Meaning of “as well as”

Question

Essential Manners for Men 2nd Ed: What to Do, When to Do It, and Why

What is the meaning of the following sentence?

She knows and lives by what etiquette is as well as any person I know.

In the above statement is the author saying that

• all the people he knows including she (his wife) know etiquette

• his wife knows etiquette equally well as others/ not only others that I know but my wife also knows etiquette

the first meaning is that the author knows only the people that know etiquette, the second meaning is derogatory for his wife.

EDIT: The above sentence is from Essentail Manners for Men by Peter Post, page 5 as follows:

For thirty years we have lived together, shared children, owned a business together, gone shopping every week together, renovated one house and built another together. She introduced me to two of the passions of my life: Italy and yoga. She knows and lives by what etiquette is as well as any person I know. Certainly she has corrected me more than a few times, and, as much as I hate to say it, she was almost always right- Throughout this book she is referred to as "my wife."

Answer 1

You are right that the second interpretation is correct, but it is not at all derogatory. The reason is that, when used in this way, as X as means as X as the X-est.

Here is another example: both examples mean the same thing, but the second is clearer.

She is as clever as anyone I know.
She is as clever as the cleverest person I know.

Assuming that I know at least one person that is quite clever, that means that she also is quite clever.