Native speaker trying to parse this idiom, perhaps a bit too logically: “all but literally every X was Y”.
I understand what it means, but my brain is breaking in the same way it would when navigating a double/triple negative.
I understand what it means, but my brain is breaking in the same way it would when navigating a double/triple negative.
Personally I’ve never been a fan of “all but Z” as a phrase — I prefer “[very] nearly Z”.
The most common usage of this form is probably the idiom “It’s all over but the shouting,” meaning a foregone conclusion that still has some steps to go through before it becomes official. Historically, this phrase comes from electioneering where there is only one viable candidate standing for office: The competition is practically completed, but the actual voting (the ‘shouting’) has not yet occurred to ratify this result.
It's extra tortured because of the "literally", and the original "all but" is an odd phrase to start with, but in the end I knew exactly what it mean and didn't even blink at it.
Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as fear, surprise and an almost fanatical devotion to Oxford's...
(I'll lead myself out)
The word “almost” is also pretty funny though, if you think about it (literally “all most”).