At all is simply an intensifying additional element without any inherent grammatical purpose, and is found in other contexts too, not just in the expression 'nothing at all': Do you listen to what I …

If you substitute ‘nothing but’, you get a very different (and odd) sentence: “How can B mean nothing but A?” is quite strange. “How can B mean anything but A?” is exactly what you would …

Nothing but implies that the subject (*it) was more overblown than with the lone but, hence the nothing. There is no great difference in meaning between but and only.

Feb 26, 2014 · Is the meaning of the phrase "Not for nothing" literal, or idiomatic, and if idiomatic, what does the idiom mean? If you have a reference more reliable than urban dictionary, …

4 It is widely accepted that the others are all variations of F**ck All. It is further thought that F**k All is in fact a misunderstanding of the phrase 'sweet F.A.', meaning 'nothing at all'. The story: …

Dec 2, 2011 · Overall, to avoid ambiguity, I would use "I have nothing to say to you" to firmly state an internal meaning of unwillingness to speak regardless of the presence of actual content, …

Jan 16, 2019 · Saying "Nothing is compared with the Egyptian pyramids" or "Nothing is compared to the Egyptian pyramids" implies that no one has ever done such a comparison. Eg, no one …

Aug 13, 2014 · Perhaps this word encompasses more than what you're looking for; but consider that anything without a beginning was never created and, hence, required nothing for it's …

Jan 17, 2024 · In addition to basking in the warmth of the covers, you can bask in the quiet of the morning, knowing that when you get out of bed and start taking creaking steps on the stairs …

Nov 13, 2011 · 2 There can not be a word for the act of intending to do nothing, an intention to act is implicit, and to act is to not do nothing, even if the result of that act is nothing. It is …

The meaning of "all but" is "everything, except", or "almost". Therefore, "all but defenseless" means "everything except defenseless" or "almost defenseless". Similarly, the meaning of …

According to standard English grammar, a double negative used to express a single negative, such as I don't know nothing (rather than I don't know anything), is incorrect. The rules dictate …

Aug 29, 2014 · But there's more to bupkes than just "nothing." When you say you got bupkes from a deal you brokered, for instance, it really means you got nothing when you should have …

It may sound odd to a non-native speaker, that little means nothing at all, but it is a very specific idiom used in a slightly dramatic sense, to convey that a vital piece of information was not …

Jul 24, 2015 · 'He does nothing all day' is a sentence in itself. Also, if a do-auxiliary is indeed what is going on here, replacing 'nothing but' with 'except' / other than should produce the same …

Dec 5, 2010 · 19 "All is not lost" does not suggest that nothing is lost. It is said to counter the statement or belief that everything is lost, despite appearances to the contrary. It expresses …

Aug 12, 2014 · 4 Enablers In the context of "all that is necessary for evil to triumph, is that good men do nothing", these good men doing nothing are enabling evil to triumph. In a negative …

Nothing but birds and a few insects was/were to be seen. Here but is acting not as a conjunction but as a preposition meaning except (for). This is not a compound subject at all; instead it is a …

Nov 10, 2010 · 11 This has nothing to do with "all" and everything to do with "the". You should use "the" wherever a definite article is required. ("The" is a definite article as opposed to "a/an" …

Mar 6, 2015 · I didn’t do anything. I haven’t done anything. Which of those is better and when? Is either one actually wrong, or do they mean different things? What about these others: I ’ve …