poor power

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poor power (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) Limited ability.
   • 1863 November 19, Abraham Lincoln, Dedicatory Remarks (Gettysburg Address)‎, near Soldiers' National Cemetery, →LCCN, Bliss copy, page 2:

     The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

   • 1879, George MacDonald, chapter 52, in Sir Gibbie:

     Gibbie held her fast, and with all the ways in his poor power sought to comfort her.

   • 1890, H. Rider Haggard, chapter 26, in Beatrice:

     Heavy as was her burden, not one feather's weight of it should he carry, if by any means in her poor power she could hold it from his back.

   • 1986 May 19, “Fund Finishes Half a Century of Philanthropy with a Party”, in New York Times, retrieved 7 March 2014:

     "The spirit of the Stern Fund will continue," he said. "It is beyond the poor power of lawyers to dissolve it."