectual truth is seen to be that intellectual truth is of no account .
▪
It was of no account to Vinoba Bhave a Brahmin, whether the man before him was a Brahmin or an outcaste.
▪
There was a war on and such emotional family matters were really of no account .
▪
Yet this self-protective brand of public service was of no account to the Lordly Phantasms.
▪
You are a mere picture editor, a workman, whose views on editorial staff are of no account .
precious little/few
▪
There are precious few seats inside the court room.
▪
At the moment there is precious little.
▪
Eight voices then, and precious little else.
▪
Food shopping takes time, a commodity of which most of us have precious little.
▪
From which it follows that many will choose precious little attachment.
▪
I had no answers and precious little consolation to offer him to mitigate the facts.
▪
Once the polarization occurs, there is precious little Mrs Clinton can do about it.
▪
She had to find some other way to save Angel's precious little life, and find it quickly.
▪
There was precious little to learn.
sb couldn't care less
some little/few sth
sth has much/little/nothing to recommend it
▪
The hotel has little except price to recommend it.
▪
An alternative approach-optical fibre - has much to recommend it.
▪
As such, it has much to recommend it.
▪
But in terms of an effective solution the voting method has little to recommend it.
▪
In principle this format has much to recommend it, but in this case the practice has not been successful.
▪
It is plain that, in the long run, the gentle art of compromise has much to recommend it.
▪
Nevertheless, the principle of chisel ploughing has much to recommend it in the right conditions.
▪
Such a way of proceeding has much to recommend it, but scant progress has been made in that direction.
▪
This cooperative family decision-making has much to recommend it.
the least
▪
$10,000 is the least we'll need to repair the roof.
▪
£20,000 is the least we could accept for a car of this type.
▪
After trials, we chose the engine that used the least fuel.
▪
Find a route that is likely to have the least traffic.
▪
I was the youngest, so I always got the least pocket money.
▪
Of all the EU countries, Britain spends the least on higher education.
▪
The least anyone around here works is about 50 hours per week.
▪
Those who have been in the most danger have the least to say about it.
▪
We've selected recipes that take the least time to prepare.
▪
We decided to buy the one that cost the least .
▪
We thought this decision would produce the least harm and disruption to residents.
▪
Which jacket costs the least ?
▪
Even the least likely candidate for a career in dance knew that Truitte was available after class for talk about the field.
▪
I learned that there were thousands of men pursuing my sisters, who seemed not the least bit concerned.
▪
If this happens to you, simply cut the least important information.
▪
It was the least likely millionaire's spare-room imaginable.
▪
Money was the least volatile commodity traded by Salomon Brothers and therefore the least risky.
▪
The northernmost zone has the least continuous plant cover, the most patterned ground exposed, and the narrowest range of communities.
▪
The white washed walls and bright lighting, however, make this one of the least atmospheric mausoleums you could imagine.
▪
This was to be our first meeting since the threat of further surgery or at the least , drugs.
the least of sb's worries/problems/troubles/concerns
▪
For not the least of Henry's problems was how to raise the money required for the accomplishment of such an undertaking.
▪
Greatly increased taxes and a major shift back to defence expenditure could be the least of our worries.
▪
Not the least of its problems was extreme alienation between labor and management.
▪
That was the least of her troubles.
▪
The death under somewhat dubious circumstances of a racehorse belonging to his son was frankly the least of his problems.
the line/path of least resistance
▪
If you take the line of least resistance or fail to be consistent, you will actually make things worse.
▪
Political will in such situations is a low explosive, blasting along the lines of least resistance .
▪
Pretty soon, the water, which follows the path of least resistance , has its own plan for your driveway.
▪
The priesthood built itself and if we help it along we are only following the line of least resistance .
▪
Usually he just takes the line of least resistance .
▪
When it constructs its tunnel underground the rabbit, naturally enough, takes the line of least resistance .
the little people
the little/small matter of sth
▪
But first there's the small matter of a semi-final clash that has split the household down the middle.
▪
His manifesto, of course, concerns the small matter of his life.
▪
On a good day, the building would be almost entirely rented-apart from the small matter of signing the contract.
▪
Then there was the small matter of my physical fitness.
▪
There's also the little matter of thirty-three shroud lines loops!
▪
There remains, as ever, the little matter of finance.
▪
This operation was tricky because there was the little matter of taking off my trousers and putting on my shorts.
▪
What about the small matter of the rest of the season?
the more ..., the more/the less ...
the more ..., the more/the less ...
there is little/nothing to choose between sth
▪
Both make-ups can be available at the same time and, so far as value goes, there is nothing to choose between them.
▪
But there is little to choose between the two in terms of overall performance.
to say the least
▪
Mrs. Russel was upset, to say the least .
