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Glite Dictionary
at the best of times

at the best of times

2 6.2
Even when things are at their best, something is still difficult or unpleasant
  • idiom
translation icon : en el mejor de los casos
  • A perfect custard is difficult to master at the best of times.
  • even at the best of times
  • difficult at the best of times

I mean, yeah, I'm no pro at the best of times, but the ball causes a lot of issues.

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Examples

  • While still important, even at the best of times, the reach of theater is limited.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Poor love, she didn't have much fun at the best of times.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • A lot of people have enough trouble riding in a lift at the best of times.

    Blog text (34)

  • Treating heart failure can be a careful balancing act at the best of times.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Even at the best of times, shopping has been more a necessary chore than a form of recreation.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • At the best of times, there's only one toilet on the International Space Station.

    Blog text (8)

  • Divisions of clan, tribe, ethnicity, and religion would make a united front difficult at the best of times.

    Blog text (15)

  • Doing collective interdisciplinary research, especially projects stressing the feedbacks between social and environmental systems, is difficult at the best of times.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The mile-long drive from Howard's gate to the sea monsters' pool isn't easy at the best of times, and with ice and snow on the hairpin turns, it was rather worse than usual.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • London can be, at the best of times, a tough place to travel through.

Synonyms

at best
vsat the best of times
123 3.5

Only in the best case is the result not very good

emphasizes difficulty exists despite the most favorable circumstances

How Favorable

ideally
92 3.5
at the best of times
2 6.2
hard times
104 3.1

Surface Forms

at the best of times positive

Morphology

at + the + best + of + times

The phrase is compositionally built from 'at' + 'the best' + 'of times' and directly conveys 'during the most favorable times'; a B1 learner who knows these words can infer that it means 'even in the best circumstances.' The construction follows a common preposition + noun-phrase pattern and has clear cross-linguistic equivalents, so its meaning is predictable rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

At the best of times comes from the image of the very best moments, when everything is going well. So saying something is at the best of times means it is 'hard' even when things are at their best.