Q: I recently contacted you regarding the use of “which” as a conjunction. Now, “but” is being used as a relative pronoun. In a Consumer Cellular television ad, we see: “If you want a smart phone with lots of bells and whistles but won’t break the bank, we’ve got that, too.”
A: While we haven’t observed a significant rise in the use of “but” as a relative pronoun, it wouldn’t be surprising. The word “but” has served as a relative for many centuries.
We’ll address the TV ad later (which is considered nonstandard English). First, let’s delve into the history of “but” as a relative pronoun meaning “who … not,” “that … not,” or “which … not”—a usage that dates back to the early 15th century in English literature.
The earliest citation in the Oxford English Dictionary comes from Troyyes Book (circa 1420), John Lydgate’s translation of Historia Destructionis Troiae (1287) by Guido delle Colonne:
“Þer nas … Nat left a man withInne Troye toun Þat able was to stonden in bataille … but þei comen oute” (“there was … not left a man in Troy town able to stand in battle … but they came out [i.e., that did not come out]”).
As explained by the OED, “but” here means “that … not” and is used in a subordinate clause before a pronoun that refers back to the subject or object of the main clause.
The dictionary also includes a similar usage with the pronoun unexpressed, so “but acts as a negative relative: that … not, who … not (e.g. Not a man but felt this terror, meaning there was not a man who did not feel this terror, they all felt this terror).”
[Note: We discussed a similar use of “but” as a relative pronoun in a post from 2020]
Oxford cites this example from The Three Kings’ Sons (circa 1500), an anonymous Middle English translation of a French romance by David Aubert, edited in 1895 by Frederick James Furnivall:
“There be none othir there that knowe me, but wold be glad to wite me do wele” (“There be none other there that know me, but would be glad [i.e., that would not be glad] to see me do well”).
The OED describes the use of “but” in those examples as obsolete or archaic, but modern standard dictionaries, which reflect contemporary usage, still recognize the use of “but” to mean “who … not,” “that … not,” or “which … not.”
Both Collins and Webster’s New World provide this example: “Not a man but felt it.” Merriam-Webster quotes Mistress Quickly in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor (circa 1597): “nobody but has his fault.”
American Heritage offers this example: “There never is a tax law presented but someone will oppose it.” It also includes an example of “but” used to mean simply “that,” a usage considered informal: “There is no doubt but right will prevail.”
As you may have noticed, the use of “but” to mean “that … not” is akin to its use as a preposition meaning “with the exception of,” as in “none but the brave deserves the fair” (from John Dryden’s 1697 ode “Alexander’s Feast, or the Power of Music”).
Lastly, let’s address the TV ad that caught your attention: “If you want a smart phone with lots of bells and whistles but won’t break the bank, we’ve got that, too.”
We haven’t viewed the ad or found any dictionary or usage guide that acknowledges this nonstandard use of “but.”
More importantly, even if “but” were replaced by “that,” the sentence would still be awkward. We would rephrase it with “but” as a conjunction: “If you want a smart phone that has lots of bells and whistles but won’t break the bank, we’ve got that, too.”
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