▪
These maps are difficult to understand, to say the least .
▪
As captain and opening bat, he's an important member of the side, to say the least .
▪
Cartoonish, to say the least .
▪
It is a bizarre setting, to say the least , where the boredom and indifference can be measured in metric tons.
▪
The lamps look, to say the least , unreliable.
▪
The outlook for their national teams is, to say the least , uncertain.
▪
The results of these experiments were, to say the least , puzzling to the researchers.
▪
There would be a bit of confusion, to say the least .
▪
Try as she might, her working relationship with Stephanie Marsa was strained to say the least .
to say the least
▪
As captain and opening bat, he's an important member of the side, to say the least.
▪
Cartoonish, to say the least.
▪
It is a bizarre setting, to say the least, where the boredom and indifference can be measured in metric tons.
▪
The lamps look, to say the least, unreliable.
▪
The outlook for their national teams is, to say the least, uncertain.
▪
The results of these experiments were, to say the least, puzzling to the researchers.
▪
There would be a bit of confusion, to say the least.
▪
Try as she might, her working relationship with Stephanie Marsa was strained to say the least.
too little, too late
▪
A 3 percent funding increase is too little, too late to save the tutoring program.
twist/wrap/wind sb around your little finger
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
a little farm on the hill
▪
a little laugh
▪
a little nap
▪
a cute little puppy
▪
a nice little house
▪
a poor little bird
▪
Alice gets angry over little things.
▪
He had climbed a little way up the tree and gotten scared.
▪
I haven't seen one of those since I was a little girl.
▪
I loved playing with blocks when I was little .
▪
It's just a little souvenir I brought back from Italy
▪
Oh, the poor little thing, he's hurt his paw.
▪
There's just that little matter of the $5000 you owe me.
▪
There were three bridesmaids at the wedding, and even the little one behaved beautifully.
▪
They've been married for ten years and have two little girls.
▪
They bought a nice little house near the beach.
▪
Todd's stupid little jokes
▪
We saw a little old lady with a walking-stick.
▪
What a lovely little dog!
▪
What an annoying little boy!
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Delicate little Louise, requiring round-the-clock, year-long, life-long protection.
▪
Her little boy was Johnny, seven years old, dark-eyed and sweet.
▪
On the jetty near the little lighthouse is a remarkably good restaurant.
▪
She was only about seventeen, with the most beautiful little face I had ever seen.
▪
So this little one is a surprise.
▪
The little Hoflin, who had her speciality showpiece in Act Two, did it very badly and finally tripped and fell.
▪
Where the Aztecs are is just a little short.
II. determiner
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
at the (very) least
▪
But, at the very least , we want to be cut in on the deal.
▪
Each tier was held in place by tiny press studs which sprang apart at the least pressure.
▪
He threw noisy tantrums at the least provocation.
▪
I suppose I had expected anger, an outburst of violence, at the very least surprise and furious disbelief.
▪
I was sure, at the very least , that diet does had done thousands of women like me no good.
▪
Obviously, organic does signify better, or at the least an improvement, but the buyer must beware.
▪
People's lives could be at stake, or at the very least their futures.
▪
That there should be, at the least , periodic review.
(it's) no/small/little wonder (that)
a (proper) little madam
▪
She was madam , all right, a proper little madam.
a big fish in a little/small pond
a little bird told me (sth)
a little something
▪
Before that, and this should tell you a little something , it was not much more attractive for Stanford.
▪
Can yet give us a little something now, Morreen.
▪
Let me just tell you a little something !
▪
Mrs Fanning also stood up and said she could stand to leave behind a little something .
▪
Pawlowski knows a little something about horsepower.
▪
So I thought, a little push, a little shove, a little something extra to shake it loose.
▪
This time aliens stop by for a visit and leave a little something , um, behind.
▪
Well, I ate a little something in my room earlier.
a nice little earner
▪
Bethlehem will always be a nice little earner .
▪
However worthy his motives, the good doctor is on a nice little earner .
▪
It has become, let's face it, a nice little earner .
▪
Some of the nurses found it a nice little earner on top of their poor weekly pay.
▪
That would be a nice little earner for us.
▪
With an eye for a nice little earner , Del Trotter dictated his letter of application to chief sports writer Roy Collins.
at least
▪
At least fifty people were waiting in line.
▪
At least you should listen to his explanation.
▪
His name is Kevin. At least that's what he told me.
▪
His parents should at least go to his graduation.
▪
The food was terrible, but at least we had a nice view.
▪
The law has changed, at least as far as I know.
▪
Everyone on the Cardinals' roster should be here for at least part of the minicamp.
▪
For the time being, at least , the Falls was safe.
