to say the least


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to say the least

Without any exaggeration; to put it plainly or mildly. We were disappointed, to say the least, but we decided to put it behind us and get on with the project. My roommates were making out in the living room when I came home last night. It was awkward, to say the least.
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to say the least

at the very least; without overemphasizing the subject; to put it mildly. We were not at all pleased with her work—to say the least. When they had an accident, they were upset to say the least.
See also: least, say

to say the least

Not to exaggerate, as in When the ring turned up in the lost and found, she was delighted, to say the least. This idiom was first recorded in 1809.
See also: least, say

to say the least

COMMON People use to say the least to show that their real opinion is even stronger than what they have just said. There was something odd about the situation, to say the least. What they discovered was interesting, to say the least.
See also: least, say

to say the least (or the least of it)

used as an understatement or euphemism to imply that the reality is more extreme, usually worse.
1997 Spectator References in Mr Cole's letter to the ‘bottle’ were, to say the least, distasteful.
See also: least, say

to ˌsay the (very) ˈleast

used to say that you are using the least strong way of saying something: I’m not very happy with his work, to say the least.
See also: least, say
References in periodicals archive ?
It was a grind to say the least,'' said Thacher, who recorded the opening point in the tiebreaker before relinquishing the next four.
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It's bad enough that Sam is from California and his mother Galaxy was a bit different, to say the least.
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For an institution whose authority is based on its ethical substance, the church's policy of choosing simply to ignore the views of professional architectural associations is, to say the least, outrageous.
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This struggling little family, dysfunctional to say the least, has its happy times, especially when Pa is put into jail for six months or so, and June and her Ma and the quiet Rhett rent an old house, June is able to attend school and make some friends.
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If you haven't, you've missed out on a chance to connect with tech professionals and learn about the latest in hardware, software, and the Internet, to say the least of getting the same information the tech pros get.
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When documentary filmmaker Tom Shepard, who is gay, read an article in a local newspaper in 1998 about straight 13-year-old Steven Cozza and his campaign against antigay discrimination within the Boy Scouts of America, he recalls, "I was a little incredulous, to say the least.
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The responsibilities spelled out in the AIA's standardized agreement are formidable, to say the least.
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The difference in age estimates between the two types of carbon samples from the same bone is, to say the least, significant.
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