all but hot to the touch?

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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pdh0224
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all but hot to the touch?

Post by pdh0224 »

Dear teacher,

Though the mix may be marginally unconventional, the character of the museum, for better or worse, is not. Just the opposite: it sticks to the modern Western ideal of exhibiting art in an uncluttered, atmospherically lighted, ideology-free zone. Forget all that postmodern funny business about cultural context. Never mind that some of these sculptures were conceived as spiritual power generators, all but hot to the touch. Now they chill behind plexiglass, wiped clean of fingerprints and history.

Q : What is the function and meaning of "all but hot to the touch"?


All the best,
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Alan
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Post by Alan »

'All but...' means 'almost'.
pdh0224
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Post by pdh0224 »

Never mind that some of these sculptures were conceived as spiritual power generators, almost hot to the touch.

Q : What is a relationship between "Never mind..." and "hot to the touch"?
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Alan
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Post by Alan »

There is no inherent conncection between them. 'Never mind that' means 'please ignore/disregard the fact that...'.
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