by a long shot

English

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Prepositional phrase

by a long shot

(idiomatic, usually with a negative) By a wide margin; indicates a very big difference or disparity.
He couldn't keep up with me, not by a long shot.

He speaks better than he writes, by a long shot.
- 1883, Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi:
  'Yes, I do recognize it now. It is the most wonderful thing I ever heard of; by a long shot the most wonderful--and unexpected.'
- 1913, Jack London, The Valley of the Moon:
  Well, he won't find Billy Roberts a sissy by a long shot.
- 1920, Sinclair Lewis, Main Street:
  See here: You KNOW you feel superior to folks. You're not as bad as I say, but you're not as good as you say--not by a long shot! What's the reason you're so superior?

Translations

by a wide margin

French: largement (fr), de loin (fr)
German: bei weitem, bei Weitem, (in the context of a negative) lange (de), (in the context of a negative, temporally) noch (de) lange (de)

Romanian: de departe, (negative) nici pe departe

See also

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