in a way

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to give me your considered opinion concerning the interpretation of the expressions in bold in the following sentences?

“I advised you to go back, Marcie.”
”In a sort of way: not in the right tone.” (Th. Hardy, “The Pursuit of the Well Beloved”)

“What exactly were you?”
“A micropalenontologist…”
“I thought you had been a geologist.”
“It’s part of geology.”
“Little more academic, eh?”
“In a way.” (J. Aldridge, “The Diplomat”)

He was a big, strong man, and many women must have liked him. She liked him, too, in a way. (S. Heym, “The Crusaders”)

He is clever in a way.

The work was well done in a way.

"Did the play impress you?"
"In a way."

in a way = in a kind of way = in a sort of way = a little way = to some extent

V.