Question regarding the use of “all but”?
For example, why should I say “The battle was all but lost” instead of “The battle was lost”? If I included “all but”, that implies the battle was not lost, even though it was
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Another situation where this phenomenon occurs is in the slang saying “there ain’t nothing”, implying there isn’t anything, but literally interpreted would mean there is something.
I’m not sure if “double negativity” is what this is called, I’m translating that from Spanish, where this phenomenon is actually part of the language.
“I had all but given up” means “I tried again anyway, and it worked that time” or “I was tired of waiting on you and was about to leave when you arrived.”
“all but” means it was close. That’s all.
In other words, almost.
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