I. conjunction
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
bloody but unbowed
▪
After the fight, Ali was bloody but unbowed .
But then again
▪
She says she’s thirty-five. But then again she might be lying.
Forgive me, but
▪
Forgive me, but I don’t think that is relevant.
have no choice (but to do sth)
▪
The men had no choice but to obey.
have no/little alternative (but to do sth)
▪
He had no alternative but to resign.
have no/little option but to do sth (= have no other choice than to do something )
▪
I had no option but to fire him.
have nothing but admiration for sb (= have a lot of admiration for someone )
▪
I have nothing but admiration for his work.
have nothing but praise for sb/sth (= praise them a lot, especially when they have had to deal with a difficult situation )
▪
Passengers had nothing but praise for the pilot.
have nothing to lose but your pride/reputation etc
▪
The working class has nothing to lose but its chains. disadvantages, restrictions etc .
have/feel/show etc nothing but contempt
▪
The public should have nothing but contempt for bad journalism.
I hate to admit it but …
▪
I hate to admit it but it looks like we’ve failed.
last but one/two etc (= last except for one other, two others etc )
▪
on the last but one day of his trial
leave sb with no alternative (but to do sth)
▪
I was left with no alternative but to seek legal advice.
not only ... (but) also ...
▪
Shakespeare was not only a writer but also an actor.
not only...but also
▪
The system was not only complicated but also ineffective.
short on...but long on
▪
He was short on patience, but long on a sense of his own worth.
simple but effective
▪
Any child’s behaviour can be improved by this simple but effective technique.
slow but/and steady
▪
She is making a slow but steady recovery.
to mention but a few (= used when you are only giving a few examples )
▪
She had taken a number of classes, including photography, art, and pottery, to mention but a few.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I don't know about you, but ...
I don't want to sound/be ..., but ...
I hate to say it, but .../I hate to tell you this, but ...
I'm not being funny (but)
all but
▪
"Can we go home now?" "Just one moment - I've all but finished my work."
▪
By now the war was all but over.
▪
Sometimes it seems home baking is a tradition that has all but disappeared.
▪
Bidding continues until all but one eligible candidate remains.
▪
Every UMass player saw action, and all but two played at least 10 minutes.
▪
However, for Moi, this has all but stopped.
▪
I was the only woman on all but two of those twenty boards.
▪
It is said that the seafloor is a desert, a vast and uniform wasteland, all but devoid of life.
▪
She has missed all but two of twelve attempts tonight.
▪
The players should therefore be treated like the professionals they are in all but name, and be paid for their work.
▪
They are spreading the idea that the contest is already all but over.
anything but
▪
The sales clerk was anything but helpful.
▪
And the burnished vintage settings in South Philadelphia look anything but depressed.
▪
Before Sir Oswald could do anything but lift his arm up, a man swung his arm round Sir Oswald's neck.
▪
Californians, in fact, seem to have anything but politics on their minds.
▪
I feel numb to anything but thoughts of Marc.
▪
No Hollywood director would have the imagination to cast him as anything but a thug.
▪
On admission he was unable to swallow anything but liquids and mashed solids.
▪
The theology of the Exposition was anything but subtle.
▪
Underneath all the rebelliousness, of course, I never envisioned anything but a conventional Valparaiso-like future for myself.
bloody/bloodied but unbowed
▪
The great man was bloody but unbowed.
but hey
but that's another story
▪
I did not get home till 6:00 am on sunday after the spurs game!!! but that's another story .
▪
It also causes lucrative publicity and a scapegoat, but that's another story .
▪
Like Birdie Walker, I survived, but that's another story .
▪
There's room for even more, but that's another story .
▪
You could, of course, buy one of the super Chunky machines - but that's another story !
but then (again)
▪
Death still seemed impossible but then I suppose it always does.
▪
He began it, but then he stopped because he decided that it wasn't an interesting enough story.
▪
He couldn't help feeling sorry for the chap, but then he also felt sorry for Liza.
▪
Innes McInnes was taller than I'd expected, but then how tall should a millionaire be?
▪
Powell achieved a similar feat, but then resigned.
▪
She told me, but then quickly looked away.
▪
The Kite A brother and sister argue but then Ben loses his kite and Sally rescues it.
