The phrase "a classic specimen" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe an example or instance that is representative of a particular category or type, often with a sense of admiration or respect.
Example: "The museum's collection includes a classic specimen of ancient pottery that showcases the craftsmanship of its time."
Alternatives: "a prime example" or "a quintessential instance".
The method is based on a classic specimen geometry; the end-notch flexure specimen.
A portrait photographer who deals with the dynamics of light, Fos is also a classic specimen from "an age of hobbyists—of passionate, though part-time, scientists".
The image is a classic specimen of both artists' ambiguous national vision: black and white; advancing and retreating; the sky's open possibility made painful, and somehow more real, by whatever lies beneath.
The story in The Mail was a classic specimen of pre-fight sensationalism, and the headline continued with an irresistible offer: "Read his vile homophobic slurs and bizarre rants about devil worshippers and Armageddon".
To the Editor: David Brooks describes a breed of elite college student whose "strategic attitude" toward life discourages intellectual risk and suggests that Elena Kagan may be a classic specimen ("What It Takes," column, May 11).
Today, the Miracle Mile actually extends more than three miles, and the result is a classic specimen of heedless, soulless suburban sprawl: mall-to-mall car dealerships, wholesale furniture and mattress outlets, motels, the usual fast-food franchises, quick-lube garages, drive-through drugstores.
Classic specimen trees, cedars and weeping beeches for example, should be left unpruned; we may not be able to plant beneath them but we can enjoy their mature elegance.
Though Mr. Whitlock's shelves are filled with classic specimens, boxes of parts and repair catalogs — giving the impression of a thriving concern — customers haven't exactly been invading the place over the last few decades.
Additionally, the MCZ acquired classic specimens of Jurassic crocodilians and Triassic ichthyosaurs from England and Germany, Triassic phytosaurs from the American west and southwest, and giant plesiosaurs from Australia.
But then several scientists proposed that fossils found in Africa--called Homo ergaster--differed from the classic specimens of H. erectus from Java, Indonesia, which appeared between 200,000 and 750,000 years later (Science, 2 March 2001, p. 1735).
The Brazilian disk, a classic mixed mode fracture test specimen, was adopted for the experimental characterization of the crack initiation.
