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1 precious few/little
(very few/little: I've precious little money left.) pochissimo -
2 ♦ few
♦ few /fju:/A a. e pron.1 pochi, poche; scarsi, scarse: I have few friends in this town, ho pochi amici in questa città; Few words were said, sono state dette poche parole; Few know the truth, pochi sanno la verità; Few of them knew, pochi di loro lo sapevano NOTA D'USO: - meno (less / fewer)-2 – a few, alcuni, alcune; qualcuno, qualcuna; qualche (sing.): for a few minutes, per alcuni minuti; per qualche minuto; There were only a few people at the funeral, al funerale c'era solo qualche persona; in a few days, fra qualche giorno; a few of them, alcuni di loroB n.(the few) i pochi, le poche: the few I saw, i pochi che vidi● few and far between, molto infrequenti; pochissimi; rari □ a few more, degli altri; ancora: I like these apples: I'd like a few more, queste mele mi piacciono: ne vorrei delle altre □ as few as, solo; appena □ the chosen few, i pochi eletti □ every few minutes [days], a intervalli di pochi minuti [di pochi giorni]; ogni due o tre (o tre o quattro, ecc.) minuti [giorni] □ (fam.) a good few (o quite a few), un buon numero; parecchi; un bel po': DIALOGO → - Hearing from an old friend- It's been a good few years since we last spoke, hasn't it?, sono passati un bel po' di anni da quando ci siamo sentiti l'ultima volta, vero? □ (fam.) to have had a few, essere brillo; aver alzato il gomito □ to name but a few, per citarne qualcuno □ not a few, non pochi; un bel po' □ (fam.) precious few, pochissimi; ben pochi □ some few, alcuni; taluni NOTA D'USO: - less o fewer?-. -
3 precious
['preʃəs] 1.1) (valuable) [resource, object, time] prezioso2) (held dear) [ person] caro (to a)3) colloq. iron. (beloved) amato2. 3.* * *['preʃəs](of great value: precious jewels.) prezioso- precious stone
- precious few/little* * *precious /ˈprɛʃəs/A a.1 ( anche iron.) prezioso: precious stones, pietre preziose; precious metal, metallo prezioso; precious words, parole preziose; Here's your precious newspaper!, eccoti il tuo prezioso giornale!3 (spreg.) delicato; ultrasensibile; schizzinoso; suscettibile: Why be so precious about such a little thing?, perché risentirsi tanto per una simile sciocchezza?B n.(fam. antiq.) tesoro; amato bene (lett.)C avv.( solo con little e few) molto; assai: precious little help, assai poco aiuto; pochissimo aiuto; precious few friends, pochissimi amici; There's precious little I can do, io posso fare ben poco● precious coral, corallo rossopreciously avv.* * *['preʃəs] 1.1) (valuable) [resource, object, time] prezioso2) (held dear) [ person] caro (to a)3) colloq. iron. (beloved) amato2. 3. -
4 precious pre·cious
['prɛʃəs]1. adj2. advprecious little/few — ben poco/pochi
См. также в других словарях:
precious few — precious little/few/ phrase used for emphasizing how little there is of something I’ve had precious little sleep over the last two days. There are precious few decent restaurants left around here. Thesaurus: words used to describe small amounts… … Useful english dictionary
precious few — ► precious little (or few) informal extremely little (or few). Main Entry: ↑precious … English terms dictionary
precious few — very small number, very little … English contemporary dictionary
few — [ fju ] (comparative fewer; superlative fewest) function word, quantifier *** Few can be used in the following ways: as a determiner (followed by a plural noun): Few people live there now. There were a few animals in the barn. as a pronoun: Many… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
precious little — precious little/few/ phrase used for emphasizing how little there is of something I’ve had precious little sleep over the last two days. There are precious few decent restaurants left around here. Thesaurus: words used to describe small amounts… … Useful english dictionary
few — W1S1 [fju:] determiner, pron, adj comparative fewer superlative fewest [: Old English; Origin: feawa] 1.) [no comparative] a small number of things or people a few ▪ I have to buy a few things at the supermarket. ▪ Pam called to say she s going… … Dictionary of contemporary English
precious — [[t]pre̱ʃəs[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED If you say that something such as a resource is precious, you mean that it is valuable and should not be wasted or used badly. After four months in foreign parts, every hour at home was precious... A family break… … English dictionary
precious — pre|cious1 [ preʃəs ] adjective ** 1. ) worth a lot of money: VALUABLE: a precious jewel historic houses with rare and precious contents a ) loved or valued by someone: a precious memory Her daughter is the most precious thing in the world to her … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
precious — I UK [ˈpreʃəs] / US adjective ** 1) worth a lot of money a precious jewel historic houses with rare and precious contents a) loved or valued by someone a precious memory Her daughter is the most precious thing in the world to her. b) rare or very … English dictionary
few — /fju:/ quanountifier, noun (plural) 1 a few/the few (no comparative) a small number (of): I ve got a few books on gardening. | I ll pop into the supermarket and get a few bits and pieces. | only a few hundred yards past the crossroads | It s one… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
precious little/few — extremely little or few (used for emphasis) police still know precious little about the dead man | you will find precious few atheists on operating tables … Useful english dictionary