Talk:all but

Tea room discussion

Note: the below discussion was moved from the Wiktionary:Tea room.

I find that this term is often misused to mean something along the lines of 'absolutely', even in professional works, and very rarely actually sees use to mean 'almost'. Any concensus here? Dantai Amakiir 20:29, 20 December 2008 (UTC)

practically is probably closer to the actual meaning intended than absolutely. Care to indicate actual cites that are unambiguous? Circeus 22:34, 20 December 2008 (UTC)

I've always understood it as "almost". Like Circeus, I'd be interested to see contrary quotations. —Ruakh_TALK 23:49, 20 December 2008 (UTC)

I'd vote for "almost", but three usable cites for another sense trump our votes. DCDuring TALK 00:18, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

Only

"All but" can also mean "only", as in this example "The only thing that lets this AMD dv6 down is its all-but-casual gaming performance" meaning the machine can only be used for casual gaming.

To me, that reads as "its almost-casual gaming performance" - it implies "only", but that is not the direct meaning. 109.155.169.58 08:16, 22 March 2012 (UTC)

meaning of but

What meaning of but was used for its etymology? --Backinstadiums (talk) 18:04, 3 November 2019 (UTC)

All except

Since but also has the meaning of "except" we see phrases like "All but four of them voted for her" with "all but" meaning something entirely different from "almost". Should this be mentioned? Are there examples where both interpretations are possible at the same time? (Note: I am not a native English speaker.)--109.41.128.29 04:08, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

The warning against adding that sense has been in the page since 2005 when the page was first created. I think it's time to consider a change, as this could confuse English language learners. —Soap— 14:25, 26 February 2023 (UTC)

This is on the Beer Parlour now (for an unrelated reason) and may get more attention. If not, I will come back to this once the Beer Parlour thread moves on. —Soap— 03:47, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

everything short of

Does "everything short of", used in the definition, really mean "almost"? --Backinstadiums (talk) 19:12, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

I think so. But the phrase all but confused me when I was young, and that's one reason I keep coming back to this page. It may have to do with polarity ... if I say "everyone but you came to the game yesterday", the focus is on you not being there, but if I say we all but filled the stands at the game yesterday, the focus is on the many people who did show up, and how it was for all practical purposes full. —Soap— 12:17, 2 May 2023 (UTC)