▪
It goes against calls from the London Chamber of Commerce which wants at least 1000 more free parking spaces for bikes.
▪
Lastly, they want to give tax advantages to causes deemed worthy, or at least popular.
▪
That would mean at least $ 7. 28 an hour in wages and benefits.
▪
There are at least four companies, perhaps five, that would like to start a 24-hour news channel.
▪
To all appearances, it kept a grip on at least 30 million Muslimsmore than the entire population of the Maghreb today.
▪
Unless I see at least a hint of contour, I assume a crotch has been padded.
be nothing less than sth
▪
Japan's economic recovery was seen as nothing less than a miracle.
▪
They way they treat their workers is nothing short of barbaric.
▪
But of course to Miss Hoity Toity Grenfell, it was nothing less than she expected.
▪
He come to the remarkable conclusion that Ardakke was nothing less than the setting for the next evolutionary step for mankind.
▪
In such context, between such gilt-lettered cloth-bound boards, the concession was nothing less than munificent.
▪
It is nothing less than an opportunity to save or change the world.
▪
Learn each week in 60 seconds why fashion is nothing less than a full-time job!
▪
Milosevic is nothing less than a traitor.
▪
The experience of being on Iona is nothing less than magical and I am moved to tears.
▪
The result, and the acceptance of it, is nothing less than an outrage.
be nothing/little short of sth
▪
First, I would strongly advise other CEOs to follow our experience because the results stood to be nothing short of spectacular.
▪
It is little short of tragic that she has been cut off, while still at the peak of her singing power.
▪
The 18 tracks of the new record are so dizzyingly dexterous, the live show should be nothing short of amazing.
▪
The city hopes to attract around 3.5 million visitors annually, but last year's figures were little short of disastrous.
▪
The quality of sound via these outputs is nothing short of amazing.
▪
The result is nothing short of brilliant and has met with raves in all the glossy industry mags.
▪
This is nothing short of a scandal.
▪
What they envision is nothing short of a new corporate structure, in which accounting and other functions are outsourced.
black/elegant etc (little) number
funny little sth
good 'un/bad 'un/little 'un etc
have/hold sth in your hot little hand
in a world of your own/in your own little world
in less than no time
it's (a little/bit) late in the day (to do sth)
it's the least I can do
last but not least
▪
Last but not least, I would like to thank my wife for her support.
▪
Last but not least, let me introduce Jane, our new accountant.
▪
And last but not least, I thank Begona Canup for her interest in the book.
▪
Social Security has reduced poverty, and last , but by no means least, it has been a good deal for participants.
▪
And last but not least, the baby of the family.
▪
And last but not least, there are all those damn kids sharing files and scaring the media moguls shiftless.
▪
And, last but not least, its growth and production has a huge impact on the environment we live in.
▪
And, last but not least, my cousin Bishop Malduin of Kinrimund with, no doubt, his stepson Colban.
▪
And, last but not least, they might re-read the scores while listening.
least of all
▪
Dave doesn't take anything seriously, least of all himself.
▪
Nobody wants to stop you from following the career of your choice, least of all me.
▪
She told no one, least of all her husband, what she planned to do.
▪
James was no model of deportment anywhere, least of all in his marital and other personal relations.
▪
Life is no bed of roses for the new dealer, least of all if female and of a gullible disposition.
▪
No one thought it was a goal of mine, least of all me.
▪
Nobody, least of all the chancellor, one suspects, is banking on this.
▪
Not least of all, it is the San Diego neighborhood that many gays have long embraced as their own.
▪
They were not people who smiled much, least of all at children.
▪
This wasn't yet a case for the police, least of all for him.
▪
Truth is, no one has laughed at the inconsistent Campbell lately, least of all the Nets.
leave little/nothing to the imagination
▪
His creation left nothing to the imagination .
▪
Plastics - that here leave little to the imagination - were widely used in fashion.
less and less
▪
The fighting has become less and less frequent.
▪
They began spending less and less time with each other.
▪
As the war progressed, this position be-came less and less tenable and was eventually discarded.
▪
Changes over the course of 250 years meant that realities accorded less and less with formal appearances and official regulations.
▪
However, they are less and less willing either to hide or to lead lives of celibacy.
▪
It is merely that there is less and less justification for her position.
▪
It turned out not to be much-and, as it happened, he needed less and less as time went on.
▪
Now I seem to care less and less.
▪
She liked the mail-order concept, saying that working women have less and less time to shop at stores.
▪
Staff were separated less and less from pupils; they used the same library and the same resource centres.
less and less
▪
As the war progressed, this position be-came less and less tenable and was eventually discarded.
▪
Changes over the course of 250 years meant that realities accorded less and less with formal appearances and official regulations.
