tooadv.

Brit.

/tuː/, U.S.

/tu/

Forms: Old English tó, Middle English–1600s to, (Middle English tu, 1500s toe), 1500s– too.

Etymology: Stressed form of to prep., which in the 16th cent. began to be spelt too.

I. In addition, moreover.

a. In addition (cf. to adv. 5); furthermore, moreover, besides, also.The use of too in this sense at the beginning of a clause, formerly common, was rare or obsolete by the nineteenth cent. It was revived in the twentieth cent., at first in the U.S.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > very

tooc888

swith971

wellOE

fullOE

rightc1175

muchc1225

wellac1275

gainlya1375

endlyc1440

hard?1440

very1448

odda1500

great1535

jolly1549

fellc1600

veryvery1649

gooda1655

vastly1664

strange1667

bloody1676

ever so1686

heartily1727

real1771

precious1775

quarely1805

murry1818

très1819

freely1820

powerfula1822

gurt1824

almighty1830

heap1832

all-fired1833

gradely1850

real1856

bonny1857

heavens1858

veddy1859

canny1867

some1867

oh-so1881

storming1883

spanking1886

socking1896

hefty1898

velly1898

fair dinkum1904

plurry1907

Pygmalion1914

dinkum1915

beaucoup1918

dirty1920

molto1923

snorting1924

honking1929

hellishing1931

thumpingly1948

way1965

mega1966

mondo1968

seriously1970

totally1972

mucho1978

stonking1990

c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xli. §5 Þa styriendan netenu..habbað eall þæt ða unstyriendan habbað, and eac mare to.

a1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 183 Tu art se softe and se swote ȝette to swa leoflic.

c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 229 Þe envenomed knyfe [he] out braid, & gaf Edward a wounde. To, I wene, he lauht.

?1400 Arthur 532 Seyþ a Pater noster more to.

1533 T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance ii. xvi. f. lxxxiii Wolde not the iudges..geue them the herynge? yes yes I dowte not, and the iury to.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) iii. i. 111 Prettie and wittie; wilde, and yet too gentle.

1630 G. Hakewill Apologie (ed. 2) iv. i. 296 Not the bodie only but the minde to..is sickish and indispos'd.

a1643 J. Shute Sarah & Hagar (1649) 156 Too, we profess our selves the Redeemed of the Lord.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. iii. 20 Take..this book too.

1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. viii. 206 I too have sometimes that dark melancholy.

1891 Law Times 90 315/1 If you sell the mansion-house in which the heirlooms are to be kept, you must sell the heirlooms too.

1930 Publishers' Weekly 17 May 2514/2 Too, chain store merchandising tactics are the result..of the keenest..retailing brains in this country.

1956 D. E. Gardner & F. A. Smith Geneal. Res. Eng. & Wales I. iv. 46 Many births and deaths were not recorded in the parish registers of England and Wales. Too, some of the other denominations kept poor records.

1969 Daily Tel. 17 Oct. (Colour Suppl.) 59/1 And, too, is there any future for the Dunebuggy in Britain?

1976 National Observer (U.S.) 7 Mar. 13/2 Too, supermarket officials note, the projected 10 to 20 per cent saving..covers only part of the..bill.

1978 R. Ludlum Holcroft Covenant vii. 89 Too, the windows were not that close to one another.

b. Used after a verb to emphasize a reassertion of a denied statement. Originally and chiefly U.S.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adverb] > outstandingly > emphasizing reassertion of denied statement

too1913

1913 B. tarkington in Sat. Evening Post 21 June 38/3 ‘No, I didn't.’.. ‘He did too! Didn't he, Sam?’

1936 M. Mitchell Gone with the Wind xlvii. 843 ‘Surely you can't be thinking of marrying a man who wasn't in the army..?’ ‘He was, too, in the army.’

1937 P. G. Wodehouse Summer Moonshine (1938) v. 59 ‘Do you know the Princess?’ ‘My stepmother.’ ‘She isn't!’ ‘She is, too. I have documents to prove it.’

1939 Reader's Digest Dec. 25 ‘She hasn't got appendicitis.’ The husband became even wilder, insisting that she did too have appendicitis.

1963 L. Deighton Horse under Water xxi. 92 ‘How do you think she guessed?’ ‘No idea,’ I said. ‘You have too. Please tell me,’ said Jean.

1969 tr. Godard's Masculine Feminine 60 Madeleine: You don't care, but for me my first record is very important. Paul: I do too care.

1978 A. Maling Lucky Devil xxxiii. 181 ‘Well, you can't really believe in both,’ she said. ‘You can too!’ Frances said hotly.

II. Senses relating to excess or superabundance.

2. In excess; more than enough; overmuch, superfluously, superabundantly. (Preceding and qualifying an adjective or adverb.)

a. gen. In excess of what ought to be; more than is right or fitting.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [adverb] > excessively or immoderately

too971

unimeteOE

unmethelyOE

overmetec1225

un-i-methc1225

unmeetly?c1225

unmethc1225

overgarta1333

outrageouslya1387

outrageousc1390

unreasonablyc1400

outragelya1425

unmoderately?a1425

inordinatelyc1450

unrulilyc1456

dismeasurably1474

immoderately1482

overharda1500

unreasonable1535

furiously1555

intemperately1576

overliberally1578

unconscionably1583

unconscionable1596

exorbitantlya1635

undulya1779

owdaciously1848

971 Blickl. Hom. 41 ge eow ondrædaþ þæt ge onfon to lytlum leanum.

OE Crist III 1567 Ac hy to sið doð gæstum helpe, ðonne þæs giman nele weoruda waldend, hu þa womsceaþan hyra ealdgestreon on þa openan tid sare greten.

a1200 Moral Ode 28 in Lamb. Hom. 161 Al to muchel ich habbe ispent, to litel ihud in horde.

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 182 For mon-sworne, & men-sclaȝt, & to much drynk.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Num. xvi. A Ye make to moch a doo.

1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear iv. 252 We that too late repent's.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. ii. 353 One that lou'd not wisely, but too well.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. vi. 54 I delivered this observation with too much acrimony.

1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xvi. 264 A fellow's taking a glass too much, and sitting a little too late over his cards.

b. More than enough for the particular case in question; in excess of what is consistent with or required by something expressed by the context.Usually constructed for with noun (cf. for prep. 12c); to with infinitive (cf. to 7b); or for with noun + to with infinitive (cf. for prep. 29).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [adverb] > superfluously

tooa1300

superfluly1395

superfluously1557

supererogatorily1641

supervacaneously1657

supererogantly1896

a1300 A Sarmun xxxv, in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 5 Hit is to late whan þou ert þare To crie ihsu þin ore.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 5024 Of here a-tir for to telle to badde is my witte.

1490 Caxton's Blanchardyn & Eglantine (1962) xlvi. 177 Blanchardyn shal neuer come ayen at thys syde; kyng alymodes is to myghty a lorde in his lande.

a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Fii^v All worldly welth for hym to lytell was.

