1.   A fast ride on a racing bicycle is the nearest thing in this world to man-powered flight.

2.   A little bit of sleep was the nearest thing to consolation left for people like us.

3.   Here was perhaps the nearest thing to alchemy that had ever been seen in the field of politics.

4.   I think she and Phil were the nearest thing to soccer hooligans that canoeing can produce.

5.   It seemed to her to be the nearest thing to rough justice that would ever present itself.

6.   So let us accept that I am the nearest thing to a father that Nana has available.

7.   Still, as Jane belonged nowhere, Sussex became the nearest thing to home.

8.   The Algonquin is the nearest thing I have to a home away from home.