In an opening ceremony I hear:
“I always bring people in this fair town novelty and befuddlements, the likes of which the world has never known.”
First I didn’t understand what “the likes” mean here but I then I remember this American Heritage dictionary that Dan(one of the helpful support in this community)once recommended and found the meaning. I think the meaning here is “ equivalent things”.
Now the question has changed into how common is this usage? When you hear this expression, do you understand immediately?