not to be sneezed at

1. Also, nothing to sneeze at. Not to be ignored or dismissed, as in It's a great honor, not to be sneezed at, or That salary of his is nothing to sneeze at. This expression presumably alludes to turning up one's nose in disdain. [c. 1800]

Example Sentences

It’s hard to overstate the importance of this quirky scientific venture, pitched in ads and newspapers as “a cheap and comfortable holiday” that was “not to be sneezed at.”

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Unlike the wretched ragweed, they are not to be sneezed at.

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Even so, a 0.8% increase is not to be sneezed at, and is evidence perhaps that the back-to-basics reforms of chief executive Steve Rowe, which include hundreds of job losses at head office and the closure of most of the international stores, is having some effect.

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“Never mind, Mrs. Dowdel. As I have said, a red ribbon for second place is not to be sneezed at or scorned. You did right well.”

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Oz — a man whose own track record of quackery is not to be sneezed at — was appalled, calling Chachoua’s behavior “pretty inappropriate.”

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