no mean feat

English

Etymology

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Pronunciation

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Noun

no mean feat (countable and uncountable, plural no mean feats)

1. (litotes) A laudable triumph of great difficulty; no small feat.
   • 2022 October 3, Dwitght Garner, “Anthony Bourdain’s New Biography: Light on Subtlety, Heavy on Grit”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     The older me, the one who prefers wine to fizz, wishes Leerhsen had more to say about things like: a) the elite and vernacular food worlds pre- and post-Bourdain; b) how Bourdain walked a moral tightrope across the conventions of travel writing and reporting, no mean feat for a wealthy white man in skinny jeans; […] .

   • 2023 October 4, Richard Foster, “New operator enters at number one”, in RAIL, number 993, page 33:

     Opening a new railway is no mean feat at the best of times, but the Elizabeth Line had its own challenges.