Merely Musing
I sometimes sit alone at home with the lights off, musing about one or another of life's mysteries, such as how the word "but" came to have the meaning "except."
Brainstorming about history, politics, literature, religion, and other topics from a 'gypsy' scholar on a wagon hitched to a star.
2 Comments:
"There but for the grace of God go I."
"Everyone but Roland had a parachute."
Yes, indeed. Also "merely":
"He is but a stripling, a whelp!"
"I have but twenty pence to my name."
Any other uses of "but" that aren't related to its status as a coordinating conjunction?
Also "only," but that's just another "merely," and "just," too, but that is also only another "merely."
The list is short, yet useful.
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
Post a Comment
<< Home