to say the least

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cheelv

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Hi all,

I'm uncertain with the meaning of the bold-phrase below:

"It's your brother's letter," I said.
"Yes, his last. I want you to keep it," she said.
"Why?" I said. It was a weird gift, to say the least.

Does it mean "the smallest gift" or?

Thanks for your help :)
 

riquecohen

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Hi all,

I'm uncertain with the meaning of the bold-phrase below:

"It's your brother's letter," I said.
"Yes, his last. I want you to keep it," she said.
"Why?" I said. It was a weird gift, to say the least.

Does it mean "the smallest gift" or? No.

Thanks for your help :)
It means that the previous statement ("It was a weird gift") was put very mildly or understated. More could have been said about it, but wasn't.
 

5jj

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Incidentally, 'to say the least' is not a phrasal verb.
 

cheelv

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Thanks Mr.riquecohen :) That really helps.
 

britintheUS

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It's almost as if someone is angry with you and they don't tell you why, because they don't want to be mean/rude. So someone might say " to say the least"... when they don't want to go into any more detail about the matter.
 

Barb_D

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It's almost as if someone is angry with you and they don't tell you why, because they don't want to be mean/rude. So someone might say " to say the least"... when they don't want to go into any more detail about the matter.

??

That is not a familiar use for me. It confirms that the prior statement is an understatement.
 
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