▪
However, they are less and less willing either to hide or to lead lives of celibacy.
▪
It is merely that there is less and less justification for her position.
▪
It turned out not to be much-and, as it happened, he needed less and less as time went on.
▪
Now I seem to care less and less.
▪
She liked the mail-order concept, saying that working women have less and less time to shop at stores.
▪
Staff were separated less and less from pupils; they used the same library and the same resource centres.
less of sth
less than helpful/honest/enthusiastic etc
▪
Although he did not reject a fact-finding mission outright, Major was clearly less than enthusiastic about the idea.
▪
But in the same interview Mr Dole, as is his way, was a little less than helpful to the president.
▪
But the way in which they are present may be less than helpful.
▪
In this dilemma, Eliot was less than helpful to his apologists.
▪
Not surprisingly, the reaction of local residents to the schemes was less than enthusiastic.
▪
The refugees are naturally less than enthusiastic about this.
▪
Those who had known him from that earlier period, however, were less than enthusiastic about his elevation.
lesser/ordinary/mere mortals
▪
A penchant for setting oneself apart and above mere mortals .
▪
And together we were emphatically co-operative that neighbouring forces were populated by lesser mortals .
▪
However, such models of the universe are not of much interest to us ordinary mortals .
▪
Lords, ladies, dukes and duchesses figure prominently among the names as well as more ordinary mortals of obviously substantial means.
▪
Miracles can be worked by Him alone, although mere mortals may entreat Him by prayer to perform them on their behalf.
▪
She held herself raised by her great prosperity above all that ordinary mortals fear and reverence.
▪
This increased exposure allows them to exploit their advantages over more ordinary mortals more easily than their predecessors could.
little horror
▪
And that little horror Zach was around.
little/old devil
▪
A true old devil , Manson vanishes in a puff of smoke.
▪
I really miss the old devil .
▪
Impotent old devils and dried-up hags always deride the efforts of the young.
▪
Indeed, I worship the little devil , but only as a travelling companion.
▪
Not that he's the worst of them, poor old devil .
▪
So much, thought Blanche, for flirting with the lascivious old devil .
▪
There was one old devil with red eyes.
little/young ones
▪
As Jack goes on hunting, the little ones look at him as an expert.
▪
Bowel frequency, for example, was little greater in the older patients than in the younger ones .
▪
Happy shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!
▪
Helping with academic or social tasks, the older children develop a sense of responsibility for the younger ones in the building.
▪
Mr Preston had recently cleared out his old trees and planted new young ones .
▪
Older respondents tend to state their replies in honorifics; younger ones are less reverential.
▪
The older kids were at school and two of the women had taken the younger ones to the park.
▪
They were thinking of wives and little ones far away, and wondering if they would ever see them again.
more haste less speed
more or less
▪
"Did they have what you were looking for at the hardware store?" "Yes, more or less."
▪
There were 50 people there, more or less.
▪
This report says more or less the same thing as the previous one.
▪
What she says is more or less true.
▪
Alexei was a mining engineer in the Kuzbas, but he had more or less refashioned himself into a translator.
▪
And then I was using it more or less daily for years ....
▪
As things are, it's more or less useless.
▪
Lesbians, being women, were more or less ignored as in-consequential so long as they were quiet about their sexuality.
▪
Look also for R Centauri, a red Mira-type variable more or less between the Pointers.
▪
Some programs will let you set the size of the buffer to keep more or less text.
▪
The Trilogy helped create this new man of labor, who is more or less a paralegal.
▪
This time she saw pebbles laid out over the whole of the surface, more or less evenly spaced.
more than a little
▪
Educators, meanwhile, often view business with more than a little suspicion, distrust, and envy.
▪
Gordon was, he admitted, more than a little relieved.
▪
He was more than a little disappointed that his son was not athletic.
▪
It may be no more than a little park near work or a church that you stop by during lunch hour.
▪
Love: the word would be utterly meaningless in this context; no more than a little blast of sound.
▪
Many of these ideas depend more than a little on what you believe in.
▪
The ex-boyfriend is more than a little interested.
much less
▪
I doubt Clemson will even make the finals, much less win.
▪
Even Libertarians, who advocate much less government, are happy to accept public campaign money.
▪
Even today, most politicians rarely wear neckties, much less power suits.
▪
I will become much less easily tired ... much less easily fatigued ... much less easily discouraged ... much less easily depressed.
▪
In the end, the tax brought in much less revenue than originally forecast.
▪
Its development costs are not much less than the firm's total asset value.
▪
That had to ne injected daily, but her husband recalls the injections being much less frequent.
▪
The bill now goes to the Senate, where its fate is much less assured.