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. ii. 65 Thou and I are too wise to wooe peaceably.

1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler vii. 160 This dish of meat is too good for any but Anglers.

1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 791 The Castle..was too mean a prize for so great an Army to look after.

1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 200. ⁋2 Men of Letters know too much to make good Husbands.

1807 W. Wordsworth Poems I. 15 A Creature not too bright or good For human nature's daily food.

1908 R. Bagot Anthony Cuthbert xix Too large an apartment for two people not to feel somewhat lost in it.

c. Expressing, sorrowfully or indignantly, regret or disapproval: to a lamentable, reprehensible, painful, or intolerable extent; regrettably, painfully, esp. as too true. just too bad: see bad adj., n.², and adv. Phrases 4. Cf. 5c.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > [adverb] > lamentably

ruthfullyc1225

tooc1275

piteouslyc1300

pitifullyc1450

pietously1474

wretchedly1546

lamentably1585

deplorably1653

sadly1655

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2627 To late heom þuste are heo þer comen.

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 4618 Ac to prout he was & to fals, þat ssende þis lond alas.

c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 454 & þus ech siche were herde of ech, but þis abusioun were to straunge.

1447 Rolls of Parl. V. 137/1 It apperith to openly in som persones.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 501 The olde prouerbes be to true.

?1593 H. Chettle Kind-harts Dreame sig. D2 Either witles, which is too bad, or wilfull, which is worse.

1648 N. Ward To Parl. at Westm. 15 Which is too well pleasing to the adverse partee.

1721 R. Wodrow Hist. Sufferings Church of Scotl. (1838) I. i. iv. § i. 333/2 Some of them, alas too many, were heard swearing very rudely.

1839 W. M. Thackeray Fatal Boots Aug. This was too cool.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. v. 663 It is indeed but too true that the taste for blood is a taste which..men..may..speedily acquire.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xvii. 87 At best a blunderer, and too probably a traitor.

1900 C. M. Yonge Mod. Broods i. 5 ‘I am considered quite passée——’ ‘My dear! With your art, and music, and all!’ ‘Too true!’

1930 ‘E. Queen’ French Powder Myst. xxxi. 261 ‘The presumption is that he slept home all night and therefore couldn't have committed the crime. Yet physically it was possible.’.. ‘Too true, too true,’ murmured Ellery.

1976 N. Freeling Lake Isle x. 67 ‘Rare, that sort of saint.’ ‘Too true.’

d. Rarely used to qualify a verb: too much, to excess. (See also sense 4b.)

ΚΠ

1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. lix Whyle one is ladyd to the others backe is bare.

1833 R. Browning Pauline 937–8 I have too trusted my own lawless wants, Too trusted my vain self.

1873 R. Browning Red Cotton Night-cap Country iii. 196 The causes,..Would too distract, too desperately foil Enquirer.

3. As a mere intensive: excessively, extremely, exceedingly, very. ‘Now chiefly an emotional feminine colloquialism’—N.E.D.; but see also senses 5c, 2d.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > extremely or exceedingly

swithlyc888

micklelyeOE

swith971

hardOE

un-i-fohOE

sevenfoldlOE

unmeet?c1225

innerlyc1330

horribly1340

too1340

sore1474

horriblec1475

vehemently1483

outrageous1487

done?a1513

exquisite1529

strangely1532

exceeding1535

exceedingly1535

angardlyc1540

angerlyc1540

choicec1540

vengeable1542

vengeably?1550

extremelya1554

monstrous1569

thrice1579

amain1587

extremea1591

damnably1598

fellc1600

tyrannically1602

exquisitely1603

damnedly1607

preciously1607

damnablea1616

impensively1620

excellingly1621

main1632

fearful1634

vengeancelya1640

upsy1650

impensely1657

twadding1657

vastly1664

hideous1667

mainly1670

consumed1707

consumedly1707

outrageously1749

damned1757

nation1771

shockingly1777

deuced1779

darn1789

darned1807

felly1807

varsal1814

awful1816

awfy1816

frightfully1816

deucedly1819

dogged1819

awfully1820

gallowsa1823

shocking1831

tremendously1832

everlasting1833

terribly1833

fearfully1835

ripping1838

poison1840

thundering1853

frighteninglyc1854

raring1854

hell's own1863

goldarned1866

goddamned1870

doggone1871

acutely1872

whooping1874

stupidly1878

everlastingly1879

hideously1882

densely1883

storming1883

good and1885

thunderingly1885

crazy1887

tremendous1887

madly1888

goldarn1892

howling1895

murderously1916

rasted1919

goddam1921

bitchingly1923

Christly1923

bitching1929

falling-down1930

lousy1932

appallingly1937

stratospherically1941

Christ almighty1945

effing1945

focking1956

dagnab1961

drop-dead1980

hella1987

totes2006

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 95 The wel greate loue and to moche charite of god þe uader.

1697 tr. Countess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 79 He..had not lost nothing of whatever made me heretofore fancy him too Lovely.

1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. I. 273 ‘We shall see you at dinner, perhaps,’, said the Colonel... ‘I shall be too happy,’ replied Noel.

1884 Princess Christian tr. Princess Alice Let. in tr. K. Sell Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse 203 How too delightful your expeditions must have been.

4. Reduplicated for emphasis: too too (formerly occasionally written as one word, toto, totoo, tootoo).

a. Qualifying an adjective or adverb; chiefly in sense 2c (Very common c1540–1660.)

ΚΠ

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 271 It was toto ferre oddes y^t a Syrian born should in Roome ouer come a Romain.

1582 in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1599) II. i. 162 Threed..some tootoo hard spun, some tootoo soft spun.

1592 A. Day Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) i. sig. C1^v Vsed Bona fide, it was too too bad.

1595 Blanchardine & Eglantine liv. 213 Ah ! to to well I suspected..that my captiuitie would bring her callamity.

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. ii. 129 O that this too too sallied flesh would melt.

1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa IV. ii. vi. 633 Hir fears..were but too-too-well grounded.

1745 Gentleman's Mag. Oct. 550/1 Not apt to toy, and yet not too too nice.

1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. xi. 211 It is too, too apparent.

1885 Leland Brand-new Ballads (ed. 2) 109 Perishing to find Something which was not too-too-utter-ish To serve for dinner.

1887 Notes & Queries 7th Ser. 3 109/2 The too-too painfully ceremonious manners..of the French.

†b. Qualifying a verb, as in sense 2d; also absol.

ΚΠ

a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Ciii He doth abuse, hym selfe to to.

1533 J. Heywood Mery Play Iohan Iohan sig. A.iii By my soule I loue thee too too.

1557 Dialoge of Comfort (new ed.) iii. xx, in Wks. Sir T. More 1247/2 I cannot then see, that the feare..shold any thing sticke with vs, & make vs toto shrinke.

