101(7) a. Each by the other would have done the like But that they lack’d the courage.
(1859 Taylor, Sicilian summer II. iii [OED])
b. Nothing would satisfy him but that we all stood guard through the night
while he slept, (2011 Fantasy & Science Fiction [COCA])
c. Nicole might have seen them sooner, save that he is gawking everywhere in
fascination of his new spectacles. (2007 Flynn, Quaestiones [COCA])
d. Such altruism among beings would have been impossible to believe, save
that Determined witnessed it all across the planet (2005 Oltion, Tainted
[COCA])
e. It broke with such a big, sharp crack when I bit into it that I would have
laughed out loud – except that my mouth was full. (2009 Houston Chronicle
[COCA])
f. I would see and get it done at once, only that I am in doubt as to the best
means (1875 Higgins, Essays on social subjects 27 [OED])
g. h e would have passed by the crowd only that his name was called ( Ridge N
222 [Jespersen 1949 : 96])
h. I might not be so persistent, only that N. and Q. circulates all over the world
( Notes and Queries [Poutsma 1905 : 533])
However, in current usage these forms do not typically follow a modal con-
struction; rather, they follow a negative (or positive) encompassing statement
and denote a partial exception to that negative (or positive).
(8) a. The trouble with a really awful poem is not that its author lacks technique,
but that his technique is fully expressed (2012 Poetry [COCA])
b. My objection isn’t that he’s a bully, but that he’s been an ineffective bully
and can’t win the day (2006 CNN LiveToday [COCA])
c. I could no longer gauge where we were, save that trees had appeared along
our river route (2008 Boaz, A richer dust [COCA])
d. He was at one with the storm’s fury, save that his activity, while high pitched,
was nonetheless controlled. (1995 Harris and Lyon, Northern exposure
[COCA])
e. But I’m not exactly sure why it’s wrong, only that it sounds sort of distaste-
ful. (2012 PBS NewsHour [COCA])
f. This doesn’t mean actresses are getting better, only that they’ve fi nally been
given material worthy of their talents. (2006 San Francisco Chronicle [COCA])
g. He is much like any other Afghan refugee, except that in the summer of 1988
he spent nine days in outer space. (2010 Wood, A space oddity [COCA])
h. There’s no lesson here, except that fake blood can shoot about 10 feet if
aimed right. (2010 Washington Post [COCA])
4.2.3 Only as a Pragmatic Marker
There are a number of reasons for seeing only as a pragmatic marker rather
than as a simple conjunction. First, it appears to be (somewhat) stigmatized,
4.2 Conjunctive Only in PDE