"at the best of times" meaning in English

{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "at the best of times",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "at the best of times",
      "name": "en-prep phrase"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2023 October 4, Richard Foster, “New operator enters at number one”, in RAIL, number 993, page 33",
          "text": "Opening a new railway is no mean feat at the best of times, but the Elizabeth Line had its own challenges.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Even under the most favourable conditions."
      ],
      "id": "en-at_the_best_of_times-en-prep_phrase-f40f8bEr",
      "links": [
        [
          "favourable",
          "favourable"
        ],
        [
          "conditions",
          "condition#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Even under the most favourable conditions."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "at best"
        },
        {
          "word": "ceteris paribus"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "even under the most favourable conditions",
          "word": "parhaimmillaankin"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "even under the most favourable conditions",
          "word": "au mieux"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "even under the most favourable conditions",
          "word": "en el mejor de los casos"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/æt‿ðə ˈbɛst‿əv ˈtaɪmz/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-aɪmz"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-at the best of times.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1b/En-au-at_the_best_of_times.ogg/En-au-at_the_best_of_times.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/En-au-at_the_best_of_times.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "at the best of times"
}

{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "at the best of times",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "at the best of times",
      "name": "en-prep phrase"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "at best"
    },
    {
      "word": "ceteris paribus"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English prepositional phrases",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Requests for review of Swedish translations",
        "Rhymes:English/aɪmz",
        "Rhymes:English/aɪmz/5 syllables"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2023 October 4, Richard Foster, “New operator enters at number one”, in RAIL, number 993, page 33",
          "text": "Opening a new railway is no mean feat at the best of times, but the Elizabeth Line had its own challenges.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Even under the most favourable conditions."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "favourable",
          "favourable"
        ],
        [
          "conditions",
          "condition#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Even under the most favourable conditions."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/æt‿ðə ˈbɛst‿əv ˈtaɪmz/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-aɪmz"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-at the best of times.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1b/En-au-at_the_best_of_times.ogg/En-au-at_the_best_of_times.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/En-au-at_the_best_of_times.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "even under the most favourable conditions",
      "word": "parhaimmillaankin"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "even under the most favourable conditions",
      "word": "au mieux"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "even under the most favourable conditions",
      "word": "en el mejor de los casos"
    }
  ],
  "word": "at the best of times"
}