▪
Try dowsing without rods: it's much less cumbersome.
much/still less
▪
The average person is unlikely to pick up this type of book, much less read it.
▪
Equally, science would be much less advanced than it is if the only available data were intuitive estimates of quantities.
▪
Half a century earlier his behaviour would have seemed much more normal and aroused much less criticism.
▪
In the end, the tax brought in much less revenue than originally forecast.
▪
On the battlefield armament was still much less important than discipline and fighting spirit.
▪
She could not afford the bus fare to see a doctor, much less his fee.
▪
The grouping of other languages of the world-and even of their number-is much less clear.
▪
There is not much chance of finding a razor blade, much less using it in the appropriate way.
▪
There was to be no pause for reflection, nor - much less - for a changeover from military to civilian rule.
no less
▪
And if his comparison was contrived, it is no less valid for that.
▪
And now ... Ace's face was no less expressive.
▪
Housman's style is no less vulnerable to the distortions of the rhymed quatrain.
▪
It is no less barbaric than killing people on a street corner.
▪
One could remain in life, in the selfless performance of secular tasks, and arrive no less securely at the goal.
▪
This helped Airtours generate no less than £8m in interest alone during the year.
▪
Yet priorities are no less a matter of concern here than in other areas.
not least
▪
There are many factors which limit productivity; not least is employee education.
▪
Alex Ferguson will have loved this, not least because questions had started to be asked of his team and star names.
▪
And it annoyed her intensely, not least of all because she still felt a long way from figuring him out!
▪
And last but not least , the baby of the family.
▪
I didn't relish this: not least because it meant that I didn't break my silence until the cheese course.
▪
Like all good music it speaks of love, not least of the medium itself.
▪
Nevertheless it requires separate assessment, not least because it drew on certain areas of experience not directly dominated by the monarch.
not the least/not in the least/not the least bit
nothing less than sth
▪
The change in Bob's behavior has been nothing less than a miracle.
▪
He is aware that what he is involved in now is nothing less than Thatcherite self-help.
▪
It is nothing less than an opportunity to save or change the world.
▪
It is nothing less than national economic and social suicide.
▪
The result, and the acceptance of it, is nothing less than an outrage.
▪
There is nothing less than a cultural cover-up about depression in men.
▪
They had stumbled in upon what was quite clearly nothing less than a pagan sacrifice.
▪
This gave her hope, for it was nothing less than a re-birth that Maggie was aiming for.
of little/no/any etc consequence
▪
Choosing the gender of your baby is an individual decision of no consequence to anybody else.
▪
During the bad weather we experienced a few disasters and events, but they were of little consequence .
▪
It clearly ranks as the first written literature of any consequence .
▪
Neither country had other exports of any consequence .
▪
No signal can be received outside that range but this is of no consequence .
▪
They were of no consequence , I knew they were of no consequence.
of no/little account
▪
Gelbspan's speech was of no account .
▪
As she grew up, her father had been of no account to her.
▪
Charles Coffin continues: The cavalry of the Army of the Potomac had been of little account .
▪
Epictetus' magic wand can make poverty of no account .
▪
In a transforming instant, the est intellectual truth is seen to be that intellectual truth is of no account .
▪
It was of no account to Vinoba Bhave a Brahmin, whether the man before him was a Brahmin or an outcaste.
▪
There was a war on and such emotional family matters were really of no account .
▪
Yet this self-protective brand of public service was of no account to the Lordly Phantasms.
▪
You are a mere picture editor, a workman, whose views on editorial staff are of no account .
precious little/few
▪
There are precious few seats inside the court room.
▪
At the moment there is precious little.
▪
Eight voices then, and precious little else.
▪
Food shopping takes time, a commodity of which most of us have precious little.
▪
From which it follows that many will choose precious little attachment.
▪
I had no answers and precious little consolation to offer him to mitigate the facts.
▪
Once the polarization occurs, there is precious little Mrs Clinton can do about it.
▪
She had to find some other way to save Angel's precious little life, and find it quickly.
▪
There was precious little to learn.
sb couldn't care less
some little/few sth
sth has much/little/nothing to recommend it
▪
The hotel has little except price to recommend it.
▪
An alternative approach-optical fibre - has much to recommend it.
▪
As such, it has much to recommend it.
▪
But in terms of an effective solution the voting method has little to recommend it.
▪
In principle this format has much to recommend it, but in this case the practice has not been successful.
▪
It is plain that, in the long run, the gentle art of compromise has much to recommend it.
▪
Nevertheless, the principle of chisel ploughing has much to recommend it in the right conditions.
▪
Such a way of proceeding has much to recommend it, but scant progress has been made in that direction.
