some thumping great lies

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Vik-Nik-Sor

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thumping
very big or great:
He told us some thumping great lies!
Longman dictionary

Does the "some" here mean "considerable" or "unspecified" amount of lies?
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Raymott

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'Some' is an unspecified amount, usually not a lot, or else a different word would normally be used, eg. "He told us many thumping great lies!"
 

Vik-Nik-Sor

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'Some' is an unspecified amount, usually not a lot, or else a different word would normally be used, eg. "He told us many thumping great lies!"
I saw in dictionaries these two meanings of "some" and didn't know which one fitted the example better.
 

Raymott

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You should have found more than two meanings. Anyhow, I guess you're referring to:
3 formala fairly large number of people or things or a fairly large amount of something:
It was some time before they managed to turn the alarm off.
The donation went some way toward paying for the damage.

The original is not an example of this use of 'some'.
 

Vik-Nik-Sor

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You should have found more than two meanings.
Yes, I did. I meant -- two meanings which, as I thought, were theoretically possible to apply to the example.
 

Vik-Nik-Sor

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A similar case:

Sally, who helps Holly with her accounts says to Paul (her friend):
- Some day, Mr Fred, you take this book [accounts], turn it into a novel. Everything is there. Just fill in a little of the details.
Holly adds:
- Certainly would be good for some laughs.
Breakfast at Tiffany's, movie

Is this the same case of using 'some' as in the #1?
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MikeNewYork

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Yes, that use is the same the use in #1.
 
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