at the best of times

Meaning: (idiomatic)Even under the mostfavourableconditions.1847January –1848July,William Makepeace Thackeray, “Sentimental and Otherwise”, inVanity Fair[…], London:Bradbury and Evans[…], published1848,→OCLC,page109:When that gentleman came from the city, and was welcomed in the drawing-room by his daughters and the elegant Miss Wirt, they saw at once by his face—which was puffy, solemn, and yellowat the best of times—and by the scowl and twitching of his black eye-brows, that the heart within his large white waistcoat was disturbed and uneasy.1859,Charles Dickens, “Knitting”, inA Tale of Two Cities, London:Chapman and Hall,[…],→OCLC, book II (The Golden Thread),page108:Monsieur Defarge sold a very thin wineat the best of times, but it would seem to have been an unusually thin wine that he sold at this time.1859November 26 –1860August 25,[William] Wilkie Collins, “Hartright’s Narrative”, inThe Woman in White.[…], New York, N.Y.:Harper & Brothers, Publishers,[…], published1860,→OCLC, part II, section VI,page191:She could only reply that I was welcome to any thing she could tell me in return for the kindness I had shown to Anne. But as she was not very quick and ready,at the best of times, in talking to strangers, she would beg me to put her in the right way, and to say where I wished her to begin.1886November 17, Rudyard Kipling, “Three and—an Extra”, inPlain Tales from the Hills, Calcutta: Thacker, Spink and Co.; London: W. Thacker & Co., published1888,→OCLC,page 8:In the case of the Cusack-Bremmils, this reaction did not set in till the third year after the wedding. Bremmil was hard to holdat the best of times; but he was a beautiful husband until the baby died, and Mrs. Bremmil wore black, and grew thin, and mourned as if the bottom of the Universe had fallen out.1908October,Kenneth Grahame, “‘Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears’”, inThe Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.:Charles Scribner’s Sons,→OCLC,page261:His shoes were covered with mud, and he was looking very rough and touzled; but then he had never been a very smart man, the Badger,at the best of times.2023October 4, Richard Foster, “New operator enters at number one”, inRAIL, number993, page33:Opening a new railway is no mean featat the best of times, but the Elizabeth Line had its own challenges.

Examples:

EN: It wasn't very exciting at the best of times.
ES: No era muy excitante ni en sus mejores momentos.
EN: First of all she got flu, and that turned to pneumonia. The strain of that affected her heart, which was none too strong at the best of times... and she died.
ES: Primero tuvo gripe y neumonía, lo que le afectó al corazón, que no estaba muy bien en aquel momento y murió.
EN: A difficult thing at the best of times.
ES: Complicado en el mejor de los casos.
EN: They're not very accurate things at the best of times.
ES: Estas cosas no suelen ser muy precisas.
EN: I don't sleep very well at the best of times.
ES: No duermo muy bien. Por el viento, sabe.
EN: Get rid of it. Can't stand cats at the best of times.
ES: Tampoco me gustan los gatos.
EN: But that morning, my writing, which I disliked at the best of times, was more mediocre than ever.
ES: Pero, ese día, mis escritos, que en el mejor de los casos no me gustaban, eran más mediocres que nunca.
EN: You are a lousy doctor at the best of times.
ES: Eres un médico pésimo en el mejor de los casos.
EN: Mother is vulnerable at the best of times.
ES: Madre es más vulnerable ahora que nunca.
EN: It's a bad connection at the best of times.
ES: Es una mala conexión en el mejor de los casos.
EN: Actresses are a handful at the best of times, but when they start to have problems of the heart...
ES: Las actrices son complicadas en el mejor de los tiempos pero cuando empiezan a tener problemas de corazón--
EN: It's dangerous enough at the best of times.
ES: Ya es muy peligroso en el mejor de los casos.
EN: My grip on reality's not too good at the best of times.
ES: Mi agarre a la realidad no es demasiado bueno en el mejor de los casos.
EN: Of that l wouldn't know. l don't drink much at the best of times and never at lunch.
ES: No sabría decirle. Casi no bebo, y nunca a la hora del almuerzo.
EN: As if I don't take care of things even at the best of times.
ES: Como si no me encargo de las cosas aún en los mejores tiempos.

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