notch below

Not as good as something else in the same category. Joanne is a good author, but her books are a notch below best-sellers in the same genre.

notch below (someone or something)

Fig. a little lower in quality than someone or something. I believe that this wine is a notch below the one we had with the fish.

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Adolf	['ædɔlf]
Timoti	-	Maori
Carter	['ka:tə]
CÁIt	KAHT, KOIT, KAYT	Irish
Cinzia	-	Italian
Tabea	tah-BE-ah	German