none too

1. Also, not too. Not very, as in The application arrived none too soon, or I'm afraid this secretary is not too smart, or He was here not too long ago. The first usage was first recorded in 1885; the variant dates from about 1920. Also see not all that.

Example Sentences

“It’s art, you big Globe,” she said to the lady, none too respectfully.

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He was none too pleased to be sent out at that hour himself.

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She owed him a visit in any case, if only to tell him how well his training techniques had worked on all sorts of unexpected creatures: a runaway ostrich, for example, or a sweet-natured if none too intelligent squirrel, or even three bright and curious children who had had a rather...unusual upbringing....

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“Don’t be dramatic, dear. Think of it as a nature hike. Bertha is fast but none too bright; it shouldn’t take us long to catch her. With any luck we’ll be back by supper. Wouldn’t want to trouble that trigger-happy son of yours to come find us, eh?”

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Groening was none too happy, then, when Clausen was fired by Fox in 2017.

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