> as lemmas

1486 J. Mirk's Liber Festiuall (Rood & Hunte) sig. d.ix/2 He seyth that it is as fer from erthe to heuen as a holy man myght leue a thousand yere and euery day go a thousand myle. But he that mette this wey knowithe beste [1483 knoweth hit beste], and this wey shall be mette of a ryghtfull & a goode man.]

1672 J. Lacy Dumb Lady iv. i. 54 You Learned men know best, I leave all to you.

1747 Fortune's Tricks in Forty-six 43 I say it is so—and surely I ought to know best, who am full ten Thousand Pounds a wiser Man than yourself.

1796 M. Edgeworth Parent's Assistant (ed. 2) 109 For my part, ma'am, I know you knows best, but I should be afraid to let any of those Villaintropic folks get into my house.

1823 Brothers viii. 39 Aye, you told me so, sure enough, but I thought I knew best, and so I would not listen to you.

1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles I. vii. 90 ‘Very well; I suppose you know best,’ replied Tess with calm abandonment.

1936 M. Lawrence School of Femininity ix. 215 The depression in the United States has brought to the surface a small battalion of matriarchal writers, looking wise and saying, ‘Mother knows best’.

1992 Daily Express 9 Sept. 9/6 These editors are telling us and our children that we're not to be trusted, that they know best.