"as best as"

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Jun 8, 2005, at 10:00 AM, Alison Murie added to her previous posting:

> The more familiar syntax, I think, is with the main verb preceding
> the "as
> best" bit: e.g., "I'll do it as best I can" or "He ran as best he
> could."

hmmm.  these are slightly better for me, but only slightly.  is the
"can"/"could" part of the idiom for you?

i'd prefer "the best I can" and "the best he could".  but that's me.

arnold