▪
This cooperative family decision-making has much to recommend it.
the least
▪
$10,000 is the least we'll need to repair the roof.
▪
£20,000 is the least we could accept for a car of this type.
▪
After trials, we chose the engine that used the least fuel.
▪
Find a route that is likely to have the least traffic.
▪
I was the youngest, so I always got the least pocket money.
▪
Of all the EU countries, Britain spends the least on higher education.
▪
The least anyone around here works is about 50 hours per week.
▪
Those who have been in the most danger have the least to say about it.
▪
We've selected recipes that take the least time to prepare.
▪
We decided to buy the one that cost the least .
▪
We thought this decision would produce the least harm and disruption to residents.
▪
Which jacket costs the least ?
▪
Even the least likely candidate for a career in dance knew that Truitte was available after class for talk about the field.
▪
I learned that there were thousands of men pursuing my sisters, who seemed not the least bit concerned.
▪
If this happens to you, simply cut the least important information.
▪
It was the least likely millionaire's spare-room imaginable.
▪
Money was the least volatile commodity traded by Salomon Brothers and therefore the least risky.
▪
The northernmost zone has the least continuous plant cover, the most patterned ground exposed, and the narrowest range of communities.
▪
The white washed walls and bright lighting, however, make this one of the least atmospheric mausoleums you could imagine.
▪
This was to be our first meeting since the threat of further surgery or at the least , drugs.
the least of sb's worries/problems/troubles/concerns
▪
For not the least of Henry's problems was how to raise the money required for the accomplishment of such an undertaking.
▪
Greatly increased taxes and a major shift back to defence expenditure could be the least of our worries.
▪
Not the least of its problems was extreme alienation between labor and management.
▪
That was the least of her troubles.
▪
The death under somewhat dubious circumstances of a racehorse belonging to his son was frankly the least of his problems.
the less fortunate
▪
The organization is collecting canned food to help the less fortunate .
▪
Another case of hard-hearted capitalists pushing aside the less fortunate to enhance their investments?
▪
He devoted his time to prayer and aiding the less fortunate .
▪
His capacity to persuade people to pay attention to the plight of the less fortunate was constant.
▪
In the wider world we examine the great differences between countries like our own and the less fortunate poor world.
▪
It should be spending them on the less fortunate .
▪
Phoenix officials often talk of the helping hand they give to the less fortunate .
▪
The proposals include a comprehensive programme of security and protection for all those engaged in helping the less fortunate .
the lesser evil
▪
Celibacy is, at best, the lesser evil; by no means is it regarded as a panacea.
▪
If it comes to the crunch, going in would seem to me the lesser evil.
the lesser of two evils
▪
At least they chose the lesser of two evils, but even so Tank managed to create havoc.
▪
Mansfield saw the difficulty in reconciling the two principles, but thought that certainty was the lesser of two evils.
▪
So people go to the polls convinced their only choice is the lesser of two evils.
▪
They regarded the ditching of a widely respected Chancellor, in somewhat undignified circumstances, as the lesser of two evils.
▪
While not particularly welcome, the black knight is considered the lesser of two evils.
the line/path of least resistance
▪
If you take the line of least resistance or fail to be consistent, you will actually make things worse.
▪
Political will in such situations is a low explosive, blasting along the lines of least resistance .
▪
Pretty soon, the water, which follows the path of least resistance , has its own plan for your driveway.
▪
The priesthood built itself and if we help it along we are only following the line of least resistance .
▪
Usually he just takes the line of least resistance .
▪
When it constructs its tunnel underground the rabbit, naturally enough, takes the line of least resistance .
the little people
the little/small matter of sth
▪
But first there's the small matter of a semi-final clash that has split the household down the middle.
▪
His manifesto, of course, concerns the small matter of his life.
▪
On a good day, the building would be almost entirely rented-apart from the small matter of signing the contract.
▪
Then there was the small matter of my physical fitness.
▪
There's also the little matter of thirty-three shroud lines loops!
▪
There remains, as ever, the little matter of finance.
▪
This operation was tricky because there was the little matter of taking off my trousers and putting on my shorts.
▪
What about the small matter of the rest of the season?
the more ..., the more/the less ...
the more ..., the more/the less ...
there is little/nothing to choose between sth
▪
Both make-ups can be available at the same time and, so far as value goes, there is nothing to choose between them.
▪
But there is little to choose between the two in terms of overall performance.
to a greater or lesser extent
▪
All of us, to a greater or lesser extent, have been doing this all our lives.
▪
All polite exchanges are conventional to a greater or lesser extent.
▪
All societies differentiate and, to a greater or lesser extent, allocate unequal rewards on the basis of age.
▪
Both historians proceed to a greater or lesser extent by way of discussion of great photographers.
