Pi is not merely a very large number (such as the number of atoms in the universe or the number of genes in the genome), but a logically endless number.
In this world of superannuated superlatives, no adjective or fancy phrase is left unmolested: blisters can never be just blisters, they must be "angry" ones; George Woolf was not merely a very fine jockey, he was "supernatural"; the bookish Pollard didn't hide in dark corners of the jockeys' room, he "sequestered himself" there.
The Archbishop himself stopped just short of calling the Navy sacrilegious; "not merely inappropriate but very nearly sacrilegious" were his words.
"Not merely inappropriate but very nearly sacrilegious" is what Archbishop John Roach, the president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, calls the Navy's decision to name its newest nuclear attack submarine the Corpus Christi.
It's an atmosphere noticeably different than at any other concert, but then again, this is a gig unlike any other, and not merely because the very idea of Bush returning to live performance was pretty unimaginable 12 months ago.
Dungen's pastoral origins are not merely circumstantial Ejstes makes very loud instruments sound soft and woodsy and the album has an easygoing rapture that has made it popular both in its native country and internationally.
Further, the court said that for Zeran to win on his other claims, he had to show that Shannon's conduct in accepting at face value the contents of the e-mail was "reckless" and not merely negligent -- a very high standard of fault.
With a stupendous array of creature comforts, the latest specification sits not merely above the very fine standard Range Rover, but the luxury-laden Autobiography edition as well.
Which is surprising, because the press had led me to believe that he was the greatest diver there had ever been (he's not, he's merely very, very good, it just turns out that loads of Chinese people are better than him).
It's not merely an afterthought but very intricately intertwined with the drama.
They saw how useful it would be to have a figurehead depicted as not merely beyond reproach but very nearly divine, for the king's blessing could then legitimise what otherwise would look awfully like any old Latin American junta, in Thailand's case backed by business cronies and the Bangkok elite.
