by any stretch
A shortened version of "by any stretch of the imagination," meaning as much or as far as one is able to imagine or believe. Usually used in the negative. It's looking like we're not going to win by any stretch. I can't see by any stretch how we're going to pull this off. Tommy does all right in school, but not by any stretch would I call him a genius.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
by any stretch
Beyond ordinary limits, especially of the imagination. For example, She could not, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered a great actress. The phrase sometimes is put in the negative, by no stretch, as in By no stretch can that work be called an opera. [Late 1700s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.