Under Mr. Vrinat, Taillevent became a gastronomic benchmark by which other great Parisian restaurants are judged.
Test cricket is no longer the only benchmark by which a cricketer should be judged.
For more than two decades, Heitz Martha's Vineyard was the benchmark by which California cabernets were judged.
But this may not be a fair benchmark by which to measure the state of EU-Asian relations.
Nonetheless, his panel refused last month to set a benchmark by which the agency could measure the efficacy of new oral contraceptives.
Martha Stewart Living, with its circulation of 2.3 million and Ms. Stewart's legions of fans, is the benchmark by which other name-brand magazines are measured.
Lottery funding and the relentless excellence of Jürgen Gröbler, below, have clearly helped but Redgrave's dedication has set the benchmark by which everyone else measures themselves.
James Henderson, chief executive of William Hill, said: "The launch of the Senet Group sets a benchmark by which we and the betting industry can be judged".
Repeatedly re-endorsed at international summits since the 1970s, "0.7" has become a key benchmark by which the generosity of donor countries is measured.
A work of prodigious research, "Cobra II" will likely become the benchmark by which other histories of the Iraq invasion are measured.
And, for the next few years, this report sets the benchmark by which our government's behaviour on disability rights will be judged.
