than ever/than before/than ever before

[joham]

The wind was blowing harder than ever/than before/than ever before.
He looks healthier than ever/than before/than ever before.

Can all three phrases be used in the above sentences and without differences? Thank you in advance.

 

[Drear Pooson]

Not a teacher.

To me, "... than before" means (for example) that the wind was not blowing this hard at some earlier time (like, "this morning" or "the last time we measured it"), but it does not preclude the possibility that it did blow this hard on an even earlier occasion.

The other two choices seem to disallow that possibility.

(Of course either of the other two could be used hyperbolically to mean exactly the situation described above.)



DP