Question

What is the meaning of the phrase, “not the least”?

Answer 1

Hint: The word ‘least’ is the superlative degree of the adverb little. The positive degree is ‘little’. For e.g. I ate little. The comparative degree is ‘less’. For e.g. He ate less than me. The superlative is ‘least’. For e.g. She ate the least. Therefore, we can say that it refers to the minimum amount.

Complete answer:
Phrases are groups of words that often carry special idiomatic meaning. A phrase is generally found inside a clause, but it is possible that a phrase might be the entire clause. When phrases act as entire clauses, it is less likely for them to have that special idiomatic meaning. For e.g. Long time no see. This phrase is generally used when we meet someone after a long time or if we meet a person whom we haven’t seen in a long time. It is not an idiom as the figurative meaning has not deviated from the literal meaning.

The phrase, “not the least” or “not in the least” means absolutely not or not at all. For e.g. I’m not the least concerned about the outcome. And; This book is not in the least interesting. Both these sentences mean; “I’m not at all concerned about the outcome,” and “this book is not at all interesting.”

Note: Some other phrases with the word ‘least’ are;
i) Last but not the least – It is used when we talk about the last item on a list. We say this to indicate that that particular thing is only last in number and not the least in value or importance.
ii) To say the least – We use this phrase when we are trying to tell somebody that the reality is much worse than what is being said.