"All but" - what does it mean?

Question

I actually have a very naive question. When someone says

All but five people have left the town.

What does it actually mean? Have 5 people left the town or has everyone else left, with only 5 people remaining?

"All but" means "all except". – Scott - Слава Україні Oct 22 '14 at 00:18 — Scott - Слава Україні, Oct 22 '14 at 00:18
You mean question, not doubt. – tchrist Oct 22 '14 at 01:14 — tchrist, Oct 22 '14 at 01:14

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

2

all but something:

Everyone or everything except those mentioned. (The Free Dictionary)

Your sentence means: "Everyone except five people left the town."

All but the weakest plants survived the hot weather. (All plants except the weakest...)

edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Community

1

answered Oct 22 '14 at 00:30

Centaurus

50,047

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 22 '14 at 00:16

1

Everyone else left, those five stayed.

On the other hand, all but is an idiomatic phrase which means almost, nearly:

He was all but dead.

answered Oct 22 '14 at 00:16

Arsen Y.M.

1,325

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 22 '14 at 02:52

1

A definition of but:

other than (Merriam-Webster)

A definition of all:

the whole number or sum of (Merriam-Webster)

In All but five people have left the town, all represents the total number of people that were in the town, 5 denotes how many people didn't leave, and but creates the condition for how to use those two sums in relation to each other.

edited Oct 22 '14 at 02:52

anongoodnurse

55,278

answered Oct 22 '14 at 01:07

Robin Hood

272

"All but" - what does it mean?

3 Answers3