▪
The Library of Congress Classification Scheme is very evidently enumerative, but then all the major classification schemes are.
cannot but
▪
If we are attacked with violence, we cannot but respond with violence.
close, but no cigar
everything but the kitchen sink
▪
Burglars broke in and took everything but the kitchen sink.
▪
When my parents come to stay with us, they bring everything but the kitchen sink!
▪
Aunt Hortense: Babsy Hepworth's bronzes, everything but the kitchen sink.
everything but the kitchen sink
▪
Aunt Hortense: Babsy Hepworth's bronzes, everything but the kitchen sink.
ifs and buts
in all/everything but name
▪
I always feel they are open meetings in everything but name .
▪
Since then the craggy little republic of 650,000-odd people has been independent in all but name .
▪
Soon Jack and Courtney's marriage was also over in everything but name .
▪
The players should therefore be treated like the professionals they are in all but name , and be paid for their work.
it never rains but it pours
it's ... , Jim, but not as we know it
it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it
it's/that's all very well, but ...
last but not least
▪
Last but not least, I would like to thank my wife for her support.
▪
Last but not least, let me introduce Jane, our new accountant.
▪
And last but not least, I thank Begona Canup for her interest in the book.
▪
Social Security has reduced poverty, and last , but by no means least, it has been a good deal for participants.
▪
And last but not least, the baby of the family.
▪
And last but not least, there are all those damn kids sharing files and scaring the media moguls shiftless.
▪
And, last but not least, its growth and production has a huge impact on the environment we live in.
▪
And, last but not least, my cousin Bishop Malduin of Kinrimund with, no doubt, his stepson Colban.
▪
And, last but not least, they might re-read the scores while listening.
none but sb
not ... but rather ...
▪
For insider dealing does not lack victims but rather , credible plaintiffs.
▪
For others, syllable and character represent at most not a word but rather a morpheme, the smallest unit of meaning.
▪
However, the foreign exchange earnings on tourism did increase in 1989, not from IR£150m but rather by this figure.
▪
Sometimes, however, the diagnosis is not hidden but rather softened.
▪
The AFL-CIO said the ads are not partisan but rather aim to press Congress to address the needs of working families.
▪
The local medical men did not object, but rather commended them for their cheapness.
▪
What mathematicians want from infinitesimals is not material existence but rather the right to use them in proofs.
nothing but
▪
There was nothing but salad to eat.
▪
They did nothing but argue for the whole journey.
▪
This car's been nothing but trouble.
▪
At one time we had about eighty people here who did nothing but research into various family genealogies.
▪
Charles, by contrast, had known nothing but restriction and discipline.
▪
His death was nothing but an absurd, ludicrous accident.
▪
Indeed I was forgetful, pathologically so, and for this too I felt nothing but remorse.
▪
Nora objects, it's been nothing but ringing phones and boiling kettles, doorbells and toilets, since you began.
▪
They saw nothing but a dim grayness, or was it blackness?
▪
You could walk from there till your feet ached, and still you'd see nothing but herring.
sadder and/but wiser
sb can dish it out but they can't take it
slowly but surely
▪
Slowly but surely, the company is becoming successful again.
▪
He's slowly but surely making his way through college.
▪
She's getting better, slowly but surely.
▪
As regards the growth of the church, about a year after beginning to meet, slowly but surely we began to grow.
▪
But the others were moving, slowly but surely.
▪
Sheer tiredness relaxed her limbs, and slowly but surely the warmth sent her off to sleep.
▪
Solid, rock like, you don't move easily and you take things slowly but surely.
▪
The tangible, material aspect of this will come slowly but surely in the period between now and early November.
▪
Wendy says that slowly but surely our name is taking hold in this wide area.
▪
Yet slowly but surely they came back.
the spirit is willing (but the flesh is weak)
there but for the grace of God (go I)
there's nothing for it but to do sth
to name but a few/a handful/three etc
to name/mention but a few
what should I see but sth/who should appear but sb etc
yes, but ...
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
"Gone with the Wind' was a great movie, but it was a little long.
▪
But now to the main issue.
▪
Cara's going to the concert, but I'm not.
▪
Carla was supposed to come tonight, but her husband needed the car.
▪
Excuse me, but aren't you Julie's sister?
▪
He's short and not really handsome, but women still find him attractive.
▪
I'm sorry, but you can't smoke in here.
▪
I called but there was no one there.
▪
In the US it is normal for the police to carry guns, but not in Britain.
▪
It's an expensive but very useful book.
