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Usenet Posted 19 years ago
Usage
"all but..."
Hi all,
What exactly (well, if there is an 'exact' is appropriate in this context) does the proverb "all but ..." mean? I recently noticed that it is often used in a way which seems unintuitive (not to say incorrect) to me. For instance I'm reading the following paragraph (Judea Pearl, "Causality"):
" According to the founding fathers of SEM, the conditions that make the equation y=bx+e structural are precisely those that make the causal rconnection between X and Y have no other value but b and ensure that nothing about the statistical relationship between x and e can ever change this interpretation of b. Amazingly, this basic understanding of SEM has all but disappeared from the literature, leaving modern econometricians and social scientists in a quandary over b."
Here in the last sentence "all but.." is used in apparently to imply that in fact the subject of the sentence ('this basic understanding') did disappear from the literature, whereas I always assumed that the meaning of "all but..." would be that "whatever happend to it, it certainly did not disappear from the literature!" that is, I would interpret it as "everything except...". Perhaps this is due to the Dutch construct "alles behalve..." which would literally translate in English "all except..." and according to my dictionary also could be literally translated "all but...".
Anyone with an answer?
Cheers,
Raoul
What exactly (well, if there is an 'exact' is appropriate in this context) does the proverb "all but ..." mean? I recently noticed that it is often used in a way which seems unintuitive (not to say incorrect) to me. For instance I'm reading the following paragraph (Judea Pearl, "Causality"):
" According to the founding fathers of SEM, the conditions that make the equation y=bx+e structural are precisely those that make the causal rconnection between X and Y have no other value but b and ensure that nothing about the statistical relationship between x and e can ever change this interpretation of b. Amazingly, this basic understanding of SEM has all but disappeared from the literature, leaving modern econometricians and social scientists in a quandary over b."
Here in the last sentence "all but.." is used in apparently to imply that in fact the subject of the sentence ('this basic understanding') did disappear from the literature, whereas I always assumed that the meaning of "all but..." would be that "whatever happend to it, it certainly did not disappear from the literature!" that is, I would interpret it as "everything except...". Perhaps this is due to the Dutch construct "alles behalve..." which would literally translate in English "all except..." and according to my dictionary also could be literally translated "all but...".
Anyone with an answer?
Cheers,
Raoul
Top answer
[nq:1]Hi all, What exactly (well, if there is an 'exact' is appropriate in this context) does the proverb "all but ... [/nq] The word "all" in the phrase "all but" means "completely", and "but" means "except" and is short for "but for a few", "except for a few", "but for a small quantity" or "except for a small quantity". For example: "The water tank is all but empty" means: "the tank is almost completely empty" or "the tank is very nearly empty" that is: "the tank is empty except for a tiny amount of water".
- [nq:1]Hi all, What exactly (well, if there is an 'exact' is appropriate in this context) does the proverb "all but ...
- [/nq] The word "all" in the phrase "all but" means "completely", and "but" means "except" and is short for "but for a few", "except for a few", "but for a small quantity" or "except for a small quantity".
- For example: "The water tank is all but empty" means: "the tank is almost completely empty" or "the tank is very nearly empty" that is: "the tank is empty except for a tiny amount of water".
- And: "Red squirrels have all but disappeared from the countryside and gardens of England" means: "Red squirrels have almost completely disappeared from the countryside and gardens of England" or "Red squirrels have very nearly disappeared from the countryside and gardens of England" that is: "There are no red squirrels left in the the countryside and gardens of England except for a very small number of them".
- usage)
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3 Answers
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[nq:1]Hi all, What exactly (well, if there is an 'exact' is appropriate in this context) does the proverb "all but ... which would literally translate in English "all except..." and according to my dictionary also could be literally translated "all but...".[/nq]
The word "all" in the phrase "all but" means "completely", and "but" means "except" and is short for "but for a few", "except for a f
The word "all" in the phrase "all but" means "completely", and "but" means "except" and is short for "but for a few", "except for a f
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[nq:1]Hi all, What exactly (well, if there is an 'exact' is appropriate in this context) does the proverb "all but ... which would literally translate in English "all except..." and according to my dictionary also could be literally translated "all but...".[/nq]
As Peter has concluded, the "all but" can most simply be rendered as "almost all or almost completely".
The clouds have all but d
As Peter has concluded, the "all but" can most simply be rendered as "almost all or almost completely".
The clouds have all but d
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[nq:1]Here in the last sentence "all but.." is used in apparently to imply that in fact the subject of the ... which would literally translate in English "all except..." and according to my dictionary also could be literally translated "all but...".[/nq]
Others have explained that "all but" means "almost entirely". The (deceptively similar) expression that comes to mind for the meaning you des
Others have explained that "all but" means "almost entirely". The (deceptively similar) expression that comes to mind for the meaning you des
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