let alone

“I can’t remember the title of the book we were supposed to read, let alone the details of the story.” In sentences like these you give a lesser example of something first, followed by “let alone” and then the greater example. But people often get this backwards, and put the greater example first. The same pattern is followed when the expression is “much less”: “I can’t change the oil in my car, much less tune the engine.” The speaker can much less well tune the engine than he or she can change the oil.Another common expression which follows the same pattern uses “never mind,” as in “I can’t afford to build a tool shed, never mind a new house.”See also “.”

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• epitomy vs epitome
• stood vs stayed
• writting vs writing
• practicle vs practical
• resign vs re-sign
• hyperdermic vs hypodermic
• warmongerer vs warmonger
• appauled vs appalled
• intergrate vs integrate
• heal vs heel

Definitions

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• r  much less

News & Articles

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• News Summary: Bangladeshi garment workers struggle
  RAGS, NOT RICHES: Wages for Bangladeshi garment workers are so low they can find themselves struggling to eat, let alone save. CHANGING ROOM: The government agreed last month to set up a committee to look ...
  June 17, 2013 - Associated Press via Yahoo! News
• Get organized! It just takes minutes
  Many of us can barely keep up with each day’s activities, let alone find time to take on a big organizational project or complete the tasks on our never-ending to-do lists. But don’t make the mistake of waiting until you have a whole day to take care of all of your projects, because that day might never arrive. And if it does, chances are you won’t want to spend it organizing your house. read more
  June 17, 2013 - Standard-Examiner
• Can Cole and Other Top Prospects Bring Winning Ways Back to Pittsburgh?
  It's been 20 years since the Pittsburgh Pirates had a winning record, let alone made the playoffs. However, with a bevy of young prospects in the minor leagues, could Pittsburgh be back to their winning ways for good? We saw what the Pirates were capable of doing in the first half last year, only to falter in the second half. This year, the first half has been much of the same although the ...
  June 17, 2013 - Bleacher Report