▪
Mom hated the movie, but Dad thought it was good.
▪
She tried to read the message, but couldn't.
▪
That's why I've been so busy. But how are you, anyway?
▪
They aren't doing this to make money, but to help the church.
▪
They struggled in the first half, but still won 98-82.
▪
Tom's grandfather is over 80, but he still plays golf.
▪
We had no alternative but to fire him.
II. preposition
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Anyone but Tommy would have realized I was trying to apologize.
▪
I can come and see you any day but Tuesday.
▪
There was nothing left but a few dried up sandwiches.
III. adverb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
add
▪
Pilkington acknowledged locals' concerns, but added that agents are encouraged by signs that their efforts are paying off.
can
▪
But can violence alter the structure of discontent in a culture of desire?
do
▪
These laws create an illusion of safety but do little to prevent such crimes.
▪
Then I turned once more toward Saint-Mames. But did that local saint exist?
▪
Until there was nothing to do but give up and walk back, feeling beaten.
▪
C Troop, in effect, split that attack but did so at great sacrifice to itself.
give
▪
Cat-equipped two-litre 16-valve engine sounds even more potent than it is but gives good economy.
▪
Your space trip cost $ 5 but gave you at least $ 100 of pleasure.
▪
People who only learn phonic reading methods must not only be systematically taught to spell but given help in comprehension.
▪
The original owner keeps the land but gives up the right to develop it.
▪
The answers will not only reveal her competence but give you an idea of how easy she is to communicate with.
▪
Until there was nothing to do but give up and walk back, feeling beaten.
help
▪
What about those days when I can't help but eat more?
▪
That helped but not that much.
know
▪
We are already there, if we but knew .
▪
Good, Cassius heard himself mutter, but knew he had meant Bad.
lose
▪
The game was all but lost when the captain tossed the ball to me and asked me to turn my arm.
▪
The scenery may have been a bit more impressive there, but the human dimension was all but lost .
say
▪
Paul D frowned but said nothing.
▪
Aikman shouted in Williams' direction, but said later that he was just frustrated.
▪
Authorities did not immediately release the victims' names, but said four men and two women were shot and killed.
see
▪
Today you see but a shattered specimen, a caricature... of the man that once was.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
They're rich, but I mean rich!
▪
You can but try.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
This was but one of Cora-Beth's surprises.
▪
Yes, it's all go on the rumour exchange and let me stress that these are but a few of the juiciest.
IV. noun
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I don't know about you, but ...
I don't want to sound/be ..., but ...
I hate to say it, but .../I hate to tell you this, but ...
I'm not being funny (but)
all but
▪
"Can we go home now?" "Just one moment - I've all but finished my work."
▪
By now the war was all but over.
▪
Sometimes it seems home baking is a tradition that has all but disappeared.
▪
Bidding continues until all but one eligible candidate remains.
▪
Every UMass player saw action, and all but two played at least 10 minutes.
▪
However, for Moi, this has all but stopped.
▪
I was the only woman on all but two of those twenty boards.
▪
It is said that the seafloor is a desert, a vast and uniform wasteland, all but devoid of life.
▪
She has missed all but two of twelve attempts tonight.
▪
The players should therefore be treated like the professionals they are in all but name, and be paid for their work.
▪
They are spreading the idea that the contest is already all but over.
anything but
▪
The sales clerk was anything but helpful.
▪
And the burnished vintage settings in South Philadelphia look anything but depressed.
▪
Before Sir Oswald could do anything but lift his arm up, a man swung his arm round Sir Oswald's neck.
▪
Californians, in fact, seem to have anything but politics on their minds.
▪
I feel numb to anything but thoughts of Marc.
▪
No Hollywood director would have the imagination to cast him as anything but a thug.
▪
On admission he was unable to swallow anything but liquids and mashed solids.
▪
The theology of the Exposition was anything but subtle.
▪
Underneath all the rebelliousness, of course, I never envisioned anything but a conventional Valparaiso-like future for myself.
bloody/bloodied but unbowed
▪
The great man was bloody but unbowed.
but hey
but that's another story
▪
I did not get home till 6:00 am on sunday after the spurs game!!! but that's another story .
▪
It also causes lucrative publicity and a scapegoat, but that's another story .
▪
Like Birdie Walker, I survived, but that's another story .
▪
There's room for even more, but that's another story .
