A one
noting a vessel regarded by a shipping-classification society as being equipped to the highest standard and with equipment maintained in first-class condition.
Also A number one. Informal. first-class; excellent; superior: The meals there are A one.
Origin of A one
1- Also A-one, A 1, A-1 .
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use A one in a sentence
The Italian custom of calling ladies, as peasants call their wives, "la Such-a-one" was then the fashion at the court of France.
Catherine de' Medici | Honore de BalzacYou might as well open a shop and write on it: Kicks sold here; or, Such-a-one sells blows, wholesale and retail.
"Such-a-one is a police emissary," or "So-and-so is not to be trusted" were words constantly on his lips.
A Girl Among the Anarchists | Isabel MeredithHe's ce'tainly got an A-one rep. as a cattle detective, and likewise as a man hunter.
Mavericks | William MacLeod RaineWhy, who will give money to be told that Mr. Such-a-one is a wiser and better man than himself?
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama | E. Cobham Brewer
Other Idioms and Phrases with A one
Also, A-1; A-number-one. First-class, of the best quality, as in This is an A-one steak. The term comes from Lloyd's, the British insurance company, which in its 1775 shipping register designated the condition of a ship's hull by a letter grade (A, B, etc.) and of its cables, anchor, and other equipment by a number grade (1, 2, etc.). By the early 1800s A-1, the best possible grade, was being transferred to anything of superior quality.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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