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If nothing else

Posted by Smokey Stover on September 01, 2004

In Reply to: If nothing else posted by SFC on September 01, 2004

: Need help:

: "If nothing else, his actions explained why people were wrong when they said he wasn't a competent father."

: What does "if nothing else" mean here? Thanks!

The expression is literal. Try the sentence this way: "Even if his actions explained nothing else, they explained why people were wrong ...." Or, "Even if his actions explained only this one thing, they explained why people were wrong...." Usually there IS something else, but "If nothing else ..." lends emphasis to the point the speaker is making. You might see something like, Even if Joe were good at nothing else, he is so good at getting people to sign that we have to keep him. Same type of emphasis. SS

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