几乎, 差一点

All \All\, adv.
1. Wholly; completely; altogether; entirely; quite; very; as,
all bedewed; my friend is all for amusement. ``And cheeks
all pale.'' --Byron.

Note: In the ancient phrases, all too dear, all too much, all
so long, etc., this word retains its appropriate sense
or becomes intensive.

2. Even; just. (Often a mere intensive adjunct.) [Obs. or
Poet.]

All as his straying flock he fed. --Spenser.

A damsel lay deploring
All on a rock reclined. --Gay.

{All to}, or {All-to}. In such phrases as ``all to rent,''
``all to break,'' ``all-to frozen,'' etc., which are of
frequent occurrence in our old authors, the all and the to
have commonly been regarded as forming a compound adverb,
equivalent in meaning to entirely, completely, altogether.
But the sense of entireness lies wholly in the word all
(as it does in ``all forlorn,'' and similar expressions),
and the to properly belongs to the following word, being a
kind of intensive prefix (orig. meaning asunder and
answering to the LG. ter-, HG. zer-). It is frequently to
be met with in old books, used without the all. Thus
Wyclif says, ``The vail of the temple was to rent:'' and
of Judas, ``He was hanged and to-burst the middle:'' i.
e., burst in two, or asunder.

{All along}. See under {Along}.

{All and some}, individually and collectively, one and all.
[Obs.] ``Displeased all and some.'' --Fairfax.

{All but}.
(a) Scarcely; not even. [Obs.] --Shak.
(b) Almost; nearly. ``The fine arts were all but
proscribed.'' --Macaulay.

{All hollow}, entirely, completely; as, to beat any one all
hollow. [Low]

{All one}, the same thing in effect; that is, wholly the same
thing.

{All over}, over the whole extent; thoroughly; wholly; as,
she is her mother all over. [Colloq.]

{All the better}, wholly the better; that is, better by the
whole difference.

{All the same}, nevertheless. ``There they [certain
phenomena] remain rooted all the same, whether we
recognize them or not.'' --J. C. Shairp. ``But Rugby is a
very nice place all the same.'' --T. Arnold. -- See also
under {All}, n.


But \But\ (b[u^]t), prep., adv. & conj. [OE. bute, buten, AS.
b[=u]tan, without, on the outside, except, besides; pref. be-
+ [=u]tan outward, without, fr. [=u]t out. Primarily,
b[=u]tan, as well as [=u]t, is an adverb. [root]198. See
{By}, {Out}; cf. {About}.]
1. Except with; unless with; without. [Obs.]

So insolent that he could not go but either spurning
equals or trampling on his inferiors. --Fuller.

Touch not the cat but a glove. --Motto of the
Mackintoshes.

2. Except; besides; save.

Who can it be, ye gods! but perjured Lycon? --E.
Smith.

Note: In this sense, but is often used with other particles;
as, but for, without, had it not been for. ``Uncreated
but for love divine.'' --Young.

3. Excepting or excluding the fact that; save that; were it
not that; unless; -- elliptical, for but that.

And but my noble Moor is true of mind . . . it were
enough to put him to ill thinking. --Shak.

4. Otherwise than that; that not; -- commonly, after a
negative, with that.

It cannot be but nature hath some director, of
infinite power, to guide her in all her ways.
--Hooker.

There is no question but the king of Spain will
reform most of the abuses. --Addison.

5. Only; solely; merely.

Observe but how their own principles combat one
another. --Milton.

If they kill us, we shall but die. --2 Kings vii.
4.

A formidable man but to his friends. --Dryden.

6. On the contrary; on the other hand; only; yet; still;
however; nevertheless; more; further; -- as connective of
sentences or clauses of a sentence, in a sense more or
less exceptive or adversative; as, the House of
Representatives passed the bill, but the Senate dissented;
our wants are many, but quite of another kind.

Now abideth faith hope, charity, these three; but
the greatest of these is charity. --1 Cor. xiii.
13.

When pride cometh, then cometh shame; but with the
lowly is wisdom. --Prov. xi. 2.

{All but}. See under {All}.

{But and if}, but if; an attempt on the part of King James's
translators of the Bible to express the conjunctive and
adversative force of the Greek ?.

But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord
delayeth his coming; . . . the lord of that servant
will come in a day when he looketh not for him.
--Luke xii.
45, 46.

{But if}, unless. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

But this I read, that but if remedy
Thou her afford, full shortly I her dead shall see.
--Spenser.

Syn: {But}, {However}, {Still}.

Usage: These conjunctions mark opposition in passing from one
thought or topic to another. But marks the opposition
with a medium degree of strength; as, this is not
winter, but it is almost as cold; he requested my
assistance, but I shall not aid him at present.
However is weaker, and throws the opposition (as it
were) into the background; as, this is not winter; it
is, however, almost as cold; he required my
assistance; at present, however, I shall not afford
him aid. The plan, however, is still under
consideration, and may yet be adopted. Still is
stronger than but, and marks the opposition more
emphatically; as, your arguments are weighty; still
they do not convince me. See {Except}, {However}.

Note: ``The chief error with but is to use it where and is
enough; an error springing from the tendency to use
strong words without sufficient occasion.'' --Bain.