textbook case
- noun
- /ˈtɛkstbʊk keɪs/
- Yeah, that was just a classic textbook case of how superior technique will always overcome your brute strength.
OK, so this looks like a textbook case where Latinos have been packed in inefficient numbers into a district to dilute their voting strength.
- OK, so this looks like a textbook case where Latinos have been packed in inefficient numbers into a district to dilute their voting strength.
- Russia and a lot of the early Austrian maneuvers in World War One are a textbook case in how not to run a war.
Examples
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His biography is a textbook case of Bolshevik zeal.
Academic text (1997) -
South Korea provides an almost textbook case of the market failure of "casino capitalism" as the result of a government failure in regulating the financial system.
Academic text (2002) -
I was a classic textbook case.
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Not at all, she sounds like a textbook case.
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His campaign is a textbook case of the politics of abuse.
Blog text (2) -
They are, I believe, a textbook case of what works and what fails and why.
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It is not mere public relations; it is great public relations: a textbook case of successful problem management.
Academic text (1993) -
Japan's relationship with sub-Saharan Africa provides a textbook case study of its foreign policy toward every developing region.
Academic text (1991) -
If the company's competitors don't want to raise prices, the merger becomes a textbook case study in failure.
Blog text (2) -
His frank, decisive response won back customer loyalty and is now a textbook case in public relations.
Synonyms
An example that clearly shows the point you are making
A clear, typical case that shows the main idea
A typical example of a situation or problem
An event used to explain a point and guide a decision
How Typical
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an instance that perfectly exemplifies a situation' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'textbook' (an ideal or typical example) with 'case' (a particular situation). This compositional pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrase textbook case comes from school books: a textbook shows clear examples and a case is a situation, so together they paint a very clear scene. That's why a textbook case means a situation that is a 'perfect example' of something.