?1562 Thersytes sig. D.i^v It is to, to, [sic] mother, the pastyme and good chere That we shall see and haue.

c. As adj. in predicative or attributive use: excessive, extreme; extremely good, highly exquisite.An affectation, connected with the ‘æsthetic’ craze of c1880–90. In quot. 1891 = characterized by the use of ‘too too’.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] > very excellent or first-rate

gildenc1225

prime1402

rare1483

grand1542

holy1599

pre-excelling1600

paregal1602

classic1604

of (the) first rate1650

solary1651

first rate1674

superb1720

tip-top1722

tip-top-gallant1730

swell1819

topping1822

of the first (also finest, best, etc.) water1826

No. 11829

brag1836

A11837

A No. 11838

number one1839

awful1843

bully1851

first class1852

class1867

champion1880

too1881

tipping1887

alpha plus1898

bonzer1898

grade A1911

gold star1917

world-ranking1921

five-star1936

too much1937

first line1938

vintage1939

supercolossal1947

top1953

alpha1958

fantabulous1959

beauty1963

supercool1965

world-class1967

primo1973

1881 Punch 26 Mar. 138 (caption) ‘Have you seen the Old Masters at Burlington House?’.. ‘Are they not really quite too too!!’

1891 Notes & Queries 7th Ser. 11 30/2 Let the exclusive too-too æsthetes tolerate the remark that music and painting do not exist for them.

1893 N. H. Kennard Diogenes' Sandals i. 12 The piece is nowhere; but my frocks are too too!

5. In special collocations.

†a. too much phr. (besides its ordinary use) was formerly sometimes used instead of the simple too to qualify an adjective or adverb. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > excessively [phrase]

too welleOE

too muchc1449

to faultiness1530

but too‥1639

over and above1732

to a fault1753

only too1817

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 53 Thanne perel is castid forto miche homeli dele with him.

1530 J. Rastell New Bk. Purgatory iii. i. sig. e4 When y^e body is to mych hote or to mych cold, or to mych drye, or to mych moyst.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. ii. 1 Your maiestie is too much sad.

1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 230 His minde is kept too much busie.

b. too much (as predicate): (a) more than can be endured, intolerable: also too much of a good thing; (b) originally U.S., excellent, first-rate; too much for: more than a match for; such as to overcome or subdue: so too many for (see many adj. 3d), too hard for, etc. Chiefly colloquial.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > cause of mental pain or suffering > quality of being unendurable or intolerable > unendurable or intolerable [phrase]

too much1533

too much of a good thing1809

a bit thick1884

the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [phrase] > such as to overcome or overwhelm

too hard for1781

too much for1794

too many for1861

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] > very excellent or first-rate

gildenc1225

prime1402

rare1483

grand1542

holy1599

pre-excelling1600

paregal1602

classic1604

of (the) first rate1650

solary1651

first rate1674

superb1720

tip-top1722

tip-top-gallant1730

swell1819

topping1822

of the first (also finest, best, etc.) water1826

No. 11829

brag1836

A11837

A No. 11838

number one1839

awful1843

bully1851

first class1852

class1867

champion1880

too1881

tipping1887

alpha plus1898

bonzer1898

grade A1911

gold star1917

world-ranking1921

five-star1936

too much1937

first line1938

vintage1939

supercolossal1947

top1953

alpha1958

fantabulous1959

beauty1963

supercool1965

world-class1967

primo1973

1533 J. Heywood Mery Play Iohan Iohan sig. B.iv Shall we al way syt here styll we two. Y^t were to mych.

1692 R. L'Estrange Fables xxxv. 35 They come to Vie Power and Expence with Those that are too High and too many for them.

1708 Deplorable State of New-Eng. ii. 16 Your Governour..has been too many for you.

1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 378 We were too many for them, for we run out our Guns..and..they retir'd.

1781 R. B. Sheridan Trip to Scarborough v. ii Don't be frightened, we shall be too hard for the rogue.

1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 13 Should your horse prove, what is properly termed too many for you, and make off.

1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho I. ix. 251 The sight of this poor old woman would have been too much for Emily.

1796 F. Burney Camilla I. ii. v. 233 O too much! too much! there is no standing it!

1809 S. Smith Wks. (1867) I. 175 This (to use a very colloquial phrase) is surely too much of a good thing.

1832 H. Martineau Life in Wilds v The light had been too much for him.

1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations III. ix. 148 Mr. Jaggers was altogether too many for the Jury, and they gave in.

1863 J. C. Jeaffreson Sir Everard's Daughter 113 You can't rob me—I am too many for you..! You're a clever one—but you're no match for me.

1872 C. Hardwick Trad., Superstitions, & Folk-lore 189 On one occasion, however, the fiends were nearly ‘too many’ for the eternal toiler.

1937 Metronome Mar. 55/1 Man, if you didn't you really missed something. That man's too much! What great bass drum work he shows.

1958 G. Lea Somewhere there's Music xviii. 155 I want to make it to the City... Man, like the City is too much—and that's where I want to be.

1966 Melody Maker 15 Oct. 19 I just can't wait for his Spring return with Earl Hines, Budd Johnson and the rest. This could be too much.

1967 J. Morgan Involved 51 You were too much tonight..the way you leaned on Tuttles, that was really something.

1968 Scottish Daily Mail 3 Jan. 6 They got ‘Absolutely divine’; we get ‘Too much’... One day ‘Too much’ will sound as old fashioned as ‘ripping’.

c. but too.., only too: Here too is apparently = ‘more than is desirable’ (cf. 2c), or ‘more than is or might be expected’, while but (but adv. 2) or only (only adv. 2) = ‘nothing but’, ‘nothing else than’, apparently emphasizes the exclusion of any different quality or state of things such as might be desired or expected.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > excessively [phrase]

too welleOE

too muchc1449

to faultiness1530

but too‥1639

over and above1732

to a fault1753

only too1817

1639 P. Massinger Unnaturall Combat ii. i. sig. D I have Discourse and reason, and but too well know I can nor live, nor end a wretched life.

1655 [see sense 4a].

1817 C. Austen Let. 20 July in J. Austen Lett. (1995) 344 I loved her only too well.

1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. viii. 170 Stay, then, rash, obstinate girl..you know but too well to whom you trust.

d. only too: (as a simple intensive) = ‘extremely’. (Cf. 3.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > extremely or exceedingly > excessively

cruellyc1385

overa1400

fullc1400

parlouslyc1425

mortalc1440

perilousc1440

spitefulc1450

devilish1560

pestilently1567

spitefully1567

cruel1573

parlous1575

deadly1589

intolerable?1593

fellc1600

perditlya1632

excessively1634

devilishly1635

desperate1636

woundya1639

woundlya1644

desperately1653

wicked1663

killing1672

woundily1706

wounded1753

mortally1759

dreadful1762

intolerably1768

perishing1776

tremendously1776

terrifically1777

diabolically1792

woundedly1794

thundering1809

all-firedly1833

preponderously1835

painfully1839

deadlilya1843

severely1854

furiously1856

diabolish1858

fiendish1861

demonish1867

sinfully1869

fiendishly1879

thunderingly1885

only too1889

nightmarishly1891

God almighty1906

Christ almighty1945

1889 ‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob (1891) 245 Mrs. Trafford will only be too glad to come and pay you a visit.

