over, all but

Question

I pushed him over the mire (a wet area). She was all but dirty.Please correct my sentence.

Lil&apos; Ruby Rose · Accepted Answer

Mire is an odd and rather old-fashioned word to use, User_gary. Do you mean mud or marsh or bog, perhaps? Puddle, perhaps?

Did you push him over the mire (that is, pushed him from one end of the mire to the other, or pushed him in a wheelbarrow from one side to the other); or did you push him over in the mire (that is, you were both standing in the mire and you shoved him so hard he fell over); or did you push him into the mire (that is, you were both standing at the edge of the mire, and you shoved him so he stepped or fell into the mire, while you stayed dry and clean)?

"She was all but dirty" doesn't sound natural to me. 'All but' means 'very nearly' or 'almost' - and I'm not sure you can be almost dirty: either you are, or you aren't. You could say something like "She was all but asleep" or "She was all but dead".

User_gary · Answer

Thanks for your deep explanation.

I thought, here, over means (upon the surface of).

And I don't understand this part (or pushed him in a wheelbarrow from one side to the other); of your explanation though I know the meaning of `wheelbarrow'. [Particularly, I don't understand (in a wheelbarrow), what you mean in a wheelbarrow?]

Nona the brit · Answer

You can't really move 'over' a mire/bog/swamp etc as you sink into it to some extent. You could push her through the mire.

Spectacled-Girl · Answer

User_garyAnd I don't understand this part (or pushed him in a wheelbarrow from one side to the other); of your explanation though I know the meaning of `wheelbarrow'. [Particularly, I don't understand (in a wheelbarrow), what you mean in a wheelbarrow?]

'In a wheelbarrow' means that 'He sits inside the wheelbarrow'.

over, all but

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