by a long chalk
UK/ˌbaɪ‿ə ˌlɒŋ ˈt͡ʃɔːk//ˌbaɪ‿ə ˌlɔŋ ˈt͡ʃɔk/
by a long chalk prepositional phrase: to a great extent; by far.
Prepositional phrase
- To a great extent; by far.
- [A]s regards the body of water discharged, the absolute payments made into the sea's exchequer, and the majesty of column riding downwards from the Himalaya, I believe that, since Sir Alexander Burnes's measurements, the Indus ranks foremost by a long chalk.1854, Thomas De Quincey, “System of the Heavens as Revealed by Lord Rosse’s Telescopes”, in Miscellanies: Chiefly Narrative (De Quincey’s Works; III), London: James Hogg & Sons, →OCLC, footnote *...
- Bowring was a man of few words; he said, "Blaze away, my boy." And I tried to. But it was no use; I had got out of the style; my writing was too literary by a long chalk.1891, George Gissing, “The Lonely Man”, in New Grub Street […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 82–83
- Synonyms:
- by chalks, by far § Synonyms
Examples of by a long chalk in a sentence
- The world's a stage, they say; but the show ain't always amusing, by a long chalk, and sometimes I wish I didn't have a reserved seat.1906, Edith Van Dyne [pseudonym: Lyman Frank Baum], “The Other Niece”, in Aunt Jane’s Nieces, Chicago, Ill.: The Reilly & Britton Co....
- Mine was bad enough, God knows, and ought to teach you something; but it might have been worse by a long chalk."1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Death in the Family”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, part I, page 132:
- He [Mohamed Salah] is, by a long chalk, the world's favourite living Egyptian, and [has] been heralded as a role model in his adopted city of Liverpool.2021 October 25, Magdy Samaan, “Mohamed Salah added to school curriculum in Egypt”, in The Times, London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived...
Synonyms of by a long chalk
- by chalks
- by far § Synonyms
Forms of by a long chalk
| alternative form (obsolete) | by long chalks |
|---|
Origin of by a long chalk
A reference to the practice of writing the scores of games on boards using chalk.
Words that rhyme with by a long chalk
Questions about by a long chalk
- What does by a long chalk mean?
- By a long chalk means to a great extent; by far.
- How do you use by a long chalk in a sentence?
- The world's a stage, they say; but the show ain't always amusing, by a long chalk, and sometimes I wish I didn't have a reserved seat.
- What part of speech is by a long chalk?
- By a long chalk is a prepositional phrase.
- How do you pronounce by a long chalk?
- By a long chalk is pronounced /ˌbaɪ‿ə ˌlɒŋ ˈt͡ʃɔːk/ (UK).
Words near by a long chalk in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: by a long chalk (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-by a long chalk.oga.
Cite this entry: “by a long chalk.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/by_a_long_chalk. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.