▪
You could, of course, buy one of the super Chunky machines - but that's another story !
but then (again)
▪
Death still seemed impossible but then I suppose it always does.
▪
He began it, but then he stopped because he decided that it wasn't an interesting enough story.
▪
He couldn't help feeling sorry for the chap, but then he also felt sorry for Liza.
▪
Innes McInnes was taller than I'd expected, but then how tall should a millionaire be?
▪
Powell achieved a similar feat, but then resigned.
▪
She told me, but then quickly looked away.
▪
The Kite A brother and sister argue but then Ben loses his kite and Sally rescues it.
▪
The Library of Congress Classification Scheme is very evidently enumerative, but then all the major classification schemes are.
cannot but
▪
If we are attacked with violence, we cannot but respond with violence.
close, but no cigar
everything but the kitchen sink
▪
Burglars broke in and took everything but the kitchen sink.
▪
When my parents come to stay with us, they bring everything but the kitchen sink!
▪
Aunt Hortense: Babsy Hepworth's bronzes, everything but the kitchen sink.
ifs and buts
in all/everything but name
▪
I always feel they are open meetings in everything but name .
▪
Since then the craggy little republic of 650,000-odd people has been independent in all but name .
▪
Soon Jack and Courtney's marriage was also over in everything but name .
▪
The players should therefore be treated like the professionals they are in all but name , and be paid for their work.
it never rains but it pours
it's ... , Jim, but not as we know it
it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it
it's/that's all very well, but ...
last but not least
▪
Last but not least, I would like to thank my wife for her support.
▪
Last but not least, let me introduce Jane, our new accountant.
▪
And last but not least, I thank Begona Canup for her interest in the book.
▪
Social Security has reduced poverty, and last , but by no means least, it has been a good deal for participants.
▪
And last but not least, the baby of the family.
▪
And last but not least, there are all those damn kids sharing files and scaring the media moguls shiftless.
▪
And, last but not least, its growth and production has a huge impact on the environment we live in.
▪
And, last but not least, my cousin Bishop Malduin of Kinrimund with, no doubt, his stepson Colban.
▪
And, last but not least, they might re-read the scores while listening.
none but sb
not ... but rather ...
▪
For insider dealing does not lack victims but rather , credible plaintiffs.
▪
For others, syllable and character represent at most not a word but rather a morpheme, the smallest unit of meaning.
▪
However, the foreign exchange earnings on tourism did increase in 1989, not from IR£150m but rather by this figure.
▪
Sometimes, however, the diagnosis is not hidden but rather softened.
▪
The AFL-CIO said the ads are not partisan but rather aim to press Congress to address the needs of working families.
▪
The local medical men did not object, but rather commended them for their cheapness.
▪
What mathematicians want from infinitesimals is not material existence but rather the right to use them in proofs.
nothing but
▪
There was nothing but salad to eat.
▪
They did nothing but argue for the whole journey.
▪
This car's been nothing but trouble.
▪
At one time we had about eighty people here who did nothing but research into various family genealogies.
▪
Charles, by contrast, had known nothing but restriction and discipline.
▪
His death was nothing but an absurd, ludicrous accident.
▪
Indeed I was forgetful, pathologically so, and for this too I felt nothing but remorse.
▪
Nora objects, it's been nothing but ringing phones and boiling kettles, doorbells and toilets, since you began.
▪
They saw nothing but a dim grayness, or was it blackness?
▪
You could walk from there till your feet ached, and still you'd see nothing but herring.
sadder and/but wiser
sb can dish it out but they can't take it
slowly but surely
▪
Slowly but surely, the company is becoming successful again.
▪
He's slowly but surely making his way through college.
▪
She's getting better, slowly but surely.
▪
As regards the growth of the church, about a year after beginning to meet, slowly but surely we began to grow.
▪
But the others were moving, slowly but surely.
▪
Sheer tiredness relaxed her limbs, and slowly but surely the warmth sent her off to sleep.
▪
Solid, rock like, you don't move easily and you take things slowly but surely.
▪
The tangible, material aspect of this will come slowly but surely in the period between now and early November.
▪
Wendy says that slowly but surely our name is taking hold in this wide area.
▪
Yet slowly but surely they came back.
there but for the grace of God (go I)
there's nothing for it but to do sth
to name but a few/a handful/three etc
to name/mention but a few
what should I see but sth/who should appear but sb etc
yes, but ...