Mamger  +  292276 Sun, 12 Nov 06 07:23 PM What does "all but one" mean in the sentences or phrases below? A paraphrase is much preferred. All but one of the cases he cites All but one of these new CDs. contain more than seventy minutes of music. All but one of the seven steroids studied in the present investigation. Thank you very much for your help. Mamger Joined on Mon, Dec 19 2005 Junior Member 73 Down the blue mountain in the evening, Moonlight was my homeward escort.

	McJ  +  292281 Sun, 12 Nov 06 07:44 PM This references all items, apart from one item. For example. If there were ten bottles on a shelf, and I picked up all but one, I would have picked up nine bottles. "All" being the total in its entirety, "but one" meaning the total, minus one. McJ Joined on Sun, Nov 12 2006 London, England. New Member 09

	McJ  +  292282 Sun, 12 Nov 06 07:45 PM I did post this a moment ago, but being an unregistered user, my comments went into the moderation queue, which is a bit frustrating. However, now I'm registered McJ

	Grammar Geek  +  292288 Sun, 12 Nov 06 08:06 PM Welcome to the forums, then, McJ. Another way of saying this is that "There is only of [of these things, whatever they are] that does not meet the condition being talked about." Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,652 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!