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New2grammar Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
at best
0 Police say Ronaldo committed no crime, but he was accused by one prostitute of using drugs and not wanting to pay. 02 br
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00 Authorities say there was no evidence drugs were involved. Prostitution is legal in Brazil. 02 br
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00 "He admitted to everything, he wanted to have fun," police inspector Carlos Augusto Nogueira said. "But he committed no crime at all, it was immoral 01 b 01 i 00 at best 02 i 02 b 00 ." 02 br
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00 Why did the author choose to use "at best" instead of "at worst"? "at worst" makes some sense because 01 b 00 the worst 02 b 00 he could be charged, if there were such a charge, was immoral conduct. 02 br
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00 Thanks in advance! 0-
02 br
00 Authorities say there was no evidence drugs were involved. Prostitution is legal in Brazil. 02 br
02 br
00 "He admitted to everything, he wanted to have fun," police inspector Carlos Augusto Nogueira said. "But he committed no crime at all, it was immoral 01 b 01 i 00 at best 02 i 02 b 00 ." 02 br
02 br
00 Why did the author choose to use "at best" instead of "at worst"? "at worst" makes some sense because 01 b 00 the worst 02 b 00 he could be charged, if there were such a charge, was immoral conduct. 02 br
02 br
00 Thanks in advance! 0-
Top answer
0 "at best" = at the least; "at worst" would indicate the most severe. 0-
- 0 "at best" = at the least; "at worst" would indicate the most severe.
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5 Answers
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0 "at best" = at the least; "at worst" would indicate the most severe. 0-
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0 It 01 u 00 is 02 u 00 somewhat strange. From the point of view of the police there was nothing to be done because there was no crime; the 01 u 00 most 02 u 00 (or the 01 u 00 best 02 u 00 , if you will) they could do was nothing. So what happened (insofar as it might result in police action) was immoral [at most / at best]. It did not cross
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0 I understand your definitions and they convince me to use "at worst" 02 br
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00 Using "at worst" in the context would mean that's the most severe punishment he could get. Because the most severe punishment is just a charge of immoral conduct, things cannot get worse than that. You are applying an upper limit to his punishment. Using 'at best', you're setting the lower limit
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00 Using "at worst" in the context would mean that's the most severe punishment he could get. Because the most severe punishment is just a charge of immoral conduct, things cannot get worse than that. You are applying an upper limit to his punishment. Using 'at best', you're setting the lower limit
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0 You beat my edit and I lost it because of that. 02 br
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00 CJ, it seems like your interpretation of "at best" is based on the police 00 perspective in terms of the best effort to punish a criminal which is equivalent to the 01 b 00 worst 02 b 00 possible punishment. So, to me, the decision whether to use "at best" or "at worst" depends on which perspectiv
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00 CJ, it seems like your interpretation of "at best" is based on the police 00 perspective in terms of the best effort to punish a criminal which is equivalent to the 01 b 00 worst 02 b 00 possible punishment. So, to me, the decision whether to use "at best" or "at worst" depends on which perspectiv
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