▪
Different professional institutions may define to a greater or lesser extent the modes and their mix.
▪
In these cases A is to a greater or lesser extent unclear, ambiguous.
▪
They also, to a greater or lesser extent, existed outside mainstream, predominantly male controlled, hierarchical structures.
▪
With every formal organisation there exists, to a greater or lesser extent, a complex informal organisation.
to say the least
▪
Mrs. Russel was upset, to say the least .
▪
These maps are difficult to understand, to say the least .
▪
As captain and opening bat, he's an important member of the side, to say the least .
▪
Cartoonish, to say the least .
▪
It is a bizarre setting, to say the least , where the boredom and indifference can be measured in metric tons.
▪
The lamps look, to say the least , unreliable.
▪
The outlook for their national teams is, to say the least , uncertain.
▪
The results of these experiments were, to say the least , puzzling to the researchers.
▪
There would be a bit of confusion, to say the least .
▪
Try as she might, her working relationship with Stephanie Marsa was strained to say the least .
to say the least
▪
As captain and opening bat, he's an important member of the side, to say the least.
▪
Cartoonish, to say the least.
▪
It is a bizarre setting, to say the least, where the boredom and indifference can be measured in metric tons.
▪
The lamps look, to say the least, unreliable.
▪
The outlook for their national teams is, to say the least, uncertain.
▪
The results of these experiments were, to say the least, puzzling to the researchers.
▪
There would be a bit of confusion, to say the least.
▪
Try as she might, her working relationship with Stephanie Marsa was strained to say the least.
too little, too late
▪
A 3 percent funding increase is too little, too late to save the tutoring program.
twist/wrap/wind sb around your little finger
well-known/little-known/lesser-known
III. adverb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
different
▪
It appears that for acute health problems older people are little different , in terms of prevalence, from younger age groups.
▪
In fact, the gene-altered products often seem little different from ordinary varieties when lined up on store shelves.
▪
The provincial groups with papers in two or three towns were little different from the other independents.
▪
The outcome this time was little different .
▪
Finances at the end of 1913 were little different from 1912.
▪
For many residents of the oil fields, Pemex executives seem little different from the foreign overlords they replaced.
▪
This was little different from the responses provided by younger age groups.
▪
General Zionists favored a free-market democracy, little different from London or New York.
direct
▪
But there is little direct connection.
▪
Outdoors Wisconsin clearly has little direct effect on anyone but the suckers.
▪
There was, until recently, little direct information on the requirements of the textile industry.
▪
There was little direct discussion of the reengineering effort except as a trigger for the explosion.
▪
The public hospitals are managed by the states, and the federal government has very little direct say in them.
▪
Mechanisation itself has, apart from the habitat changes it has induced, had little direct effect on birds in Sussex.
▪
With the Sun Icing himself he had little direct relationship.
▪
There is little direct connection, because many early ecologists were not interested in evolution.
good
▪
This method of analysis does not always work, and sometimes interpretation of such sites is little better than guesswork.
▪
By that time it did me little good .
▪
In comparison, she herself would look little better than a sack of potatoes on horseback.
▪
At times the road is little better than a forestry track.
▪
Professional footballers fared little better than cricketers and were less likely to be able to pursue their occupation for as long.
▪
Separating sheep from goats within a school was little better than separating them into different schools.
▪
The seed was defective and the resulting crop was little better than useless.
▪
This seems to explain the early prints showing people travelling in what were little better than cattle trucks.
real
▪
As a result, little real automation is taking place.
▪
They have little real batting strength and their pitching is almost nil.
▪
Indeed, even in 1991 there is little real evidence of such planning by governments and industry.
▪
He points to cultures, such as Samoa, where Margaret Mead found that there was little real adolescence.
▪
An upper house was created, but its powers were limited, and the President had little real power.
▪
Existing smaller powers that were supposedly independent had little real power.
▪
The election produced little real change in the relative strength of the other three main parties.
▪
Murder and crowd violence there was, although we have little real information about it.
short
▪
It is little short of tragic that she has been cut off, while still at the peak of her singing power.
▪
The city hopes to attract around 3.5 million visitors annually, but last year's figures were little short of disastrous.
▪
The choice of organised leisure pursuits is little short of staggering.
▪
Yet in recent weeks the atmosphere at the ministry's forest-products division has been little short of electric.
▪
After all the speculation about the possible disagreements between them, their encounter has been little short of anodyne.
▪
But assisting her investigations into a perfectly natural death as if it were murder was little short of lunacy.
▪
It is little short of a national disgrace that allocations are still being made using such a crude approach.
▪
To get in on a scholarship means passing little short of brilliantly.
well
▪
This method of analysis does not always work, and sometimes interpretation of such sites is little better than guesswork.
