We don't often get candidates of her caliber.

Posted by Gary on October 31, 2004

In Reply to: We don't often get candidates of her caliber. posted by TheFallen on October 31, 2004

: : Could anyone tell me what that might mean?

: : Thanks

: : We don't often get candidates of her caliber.

: Caliber (or calibre as we'd spell it here in the UK) has two meanings. Firstly it's the word for the inside diameter of a tube, most often used with firearms or artillery and by association with ammunition - so a .45 Magnum, a 9mm Walther PPK, a .22 bullet, a 5 inch howitzer and so on. Caliber also means "quality" or "degree of worth" - usually with a tacit implication of good. Thus, your sentence means "We don't often get candidates as good as she is."

There used to be a human cannonball act in the UK. I can't remember his name unfortunately. His one-liner was 'you don't often see men of my calibre'.

• Kaliber Lewis 01/November/04