What does "of these" mean? How to use that correctly?

Question

"By the way" is probably the most commonly used of these expressions.

I understand that means

"By the way" is probably the most commonly used expressions.

What does "of these" mean here?

I googled "of these" and search on Cambridge dictionary and didn't find an explanation.

What does that mean? How to use that correctly?

He has a list of expressions on his whiteboard. He is saying “of these” (amongst this particular set of expressions) the most commonly used is “by the way”. You can’t leave out “of these” and still have the same meaning. — Orbital Aussie, Commented Feb 17, 2020 at 2:25
@OrbitalAussie Thanks a lot! Please move your comments to answer, I'll accept it. — brennn, Commented Feb 17, 2020 at 2:32

Orbital Aussie · Accepted Answer · 2020-02-17 03:12:02Z

1

In your video the presenter has a list of expressions on his whiteboard. He is saying:

Of these (amongst this particular set of expressions here on my whiteboard) the most commonly used expression is “by the way”.

You can’t leave out “of these” and still have the same meaning as it restricts the meaning to a particular group indicated by the speaker.

answered Feb 17, 2020 at 3:12

Orbital Aussie

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