by a long shot
9
4.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
de lejos
- We're not finished yet, not by a long shot.
Oh, I'm not a Democrat, ma'am, Not by a long shot.
- Oh, I'm not a Democrat, ma'am, Not by a long shot.
- Well, this one is easy folks, because no, not by a long shot.
- And it was the best part of our week by a long shot.
- These blow these out of the water by a long shot.
- Now, not all hypochondriacs are narcissistic, not by a long shot.
- I would add, our duty to inform the public does not stop there, not by a long shot.
- Finishing the thing was was the hardest thing I've ever done by a long shot.
- The United States incarcerates more citizens than any other first world country in the world by a long shot.
- Stop using drugs to heal the brain, and not by a long shot.
Examples
-
Wind and solar power will not replace fossil fuels anytime soon—not by a long shot.
Academic text (2012) -
However, in this case, the bad outweighs the good by a long shot.
Blog text (13) -
But we had not arrived at the end of history, not by a long shot.
Academic text (2001) -
I said, "It's not over yet, not by a long shot."
Fiction book (1994) -
This isn't over by a long shot.
-
This isn't done by a long shot!
-
So this is not a new conceit, by a long shot.
Blog text (13) -
But it isn't like physics is over now, not by a long shot.
Blog text (33) -
In less than two centuries, we became the world's richest nation by a long shot.
Blog text (1) -
We're not finished yet, not by a long shot.
Synonyms
174
1.0
Clearly and by a lot
156
2.5
Shows that something is much better or more important than others
38
3.5
To a great degree and in an impressive way
34
3.2
Very easily and much better than others
14
3.7
By a lot more than others
1
3.0
By a much larger amount than others
Far better than the others
Antonyms
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'long' clearly signals a large extent, but 'shot' in this phrase is metaphorical (not a literal projectile) and does not transparently denote margin to a B1 learner. Because the overall sense 'by a large amount; by far' can be partly inferred from 'long' but relies on an idiomatic use of 'shot', the expression is only partially predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
By a long shot comes from images of shooting or racing: if a winner is far ahead of the rest, it's like they are a long shot ahead. That's why the phrase means 'by a large amount' or 'far ahead'.