no small feat
6
5.6
- idiom
- Completing a marathon is no small feat, especially for someone who just started running.
Examples
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Believe me, I use my hands all the time when I talk, so this was no small feat.
Blog text (21) -
Uncovering unspoken aspects of practices is no small feat.
Academic text (2016) -
Even though I say so myself, this is no small feat.
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The project was no small feat.
Academic text (2005) -
However, taking the percentage down from 16% to 8% was no small feat, no?
Blog text (19) -
And this again was no small feat on the part of these architects.
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However, creating the ideal policy set that encourages both innovation and quality is no small feat.
Blog text (4) -
In the end, Good'Nuff cleared the course - which was no small feat.
Blog text (29) -
The process of hauling the half-ton Chacmool figure from its resting place to nearby trails was no small feat.
Academic text (2007) -
To preserve the remains, Tschumi raised the whole museum up on massive concrete columns and suspended it over the excavations, no small feat in an earthquake-prone part of the world.
Academic text (2009)
Synonyms
373
2.3
A success you reach after working hard
115
3.8
An impressive act that needs skill, courage, or great strength
68
6.2
Something impressive but difficult, for example a book or building, and sometimes a person who behaves strangely
30
2.0
A very big result that makes many people very pleased
Antonyms
How Impressive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derived from the constituents: 'no' negates 'small', so 'no small feat' = 'not a small feat' → a considerable or impressive achievement. This compositional negation pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows 'no', 'small', and 'feat' can infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
No small feat uses feat in the older sense of a deed or brave action, and small shows it is not little. So imagine someone doing a very difficult, impressive deed, and that's why the phrase means 'a big, difficult achievement'.