no more of a quality than

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

I’d like you to help us with the underlined part in (1).

(1) If you want to say emphatically that something has no more of a quality than something else or than it had before, you can use ‘no’ in front of comparative adjectives.
Some species of dinosaur were no bigger than a chicken.
(Collins Cobuild English Grammar p.99)

Is this virtually equivalent in meaning to “as much of a quality as or less of a quality than”?

Thank you in advance
Seiichi MYOGA

2

Yes.
She was no more than four. She may have been 2, 3, 3 1/2, or 3 and 11 months, and maybe even 4, but she was not MORE than 4.

We’ll be there no later than 8. We may be there at 5, 6, 7, 7:55, or even 8, but not 8:10.

3

I think this is tricky. When it comes to age, the number is ambiguously applied. e.g. She is four years old could cover a range from 4 years to 4 and 11 months of time after her birth at least on the daily conversation level. So, de facto She was no more than four could well mean She had not reached 5.

I think this is right when it refers to time, especially in high pressure society among developed countries.

4

Dear Barb_D and Haihao,

I appreciate your help and comments.

So “no more” in (1) means “not more (meaning the same or less).”

I wonder if it is also possible to interpret “no more” as “the same,” especially when attention centers on the fact that “a chicken” in its example sentence is actually very small.

Some native speakers understand (2a) means (2b)?

(2) a. Some species of dinosaur were no bigger than a chicken.
b. Some species of dinosaur were the same size as a chicken.

Seiichi MYOGA