1913 N.E.D. at Too Mod. I shall be only too pleased.

e. none too..is used by meiosis for ‘not quite..enough’, ‘somewhat insufficiently’; also rather less than; only moderately; not very.: see also none adv. 3. Also in other negative contexts, esp. not too— (cf. not adv., n., and int. Compounds 1c).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [adverb]

unsufficiently1398

badlyc1400

over-littlec1440

insufficientlya1530

deficiently1702

incompetently1812

none too‥1885

1842 E. A. Poe in Graham's Mag. Feb. 126/2 The mind of the not-too-acute reader.

a1865 E. C. Gaskell Wives & Daughters (1866) I. xxi. 235 It was also evident to her that Osborne was not too happy at home.

1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt I. iii. 86 They were not too hopeful about Protestants who adhered to a bloated and worldly Prelacy.

1885 Manch. Examiner 21 May 5/3 The vast territories of the Dominion have hitherto been none too coherent.

1892 E. G. White Steps to Christ (1908) 108 We do not pray any too much, but we are too sparing of giving thanks.

1909 J. Galsworthy Fraternity xxxvii. 313 There were not too many people in London who..would have behaved with such seemliness—not too many so civilised as they!

1912 J. Sandilands Western Canad. Dict. & Phrase-bk. Not too bad, a characteristic Canadian reply to an inquiry regarding one's health or circumstances.

a1913 Mod. Money is none too plentiful with us.

1947 Sun (Baltimore) 5 Nov. 2/7 There is little incentive for him to do more than seek a mere existence for himself and family, without too keen a regard for the plight of others.

1956 English Summer 45 The English Association..having survived half a century and two world wars..has not done too badly.

1967 L. Deighton Expensive Place iii. 19 ‘Can I have a shower?’ she asked. ‘The water's not too warm I'm afraid,’ said Byrd.

1984 A. Brookner Hotel du Lac i. 10 My intervention did not seem to be too welcome.

f. quite too..: see quite adv. 5b.

g. too right: see right adj. and int. Phrases 13c.

ΚΠ

1926 ‘J. Doone’ Timely Tips for New Australians Too right!—A slang term expressing agreement or corroboration.

1934 T. Wood Cobbers v. 76 What I says is, give 'em an axe and send 'em into the bush. Then they'd work, or starve. Too right they would.

1951 J. Fleming Man who looked Back xi. 145 ‘We should have thought of that before we started out.’ ‘Too right,’ Joe agreed.

1961 Lancet 5 Aug. 311/2 The chairman agreed it was thumbs down for Dr. Y., too right it was.

1978 P. McCutchan Blackmail North viii. 95 ‘He'll see you now sir.’ ‘Too right he will.’

Compounds

In combination.

a. With an adjective or adverb, forming a (nonce) noun phrase, as a too-late, a too-little, a too-much.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [noun] > excess, redundancy, or superfluity

un-i-fohOE

surfeita1393

superfluitya1398

over-micklea1400

overmucha1400

nimiety1542

superfluous1552

redundance1572

overflowing1574

overflush1581

overflow1589

overmeasure1591

redundancy1601

a too-much1604

pleonasm1616

overfloat1619

overmuchnessa1637

supernumerariness1652

plusa1721

supervacaneousness1730

supersaturate1860

too-muchness1875

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. vii. 96 + 5 Goodnes growing to a plurisie, Dies in his owne too much.

1606 W. Warner Continuance Albions Eng. xvi. ci. 399 And rather than in haughtines did fault in too-submis.

1637 C. Dow Answer to H. Burton 158 There may be a too-much even in the best things.

1784 R. Bage Barham Downs I. 346 [One] who complains of the Too-much of things he does not value, and of the Too-little of things he does.

1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 542 There will be a ‘too late’; not a final ‘too late’,..but..a ‘too late’ to avert that particular judgment.

1905 Daily Chron. 14 Apr. 5/4 We have suffered greatly in our national life from the domination of the ‘too-lates’; political procrastination is the thief of opportunity.

b. With an adjective or adverb, forming an adjectival phrase preceding and qualifying a noun, or an adverbial phrase qualifying an adjective, as too-anxious, too-celebrated, too-familiar, too-fervent, too-near, too-piercing, too-trusting, too-willing, too-wise adjs.; too-early, too-late, too-long, too-much (in quot. 1620 = too great obsolete; see also 5a) adjectives and adverbs. Hence derivatives (nonce-words), as too-bigness, too-lateness, too-muchness, too-soonness.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adverb] > late or too late

lateOE

behindc1330

overlatea1400

lately?1440

arrear1477

behindhandc1550

tarde1557

lateward1572

tardy1586

too-late1620

out of time1760

tardily1821

not before time1837

postponedly1851

about time1856

belatedly1896

the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adjective] > late > late in arriving or overdue

latec1325

too-late1620

tardy1638

overdue1858

the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [noun] > excess, redundancy, or superfluity

un-i-fohOE

surfeita1393

superfluitya1398

over-micklea1400

overmucha1400

nimiety1542

superfluous1552

redundance1572

overflowing1574

overflush1581

overflow1589

overmeasure1591

redundancy1601

a too-much1604

pleonasm1616

overfloat1619

overmuchnessa1637

supernumerariness1652

plusa1721

supervacaneousness1730

supersaturate1860

too-muchness1875

1620 T. Venner Via Recta vi. 100 It..represseth the too-much tenuity..of the bloud.

1624 J. Donne Deuotions ix. 221 Those Sentences, from which a too-late Repenter will sucke desperation.

a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Two Noble Kinsmen (1634) ii. ii. 28 Like a too-timely Spring.

1793 T. Holcroft tr. J. C. Lavater Ess. Physiognomy (abridged ed.) xxvi. 127 The gentleness of his voice [will] temper thy too-piercing tones.

1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. ii. ii. 134 The good man was greatly shocked at the too familiar manner in which Mrs. Merton spoke.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Day-dream in Poems (new ed.) II. 149 Turn your face, Nor look with that too-earnest eye.

