"[comparative] than some, not as [adjective] as many"

I went to see "The Producers" last night.  Man, that is funny stuff.  I went with a group of friends in May to see the touring Broadway performance.  It was a riot and everything I could have wanted.  While the stage is a more appropriate place for this type of story, it is a delight that it should become more accessible through film.  While I enjoy the occasional knee-slapper at home, I don't often get my funny on at the theater.  It was quite an experience to be surrounded by so many strangers all exhilarated by the on-screen antics.  There were few moments during those two hours that someone wasn't doubled over with laughter or incessantly chuckling.  If you haven't seen this show, then I urge you to get to a theater soon.  However, if any of you have trouble breathing, have weak lungs or diaphragm, or are not over 5 feet tall, then I warn you.  It will be a bumpy ride.

 

You may wonder at the title of this post.  Indeed, I continue to contemplate its meaning.  Here's the story.  During a phone call with Suzy (referred to elsewhere as Dr. Suze) on Saturday, she was highlighting the various possibilities for New Year's Eve celebrations to which she was invited.  Her complaint was that each one seemed to center around alcohol or perhaps other recreational substances (all within the realm of legality, I'm sure), and she was looking for something beyond that.  She wondered aloud that this might make her seem older than her 29 years, which is where I was prompted with the question, "Am I old?"  Despite the number of years, this is always a delicate question, as any answer (high or low) may yield an unanticipated reaction.  My response: "You are older than some, but not as old as many."  This, ladies and gentleman, are how sound bites are born.  Suzy declared this answer to be superlative humor; a statement of such refined political correctness as to confound the ages (paraphrasing).  When our friend Dylan heard this narrative the following day, he immediately seized upon wide-ranging applications.  This led me to present the generic form seen here.

 

Feel free to make this phrase your own, but proceed with caution.  Oh, and go see "The Producers."