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A comment on NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect. Parent comment

Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by yreg on Sunday October 11, 2026 @08:39PM (#50049796)
Table the motion. (discuss); Table the discussion. (postpone)

Continue the story. (keep reading); Continue the trial. (suspend)

Drop the album. (release); Drop the charges. (abandon)

Sanction an event. (approve); Sanction a country. (penalize)

Cleave to principles. (stick); Cleave wood. (split)

Clip keys to belt. (attach); Clip the hedges. (cut off)

Dust shelves. (remove); Dust pastries with sugar. (add)

Hold fast. (fixed in place); Walk fast. (moving quickly)

Make oversight. (omission); Provide oversight. (scrutiny)

Peruse the ancient manuscript. (read in detail); Peruse the magazine. (look through casually)

The alarm went off. (activated); Turn the alarm off. (deactivated)

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by igregoryca on Sunday October 11, 2026 @09:23PM (#50050149)
Head to either side of the street. (one or the other); Plant trees on either side of the street. (both)

It's yet to be found. (not found); Yet it's found. (found)

They're all but forgotten. (nearly); They're known but to God. (only)

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by mafuy on Monday October 12, 2026 @02:53AM (#50052304)
Does "all but" always mean "nearly"? I've been conversing in English for 20 years now but this one eluded me.

I guess I am just unable to parse the words to piece together such a meaning. In my mind, there are two ways to interpret it: "this subject may be all kinds of things, but one thing it is not" (all but = everything except), or the opposite "this subject may be all kinds of things, but one thing it is for sure". And neither of these means "nearly" :(

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by chias on Monday October 12, 2026 @05:34AM (#50053736)
Yes. I think the idea is that on the path of events or actions between the starting point and the target, you have already completed every single one, and all that remains now is the final step before you can call it done.

You've walked all but the last step of the journey.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by mafuy on Monday October 12, 2026 @09:48AM (#50056429)
Thank you, that makes sense!
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by namenotrequired on Monday October 12, 2026 @07:03AM (#50054561)
The outcome of the meeting was negative (bad); the outcome of the cancer screening was negative (good)
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by NetMageSCW on Monday October 12, 2026 @11:25AM (#50057800)
That one doesn’t belong - if the meeting was deciding the death sentence, negative could be good.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by SoftTalker on Sunday October 11, 2026 @09:40PM (#50050268)
Mostly correct but peruse only means read in detail. Any other intended meaning is mistaken.
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Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by schrodinger on Sunday October 11, 2026 @11:51PM (#50051177)
Agree with siblings. Living in NYC and born nearby, and I've always known peruse to mean casually browse. Flip through pages. NOT read in detail.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by gausswho on Sunday October 11, 2026 @11:05PM (#50050878)
Funny, I noted that one but in the opposite direction. In North America I've never heard it used in anything but a casual sense. An unserious activity.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by antonvs on Sunday October 11, 2026 @10:57PM (#50050798)
Both Merriam-Webster and Cambridge dictionaries disagree.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:NYC's "Click to Cancel" rule is now in effect by Gander5739 on Monday October 12, 2026 @12:46PM (#50059091)
These are known as contronyms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contronym
[ Parent | on HN ]