▪
At times the road is little better than a forestry track.
▪
Professional footballers fared little better than cricketers and were less likely to be able to pursue their occupation for as long.
▪
Separating sheep from goats within a school was little better than separating them into different schools.
▪
The seed was defective and the resulting crop was little better than useless.
▪
This seems to explain the early prints showing people travelling in what were little better than cattle trucks.
▪
A fox liked its lair - and this place was little better .
▪
Showing the insignia of Neutral deities cuts no ice with Thadeus - such gods are little better than the Proscribed Ones.
■ VERB
achieve
▪
Later that day she had been forced to catnap at her desk, having achieved little else of consequence there.
▪
It happens with only a handful of Members in their places and achieves little , if any, coverage by the media.
▪
He achieved little in his work and dissipated much of his time in an uncongenial student fraternity.
▪
Without their support and the ideas from the area the Teams can achieve little .
▪
The president's unilateral reforms will achieve little if he does not talk to blacks.
▪
Thus, in the key area of economic policy, despite an occasional victory, Carter achieved little .
▪
He has achieved little since November besides getting to know the gadgets in the presidential motor cars.
▪
Payment could be enforced only by the courts, and would achieve little when poor husbands could not afford to pay.
change
▪
And it's changed little over the centuries.
▪
Sterling was little changed against the deutsche mark at 2. 2323 marks compared with 2. 2324 at the previous close.
▪
This maldistribution of income had changed little by 1900.
▪
In other respects the book has changed little and there is no attempt to deal with organic synthesis in its own right.
▪
Motorola was little changed in active trading.
▪
Salisbury Plain had changed little since Blake's day.
▪
We lay under arms all day and made but little change in our position.
know
▪
They knew little about computers and had bought the discs from another counterfeiter who's yet to be caught.
▪
One of the great truths of Washington life little known by the folks back home is the power of congressional staff members.
▪
Lloyd George was not a person who knew little about clergymen.
▪
She had lived in Darrowby for several years but the townsfolk knew little about her.
▪
She little knowing that the man she holds in her arms!
▪
Our Czech hosts knew little about it, save that the approach was long and the descent intricate.
▪
He really knew little about Jamila.
matter
▪
It matters little that consumers are still cautious.
▪
On Andean haciendas, it matters little to the man who tills the land whether the product increases.
▪
He didn't often actually handle a painting, but that mattered little to him.
▪
It matters little , the loss is mine.
▪
That the subject was in fact normally accorded Cinderella status mattered little to the many who objected to its being there at all.
▪
To neo-Keynesians it matters little what local authorities spend on revenue account.
▪
What might happen when eventually they arrived at Wrens' Quarters, Ardneavie, mattered little .
▪
In this instance it mattered little .
mean
▪
But since the mare has won five of her last six races, that probably means little to trainer Mary Reveley.
▪
But in truth they mean little .
▪
For political freedom will mean little it if is not underpinned by economic freedom as well.
▪
The average figure means little in this case, however.
▪
But it means little now, for the mountain is in motion, and slide it must.
▪
But, of course, such slight diagnostic indications mean little unless a theory is to hand which can explain their crucial importance.
▪
Probably life without Laura meant little to him anyway.
seem
▪
He made friends easily and after his wife died there seemed little to keep him tied to his home area.
▪
In fact, the gene-altered products often seem little different from ordinary varieties when lined up on store shelves.
▪
With no room for a fiscal stimulus in most countries, there seems little they can do to boost output and jobs.
▪
For many residents of the oil fields, Pemex executives seem little different from the foreign overlords they replaced.
▪
And finally, there are the ones that seem little more than a cue for a really good cackle.
▪
But the idea of true integration - that is, a normal university post - new seems little more than a pipedream.
▪
And victory never looked in doubt as he dominated throughout, making the fences seem little more than matchsticks.
▪
What it brings back seems little , in terms of hope at least.
show
▪
The frescoes allow more scope, but even they show little more than one event at a time.
▪
Official records show little except the names of Sterling Trust's directors.
▪
He still showed little emotional reaction though he was evidently angry with himself for letting his natural arrogance be so easily quashed.
▪
Many attempts to evaluate its effectiveness have shown little or no benefit, possibly due to methodological problems.
▪
The West had shown little liking for this.
▪
For lack of space these have previously been little shown to the public.
▪
Both turbine options were in close formation in the static at Farnborough and a superficial look would show little between them.
understand
▪
The reason, quite simply, is that pruning is little understood - again that word why.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
The pattern of life here has changed little since I was a boy.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Harrison felt little inclined to confide in Berthoud.
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The 4. 3 cents were little noticed when they were added, and will be little noticed if removed.