Is the author of the sentence not completely happy? Can the author consider those’many’ as irrefutable and their references as the actual meaning of the word ‘not a few’?

Where did you actually interpret something? If not, have other words you would use (almost) the opposite. At least no few, they agree with the ‘not a few’ and are trying to use hyperbole. Is the husband beating you right? “It

really depends on the context of use which is really hard to determine with what is provided.

It means that many people consider X the opposite of respected.

Not a few means “many”.

Why is it oxymoron?

And this sentence is very convoluted; that is probably done ironically and on purpose. In a figure of speech that is supposed to be mildly entertaining, it

is a figure of speech that is supposed to be mildly entertaining.

Yes, “not a few” in this case means a lot. It is an example of litotes, a rhetorical figure involving understatement through negation of the reverse (think about when someone says something is not bad they actually mean it is good).

I’ll use you’ve words in different places and that said, it’s a bit

stuffy, of course.