Timeline for Is the phrase 'not bad an attempt' correct grammatically?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
6 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 19, 2018 at 12:47 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | ...and never mind 669 hits for that one. Google Books claims over 3000 hits for not too bad of a (noun). Including that extra too makes all the diffference. | |
| May 19, 2018 at 12:44 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | @WS2: I knew there was some closely-related variant that wasn't ridiculously uncommon, but I just couldn't think of it yesterday. Google Books claims 669 hits for had not too bad a, and a quick glance suggests most of them are for the specific construction being examined here. And I would just add that I have no sense whatsoever of this being something a non-native speaker might come up with. It seems to me something only a native speaker would ever be likely to use (rightly or wrongly by others' lights! :) | |
| May 18, 2018 at 18:52 | comment | added | lbf | agree ... not bad an answer! | |
| May 18, 2018 at 18:42 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | Not too bad an answer, but not comprehensive, and lacking supporting evidence. | |
| May 18, 2018 at 18:10 | comment | added | WS2 | I tend to agree. This form comes into its own if you want to say "...not too bad an attempt", where "...not a too bad attempt" would be awkward and unidiomatic. | |
| May 18, 2018 at 17:56 | history | answered | user298431 | CC BY-SA 4.0 |