1849 E. C. Otté tr. A. von Humboldt Cosmos II. ii. v. 596 My lamented and too-early deceased friend.

1855 C. Kingsley Heroes (1868) ii. i. 82 Only one walked apart..Asclepius, the too-wise child.

1887 Spectator 16 Apr. 532/1 A too-fervent patriotism.

1857 T. De Quincey in ‘H. A. Page’ T. De Quincey: Life & Writings (1877) II. xviii. 142 In midst of too-soonness he shall suffer the killing anxieties of too-lateness.1875 Blackie Let. in Biogr. (1895) II. xviii. 122 An everlasting too-muchness.1904 S. E. White Forest iii. 30 Everything was wrinkled in the folds of too-bigness.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	too
释义	toov. Brit. /tuː/, U.S. /tu/ Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: tew v.¹ Etymology: Variant of tew v.¹ U.S. Variant of tew v.¹ 6, to bustle round. ΚΠ 1876 J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers Introd. in Poet. Wks. (new ed.) 224/2 ‘Ther's sech a thing ez bein' tu’..hence the phrase tooin' round, meaning a supererogatory activity like that of flies. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022). tooadv. Brit. /tuː/, U.S. /tu/ Forms: Old English tó, Middle English–1600s to, (Middle English tu, 1500s toe), 1500s– too. Etymology: Stressed form of to prep., which in the 16th cent. began to be spelt too. I. In addition, moreover. 1. a. In addition (cf. to adv. 5); furthermore, moreover, besides, also.The use of too in this sense at the beginning of a clause, formerly common, was rare or obsolete by the nineteenth cent. It was revived in the twentieth cent., at first in the U.S. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > very tooc888 swith971 wellOE wellOE fullOE rightc1175 muchc1225 wellac1275 gainlya1375 endlyc1440 hard?1440 very1448 odda1500 great1535 jolly1549 fellc1600 veryvery1649 gooda1655 vastly1664 strange1667 bloody1676 ever so1686 heartily1727 real1771 precious1775 quarely1805 murry1818 très1819 freely1820 powerfula1822 gurt1824 almighty1830 heap1832 all-fired1833 gradely1850 real1856 bonny1857 heavens1858 veddy1859 canny1867 some1867 oh-so1881 storming1883 spanking1886 socking1896 hefty1898 velly1898 fair dinkum1904 plurry1907 Pygmalion1914 dinkum1915 beaucoup1918 dirty1920 molto1923 snorting1924 honking1929 hellishing1931 thumpingly1948 way1965 mega1966 mondo1968 seriously1970 totally1972 mucho1978 stonking1990 c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xli. §5 Þa styriendan netenu..habbað eall þæt ða unstyriendan habbað, and eac mare to. a1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 183 Tu art se softe and se swote ȝette to swa leoflic. c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 229 Þe envenomed knyfe [he] out braid, & gaf Edward a wounde. To, I wene, he lauht. ?1400 Arthur 532 Seyþ a Pater noster more to. 1533 T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance ii. xvi. f. lxxxiii Wolde not the iudges..geue them the herynge? yes yes I dowte not, and the iury to. a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) iii. i. 111 Prettie and wittie; wilde, and yet too gentle. View more context for this quotation 1630 G. Hakewill Apologie (ed. 2) iv. i. 296 Not the bodie only but the minde to..is sickish and indispos'd. a1643 J. Shute Sarah & Hagar (1649) 156 Too, we profess our selves the Redeemed of the Lord. 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. iii. 20 Take..this book too. 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. viii. 206 I too have sometimes that dark melancholy. 1891 Law Times 90 315/1 If you sell the mansion-house in which the heirlooms are to be kept, you must sell the heirlooms too. 1930 Publishers' Weekly 17 May 2514/2 Too, chain store merchandising tactics are the result..of the keenest..retailing brains in this country. 1956 D. E. Gardner & F. A. Smith Geneal. Res. Eng. & Wales I. iv. 46 Many births and deaths were not recorded in the parish registers of England and Wales. Too, some of the other denominations kept poor records. 1969 Daily Tel. 17 Oct. (Colour Suppl.) 59/1 And, too, is there any future for the Dunebuggy in Britain? 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 7 Mar. 13/2 Too, supermarket officials note, the projected 10 to 20 per cent saving..covers only part of the..bill. 1978 R. Ludlum Holcroft Covenant vii. 89 Too, the windows were not that close to one another. b. Used after a verb to emphasize a reassertion of a denied statement. Originally and chiefly U.S. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adverb] > outstandingly > emphasizing reassertion of denied statement too1913 1913 B. tarkington in Sat. Evening Post 21 June 38/3 ‘No, I didn't.’.. ‘He did too! Didn't he, Sam?’ 1936 M. Mitchell Gone with the Wind xlvii. 843 ‘Surely you can't be thinking of marrying a man who wasn't in the army..?’ ‘He was, too, in the army.’ 1937 P. G. Wodehouse Summer Moonshine (1938) v. 59 ‘Do you know the Princess?’ ‘My stepmother.’ ‘She isn't!’ ‘She is, too. I have documents to prove it.’ 1939 Reader's Digest Dec. 25 ‘She hasn't got appendicitis.’ The husband became even wilder, insisting that she did too have appendicitis. 1963 L. Deighton Horse under Water xxi. 92 ‘How do you think she guessed?’ ‘No idea,’ I said. ‘You have too. Please tell me,’ said Jean. 1969 tr. Godard's Masculine Feminine 60 Madeleine: You don't care, but for me my first record is very important. Paul: I do too care. 1978 A. Maling Lucky Devil xxxiii. 181 ‘Well, you can't really believe in both,’ she said. ‘You can too!’ Frances said hotly. II. Senses relating to excess or superabundance. 2. In excess; more than enough; overmuch, superfluously, superabundantly. (Preceding and qualifying an adjective or adverb.) a. gen. In excess of what ought to be; more than is right or fitting. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [adverb] > excessively or immoderately too971 unimeteOE unmethelyOE overmetec1225 un-i-methc1225 unmeetly?c1225 unmethc1225 overgarta1333 outrageouslya1387 outrageousc1390 unreasonablyc1400 outragelya1425 unmoderately?a1425 inordinatelyc1450 unrulilyc1456 dismeasurably1474 immoderately1482 overharda1500 unreasonable1535 furiously1555 intemperately1576 overliberally1578 unconscionably1583 unconscionable1596 exorbitantlya1635 undulya1779 owdaciously1848 971 Blickl. Hom. 41 ge eow ondrædaþ þæt ge onfon to lytlum leanum. OE Crist III 1567 Ac hy to sið doð gæstum helpe, ðonne þæs giman nele weoruda waldend, hu þa womsceaþan hyra ealdgestreon on þa openan tid sare greten. a1200 Moral Ode 28 in Lamb. Hom. 161 Al to muchel ich habbe ispent, to litel ihud in horde. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 182 For mon-sworne, & men-sclaȝt, & to much drynk. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Num. xvi. A Ye make to moch a doo. 1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear iv. 252 We that too late repent's. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. ii. 353 One that lou'd not wisely, but too well. View more context for this quotation 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. vi. 54 I delivered this observation with too much acrimony. 1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xvi. 264 A fellow's taking a glass too much, and sitting a little too late over his cards. b. More than enough for the particular case in question; in excess of what is consistent with or required by something expressed by the context.Usually constructed for with noun (cf. for prep. 12c); to with infinitive (cf. to 7b); or for with noun + to with infinitive (cf. for prep. 29). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [adverb] > superfluously tooa1300 superfluly1395 superfluously1557 supererogatorily1641 supervacaneously1657 supererogantly1896 a1300 A Sarmun xxxv, in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 5 Hit is to late whan þou ert þare To crie ihsu þin ore. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 5024 Of here a-tir for to telle to badde is my witte. 1490 Caxton's Blanchardyn & Eglantine (1962) xlvi. 177 Blanchardyn shal neuer come ayen at thys syde; kyng alymodes is to myghty a lorde in his lande. a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Fii^v All worldly welth for hym to lytell was. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. ii. 65 Thou and I are too wise to wooe peaceably. View more context for this quotation 1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler vii. 160 This dish of meat is too good for any but Anglers. View more context for this quotation 1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 791 The Castle..was too mean a prize for so great an Army to look after. 1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 200. ⁋2 Men of Letters know too much to make good Husbands. 1807 W. Wordsworth Poems I. 15 A Creature not too bright or good For human nature's daily food. 1908 R. Bagot Anthony Cuthbert xix Too large an apartment for two people not to feel somewhat lost in it. c. Expressing, sorrowfully or indignantly, regret or disapproval: to a lamentable, reprehensible, painful, or intolerable extent; regrettably, painfully, esp. as too true. just too bad: see bad adj., n.², and adv. Phrases 4. Cf. 5c. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > [adverb] > lamentably ruthfullyc1225 tooc1275 piteouslyc1300 pitifullyc1450 pietously1474 wretchedly1546 lamentably1585 deplorably1653 sadly1655 c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2627 To late heom þuste are heo þer comen. 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 4618 Ac to prout he was & to fals, þat ssende þis lond alas. c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 454 & þus ech siche were herde of ech, but þis abusioun were to straunge. 1447 Rolls of Parl. V. 137/1 It apperith to openly in som persones. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 501 The olde prouerbes be to true. ?1593 H. Chettle Kind-harts Dreame sig. D2 Either witles, which is too bad, or wilfull, which is worse. 1648 N. Ward To Parl. at Westm. 15 Which is too well pleasing to the adverse partee. 1721 R. Wodrow Hist. Sufferings Church of Scotl. (1838) I. i. iv. § i. 333/2 Some of them, alas too many, were heard swearing very rudely. 1839 W. M. Thackeray Fatal Boots Aug. This was too cool. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. v. 663 It is indeed but too true that the taste for blood is a taste which..men..may..speedily acquire. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xvii. 87 At best a blunderer, and too probably a traitor. 1900 C. M. Yonge Mod. Broods i. 5 ‘I am considered quite passée——’ ‘My dear! With your art, and music, and all!’ ‘Too true!’ 1930 ‘E. Queen’ French Powder Myst. xxxi. 261 ‘The presumption is that he slept home all night and therefore couldn't have committed the crime. Yet physically it was possible.’.. ‘Too true, too true,’ murmured Ellery. 1976 N. Freeling Lake Isle x. 67 ‘Rare, that sort of saint.’ ‘Too true.’ d. Rarely used to qualify a verb: too much, to excess. (See also sense 4b.) ΚΠ 1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. lix Whyle one is ladyd to the others backe is bare. 1833 R. Browning Pauline 937–8 I have too trusted my own lawless wants, Too trusted my vain self. 1873 R. Browning Red Cotton Night-cap Country iii. 196 The causes,..Would too distract, too desperately foil Enquirer. 3. As a mere intensive: excessively, extremely, exceedingly, very. ‘Now chiefly an emotional feminine colloquialism’—N.E.D.; but see also senses 5c, 2d. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > extremely or exceedingly swithlyc888 micklelyeOE swith971 hardOE un-i-fohOE sevenfoldlOE unmeet?c1225 innerlyc1330 horribly1340 too1340 sore1474 horriblec1475 vehemently1483 outrageous1487 done?a1513 exquisite1529 strangely1532 exceeding1535 exceedingly1535 angardlyc1540 angerlyc1540 choicec1540 vengeable1542 vengeably?1550 extremelya1554 monstrous1569 thrice1579 amain1587 extremea1591 damnably1598 fellc1600 tyrannically1602 exquisitely1603 damnedly1607 preciously1607 damnablea1616 impensively1620 excellingly1621 main1632 fearful1634 vengeancelya1640 upsy1650 impensely1657 twadding1657 vastly1664 hideous1667 mainly1670 consumed1707 consumedly1707 outrageously1749 damned1757 nation1771 shockingly1777 deuced1779 darn1789 darned1807 felly1807 varsal1814 awful1816 awfy1816 frightfully1816 deucedly1819 dogged1819 awfully1820 gallowsa1823 shocking1831 tremendously1832 everlasting1833 terribly1833 fearfully1835 ripping1838 poison1840 thundering1853 frighteninglyc1854 raring1854 hell's own1863 goldarned1866 goddamned1870 doggone1871 acutely1872 whooping1874 stupidly1878 everlastingly1879 hideously1882 densely1883 storming1883 good and1885 thunderingly1885 crazy1887 tremendous1887 madly1888 goldarn1892 howling1895 murderously1916 rasted1919 goddam1921 bitchingly1923 Christly1923 bitching1929 falling-down1930 lousy1932 appallingly1937 stratospherically1941 Christ almighty1945 effing1945 focking1956 dagnab1961 drop-dead1980 hella1987 totes2006 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 95 The wel greate loue and to moche charite of god þe uader. 1697 tr. Countess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 79 He..had not lost nothing of whatever made me heretofore fancy him too Lovely. 1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. I. 273 ‘We shall see you at dinner, perhaps,’, said the Colonel... ‘I shall be too happy,’ replied Noel. 1884 Princess Christian tr. Princess Alice Let. in tr. K. Sell Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse 203 How too delightful your expeditions must have been. 4. Reduplicated for emphasis: too too (formerly occasionally written as one word, toto, totoo, tootoo). a. Qualifying an adjective or adverb; chiefly in sense 2c (Very common c1540–1660.) ΚΠ 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 271 It was toto ferre oddes y^t a Syrian born should in Roome ouer come a Romain. 1582 in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1599) II. i. 162 Threed..some tootoo hard spun, some tootoo soft spun. 1592 A. Day Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) i. sig. C1^v Vsed Bona fide, it was too too bad. 1595 Blanchardine & Eglantine liv. 213 Ah ! to to well I suspected..that my captiuitie would bring her callamity. 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. ii. 129 O that this too too sallied flesh would melt. View more context for this quotation 1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa IV. ii. vi. 633 Hir fears..were but too-too-well grounded. 1745 Gentleman's Mag. Oct. 550/1 Not apt to toy, and yet not too too nice. 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. xi. 211 It is too, too apparent. 1885 Leland Brand-new Ballads (ed. 2) 109 Perishing to find Something which was not too-too-utter-ish To serve for dinner. 