What does 'if not' mean exactly?

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From ILM:

Not only was much of your post otm, Ronan, but this effectively explains why the vast majority of my record purchases (if not my overall tastes) are dance!

I never know whether it means 'and perhaps even' or 'though it would probably be going to far to say'. I realise this is a nuance but the two feel very different in my head.

― N. (nickdastoor), Friday, 12 December 2003 15:48 (twenty-two years ago)

pedant!

― mark p (Mark P), Friday, 12 December 2003 15:50 (twenty-two years ago)

i always thought of it as a big linguistic backwards step, as in 'actually, when looking at the BIGGER picture...'

― mark p (Mark P), Friday, 12 December 2003 15:51 (twenty-two years ago)

pedantic, if not anal

― ken c, Friday, 12 December 2003 15:52 (twenty-two years ago)

"x, if not y" = "I think this covers superset y, but I'm too [wishy-washy/afraid of overcommiting my rhetorical position in a world of non-absolutes/addicted to superfluous clauses] (delete as appropriate) to state that outright. x is a subset of y and I know that this covers x, so I'll say that instead but allude to y so that people [know I was thinking of the larger picture/marvel at my ninja writing skillz/have wild literary sex with me] (delete as appropriate)."

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 12 December 2003 15:54 (twenty-two years ago)

THANX DAN!

― N. (nickdastoor), Friday, 12 December 2003 15:55 (twenty-two years ago)

I think Dan's just described "not to say"

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Friday, 12 December 2003 15:58 (twenty-two years ago)

mark p's definition seems spot on to me.

― jed (jed_e_3), Friday, 12 December 2003 16:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes, I agree it's jumping backwards, but what is it jumping backwards to say?

― N. (nickdastoor), Friday, 12 December 2003 16:08 (twenty-two years ago)

"[marvel at my ninja writing skillz/have wild literary sex with me] (delete as appropriate)."

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 12 December 2003 16:09 (twenty-two years ago)

it's basically one of those phrases that you can blame on word counts and rick james

― mark p (Mark P), Friday, 12 December 2003 16:10 (twenty-two years ago)

every desperately written high school essay/johnny cochrane closing argument to thread

― mark p (Mark P), Friday, 12 December 2003 16:11 (twenty-two years ago)

i've always had troubles with this, thnx ile!

― minna (minna), Friday, 12 December 2003 16:13 (twenty-two years ago)

sanction to thread

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 12 December 2003 16:22 (twenty-two years ago)

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