[Vocabulary] be only something

[Dark_Fury]

Hello, I was wondering if you could help me understand the meaning of the word 'only' in the following sentences:

She's only the biggest pop act to come along in decades.
It's only the most prestigious prep school around.
He's only the king of the whole wood.

It doesn't seem that we can very well substitute the 'only' in these sentences for "nothing more than", unless we would like to sound sarcastic, or am I wrong?

 

[GoesStation]

You found the answer - it's a slightly sarcastic way to add emphasis to a statement.

 

[Rover_KE]

it's a slightly sarcastic way to add emphasis to a statement.

That's right. It often follows an expression of surprise at somebody's ignorance:

'You've never heard of Mount Everest? It's only the highest mountain in the world!'

 

[jutfrank]

It often follows an expression of surprise at somebody's ignorance:

'You've never heard of Mount Everest? It's only the highest mountain in the world!'

And it works very naturally with superlatives, as shown in the examples we've seen.