1887 Notes & Queries 7th Ser. 3 109/2 The too-too painfully ceremonious manners..of the French. †b. Qualifying a verb, as in sense 2d; also absol. ΚΠ a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Ciii He doth abuse, hym selfe to to. 1533 J. Heywood Mery Play Iohan Iohan sig. A.iii By my soule I loue thee too too. 1557 Dialoge of Comfort (new ed.) iii. xx, in Wks. Sir T. More 1247/2 I cannot then see, that the feare..shold any thing sticke with vs, & make vs toto shrinke. ?1562 Thersytes sig. D.i^v It is to, to, [sic] mother, the pastyme and good chere That we shall see and haue. c. As adj. in predicative or attributive use: excessive, extreme; extremely good, highly exquisite.An affectation, connected with the ‘æsthetic’ craze of c1880–90. In quot. 1891 = characterized by the use of ‘too too’. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] > very excellent or first-rate gildenc1225 prime1402 rare1483 grand1542 holy1599 pre-excelling1600 paregal1602 classic1604 of (the) first rate1650 solary1651 first rate1674 superb1720 tip-top1722 tip-top-gallant1730 swell1819 topping1822 of the first (also finest, best, etc.) water1826 No. 11829 brag1836 A11837 A No. 11838 number one1839 awful1843 bully1851 first class1852 class1867 champion1880 too1881 tipping1887 alpha plus1898 bonzer1898 grade A1911 gold star1917 world-ranking1921 five-star1936 too much1937 first line1938 vintage1939 supercolossal1947 top1953 alpha1958 fantabulous1959 beauty1963 supercool1965 world-class1967 primo1973 1881 Punch 26 Mar. 138 (caption) ‘Have you seen the Old Masters at Burlington House?’.. ‘Are they not really quite too too!!’ 1891 Notes & Queries 7th Ser. 11 30/2 Let the exclusive too-too æsthetes tolerate the remark that music and painting do not exist for them. 1893 N. H. Kennard Diogenes' Sandals i. 12 The piece is nowhere; but my frocks are too too! 5. In special collocations. †a. too much phr. (besides its ordinary use) was formerly sometimes used instead of the simple too to qualify an adjective or adverb. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > excessively [phrase] too welleOE too muchc1449 to faultiness1530 but too‥1639 over and above1732 to a fault1753 only too1817 c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 53 Thanne perel is castid forto miche homeli dele with him. 1530 J. Rastell New Bk. Purgatory iii. i. sig. e4 When y^e body is to mych hote or to mych cold, or to mych drye, or to mych moyst. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. ii. 1 Your maiestie is too much sad. View more context for this quotation 1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 230 His minde is kept too much busie. b. too much (as predicate): (a) more than can be endured, intolerable: also too much of a good thing; (b) originally U.S., excellent, first-rate; too much for: more than a match for; such as to overcome or subdue: so too many for (see many adj. 3d), too hard for, etc. Chiefly colloquial. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > cause of mental pain or suffering > quality of being unendurable or intolerable > unendurable or intolerable [phrase] too much1533 too much of a good thing1809 a bit thick1884 the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [phrase] > such as to overcome or overwhelm too hard for1781 too much for1794 too many for1861 the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] > very excellent or first-rate gildenc1225 prime1402 rare1483 grand1542 holy1599 pre-excelling1600 paregal1602 classic1604 of (the) first rate1650 solary1651 first rate1674 superb1720 tip-top1722 tip-top-gallant1730 swell1819 topping1822 of the first (also finest, best, etc.) water1826 No. 11829 brag1836 A11837 A No. 11838 number one1839 awful1843 bully1851 first class1852 class1867 champion1880 too1881 tipping1887 alpha plus1898 bonzer1898 grade A1911 gold star1917 world-ranking1921 five-star1936 too much1937 first line1938 vintage1939 supercolossal1947 top1953 alpha1958 fantabulous1959 beauty1963 supercool1965 world-class1967 primo1973 1533 J. Heywood Mery Play Iohan Iohan sig. B.iv Shall we al way syt here styll we two. Y^t were to mych. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables xxxv. 35 They come to Vie Power and Expence with Those that are too High and too many for them. 1708 Deplorable State of New-Eng. ii. 16 Your Governour..has been too many for you. 1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 378 We were too many for them, for we run out our Guns..and..they retir'd. 1781 R. B. Sheridan Trip to Scarborough v. ii Don't be frightened, we shall be too hard for the rogue. 1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 13 Should your horse prove, what is properly termed too many for you, and make off. 1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho I. ix. 251 The sight of this poor old woman would have been too much for Emily. 1796 F. Burney Camilla I. ii. v. 233 O too much! too much! there is no standing it! 1809 S. Smith Wks. (1867) I. 175 This (to use a very colloquial phrase) is surely too much of a good thing. 1832 H. Martineau Life in Wilds v The light had been too much for him. 1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations III. ix. 148 Mr. Jaggers was altogether too many for the Jury, and they gave in. 1863 J. C. Jeaffreson Sir Everard's Daughter 113 You can't rob me—I am too many for you..! You're a clever one—but you're no match for me. 1872 C. Hardwick Trad., Superstitions, & Folk-lore 189 On one occasion, however, the fiends were nearly ‘too many’ for the eternal toiler. 1937 Metronome Mar. 55/1 Man, if you didn't you really missed something. That man's too much! What great bass drum work he shows. 1958 G. Lea Somewhere there's Music xviii. 155 I want to make it to the City... Man, like the City is too much—and that's where I want to be. 1966 Melody Maker 15 Oct. 19 I just can't wait for his Spring return with Earl Hines, Budd Johnson and the rest. This could be too much. 1967 J. Morgan Involved 51 You were too much tonight..the way you leaned on Tuttles, that was really something. 1968 Scottish Daily Mail 3 Jan. 6 They got ‘Absolutely divine’; we get ‘Too much’... One day ‘Too much’ will sound as old fashioned as ‘ripping’. c. but too.., only too: Here too is apparently = ‘more than is desirable’ (cf. 2c), or ‘more than is or might be expected’, while but (but adv. 2) or only (only adv. 2) = ‘nothing but’, ‘nothing else than’, apparently emphasizes the exclusion of any different quality or state of things such as might be desired or expected. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > excessively [phrase] too welleOE too muchc1449 to faultiness1530 but too‥1639 over and above1732 to a fault1753 only too1817 1639 P. Massinger Unnaturall Combat ii. i. sig. D I have Discourse and reason, and but too well know I can nor live, nor end a wretched life. 1655 [see sense 4a]. 1817 C. Austen Let. 20 July in J. Austen Lett. (1995) 344 I loved her only too well. 1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. viii. 170 Stay, then, rash, obstinate girl..you know but too well to whom you trust. d. only too: (as a simple intensive) = ‘extremely’. (Cf. 3.) ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > extremely or exceedingly > excessively cruellyc1385 overa1400 fullc1400 parlouslyc1425 mortalc1440 perilousc1440 spitefulc1450 devilish1560 pestilently1567 spitefully1567 cruel1573 parlous1575 deadly1589 intolerable?1593 fellc1600 perditlya1632 excessively1634 devilishly1635 desperate1636 woundya1639 woundlya1644 desperately1653 wicked1663 killing1672 woundily1706 wounded1753 mortally1759 dreadful1762 intolerably1768 perishing1776 tremendously1776 terrifically1777 diabolically1792 woundedly1794 thundering1809 all-firedly1833 preponderously1835 painfully1839 deadlilya1843 severely1854 furiously1856 diabolish1858 fiendish1861 demonish1867 sinfully1869 fiendishly1879 thunderingly1885 only too1889 nightmarishly1891 God almighty1906 Christ almighty1945 1889 ‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob (1891) 245 Mrs. Trafford will only be too glad to come and pay you a visit. 1913 N.E.D. at Too Mod. I shall be only too pleased. e. none too..is used by meiosis for ‘not quite..enough’, ‘somewhat insufficiently’; also rather less than; only moderately; not very.: see also none adv. 3. Also in other negative contexts, esp. not too— (cf. not adv., n., and int. Compounds 1c). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [adverb] unsufficiently1398 badlyc1400 over-littlec1440 insufficientlya1530 deficiently1702 incompetently1812 none too‥1885 1842 E. A. Poe in Graham's Mag. Feb. 126/2 The mind of the not-too-acute reader. a1865 E. C. Gaskell Wives & Daughters (1866) I. xxi. 235 It was also evident to her that Osborne was not too happy at home. 1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt I. iii. 86 They were not too hopeful about Protestants who adhered to a bloated and worldly Prelacy. 1885 Manch. Examiner 21 May 5/3 The vast territories of the Dominion have hitherto been none too coherent. 1892 E. G. White Steps to Christ (1908) 108 We do not pray any too much, but we are too sparing of giving thanks. 1909 J. Galsworthy Fraternity xxxvii. 313 There were not too many people in London who..would have behaved with such seemliness—not too many so civilised as they! 1912 J. Sandilands Western Canad. Dict. & Phrase-bk. Not too bad, a characteristic Canadian reply to an inquiry regarding one's health or circumstances. a1913 Mod. Money is none too plentiful with us. 1947 Sun (Baltimore) 5 Nov. 2/7 There is little incentive for him to do more than seek a mere existence for himself and family, without too keen a regard for the plight of others. 1956 English Summer 45 The English Association..having survived half a century and two world wars..has not done too badly. 1967 L. Deighton Expensive Place iii. 19 ‘Can I have a shower?’ she asked. ‘The water's not too warm I'm afraid,’ said Byrd. 1984 A. Brookner Hotel du Lac i. 10 My intervention did not seem to be too welcome. f. quite too..: see quite adv. 5b. g. too right: see right adj. and int. Phrases 13c. ΚΠ 1926 ‘J. Doone’ Timely Tips for New Australians Too right!—A slang term expressing agreement or corroboration. 1934 T. Wood Cobbers v. 76 What I says is, give 'em an axe and send 'em into the bush. Then they'd work, or starve. Too right they would. 1951 J. Fleming Man who looked Back xi. 145 ‘We should have thought of that before we started out.’ ‘Too right,’ Joe agreed. 1961 Lancet 5 Aug. 311/2 The chairman agreed it was thumbs down for Dr. Y., too right it was. 1978 P. McCutchan Blackmail North viii. 95 ‘He'll see you now sir.’ ‘Too right he will.’ Compounds In combination. a. With an adjective or adverb, forming a (nonce) noun phrase, as a too-late, a too-little, a too-much. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [noun] > excess, redundancy, or superfluity un-i-fohOE surfeita1393 superfluitya1398 over-micklea1400 overmucha1400 nimiety1542 superfluous1552 redundance1572 overflowing1574 overflush1581 overflow1589 overmeasure1591 redundancy1601 a too-much1604 pleonasm1616 overfloat1619 overmuchnessa1637 supernumerariness1652 plusa1721 supervacaneousness1730 supersaturate1860 too-muchness1875 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. vii. 96 + 5 Goodnes growing to a plurisie, Dies in his owne too much. 1606 W. Warner Continuance Albions Eng. xvi. ci. 399 And rather than in haughtines did fault in too-submis. 1637 C. Dow Answer to H. Burton 158 There may be a too-much even in the best things. 1784 R. Bage Barham Downs I. 346 [One] who complains of the Too-much of things he does not value, and of the Too-little of things he does. 1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 542 There will be a ‘too late’; not a final ‘too late’,..but..a ‘too late’ to avert that particular judgment. 1905 Daily Chron. 14 Apr. 5/4 We have suffered greatly in our national life from the domination of the ‘too-lates’; political procrastination is the thief of opportunity. b. With an adjective or adverb, forming an adjectival phrase preceding and qualifying a noun, or an adverbial phrase qualifying an adjective, as too-anxious, too-celebrated, too-familiar, too-fervent, too-near, too-piercing, too-trusting, too-willing, too-wise adjs.; too-early, too-late, too-long, too-much (in quot. 1620 = too great obsolete; see also 5a) adjectives and adverbs. Hence derivatives (nonce-words), as too-bigness, too-lateness, too-muchness, too-soonness. ΘΚΠ the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adverb] > late or too late lateOE behindc1330 overlatea1400 lately?1440 arrear1477 behindhandc1550 tarde1557 lateward1572 tardy1586 too-late1620 out of time1760 tardily1821 not before time1837 postponedly1851 about time1856 belatedly1896 the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adjective] > late > late in arriving or overdue latec1325 too-late1620 tardy1638 overdue1858 the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [noun] > excess, redundancy, or superfluity un-i-fohOE surfeita1393 superfluitya1398 over-micklea1400 overmucha1400 nimiety1542 superfluous1552 redundance1572 overflowing1574 overflush1581 overflow1589 overmeasure1591 redundancy1601 a too-much1604 pleonasm1616 overfloat1619 overmuchnessa1637 supernumerariness1652 plusa1721 supervacaneousness1730 supersaturate1860 too-muchness1875 1620 T. Venner Via Recta vi. 100 It..represseth the too-much tenuity..of the bloud. 1624 J. Donne Deuotions ix. 221 Those Sentences, from which a too-late Repenter will sucke desperation. a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Two Noble Kinsmen (1634) ii. ii. 28 Like a too-timely Spring. View more context for this quotation 1793 T. Holcroft tr. J. C. Lavater Ess. Physiognomy (abridged ed.) xxvi. 127 The gentleness of his voice [will] temper thy too-piercing tones. 1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. ii. ii. 134 The good man was greatly shocked at the too familiar manner in which Mrs. Merton spoke. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Day-dream in Poems (new ed.) II. 149 Turn your face, Nor look with that too-earnest eye. 1849 E. C. Otté tr. A. von Humboldt Cosmos II. ii. v. 596 My lamented and too-early deceased friend. 1855 C. Kingsley Heroes (1868) ii. i. 82 Only one walked apart..Asclepius, the too-wise child. 1887 Spectator 16 Apr. 532/1 A too-fervent patriotism. 1857 T. De Quincey in ‘H. A. Page’ T. De Quincey: Life & Writings (1877) II. xviii. 142 In midst of too-soonness he shall suffer the killing anxieties of too-lateness.1875 Blackie Let. in Biogr. (1895) II. xviii. 122 An everlasting too-muchness.1904 S. E. White Forest iii. 30 Everything was wrinkled in the folds of too-bigness. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < v.1876adv.c888
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toov.

tooadv.

Compounds