John: How are things going, Fred? Fred: Things could be better. And you? John: About the same.
•Bob: Hi, Bill! How are you? Bill: I could be better. What's new with you? Bob: Nothing much.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
better — bet|ter1 W1S1 [ˈbetə US ər] adj [: Old English; Origin: betera] 1.) [comparative of good] more useful, interesting, satisfactory, effective, suitable etc ≠ ↑worse ▪ Your stereo is better than mine. ▪ a better job with a better salary ▪ There must … Dictionary of contemporary English
might — might1 [ maıt ] modal verb *** Might is usually followed by an infinitive without to : I might change my mind. Sometimes might is used without a following infinitive: I don t think we ll need any more help, but we might. Might does not change its … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
better — adj Better, superior, preferable mean more worthy or more pleasing than another or others. Better, which often serves as the comparative of good, in this sense implies a quality or character in a person or thing that surpasses or exceeds that in… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Things Fall Apart — infobox Book | name = Things fall apart title orig = translator = image caption = A spiral stack of the 1994 Anchor Books edition author = Chinua Achebe illustrator = cover artist = country = Nigeria language = English series = genre = Novel… … Wikipedia
Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits — Greatest hits album by Christina Aguilera Released … Wikipedia
On the Nature of Things — (Latin: De rerum natura ) is a first century BC poem by the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius with the goal of explaining Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem is divided into six books, and concentrates heavily on Epicurean… … Wikipedia
nothing so bad but it might have been worse — A more positive version is 1817 SCOTT Rob Roy II. xiii. There’s naething sae gude on this side o’ time but it might hae been better. 1876 I. BANKS Manchester Man III. xiii. However, there is nothing so bad but it might be worse. 1885 E. J. HARDY… … Proverbs new dictionary
Pandora — In Greek mythology, Pandora (from Greek: polytonic|Πανδώρα, giver of all, all endowed [ [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2377339 Pandora, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek English… … Wikipedia
New Mobility Agenda — The New Mobility Agenda is an international institution which while virtual and an open collaborative was originally set up by an international working group meeting at the Abbey de Royaumont near Paris with the support of the OECD in Paris in… … Wikipedia
hopeful — hope|ful1 [ˈhəupfəl US ˈhoup ] adj 1.) believing that what you hope for is likely to happen = ↑optimistic hopeful about ▪ Everyone s feeling pretty hopeful about the future. hopeful (that) ▪ I m hopeful that we can find a solution. be hopeful of… … Dictionary of contemporary English
hopeful — 1 adjective 1 believing that what you hope for is likely to happen (+ about): Everyone s feeling pretty hopeful about the future. | hopeful that: We re hopeful that the team will be fit for next Saturday s game. | be hopeful of doing sth BrE: The … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
