Question on the use of 'but'

Question

I would like to ask a question about the use of the conjunction 'but' in a specific sentence. Before I ask the question, I shall provide some context (for otherwise this answer will be closed).

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Typically, when used as a conjunction, 'but' is used to indicate a contrast. For example, consider the below sentences:

I love sci-fi novels, but my brother hates them with a passion.

He is a conservative through and through, but his wife is an outspoken socialist.

She left at two o'clock, but I stayed until five.

In each of the above sentences, the coordinated clauses have different subjects, and 'but' is used to indicate a contrast between them. For instance, in the first sentence, the contrast is between my love of science-fiction novels and my brother's passionate hate of them; in the second, between his being a conservative and his wife's being an outspoken socialist; etc.

Now let us consider sentences consisting of two coordinates that have the same subject and which are coordinated by 'but'. Here are some examples of such sentences:

She has lived in Paris for 20 years, but speaks no French.

He is rich but mean.

He has many acquaintances but few friends.

In each of these sentences, 'but' serves to indicate a contrast; here, however, the contrast is not one of comparison, but one of implication (if I am not mistaken). In the first of the above sentences, for example, the first coordinate ('She has lived in Paris for 20 years') implies that, having lived in Paris for 20 years, she probably knows French (that being the main language spoken in Paris); however, this implication is ruled out by the second coordinate, which makes it clear that she speaks no French. Here, 'but' coordinates the two sentences in such a way that the implication of the first coordinate that she speaks French is not true, even though she has spent 20 years in Paris.

In the second of the above sentences, the first coordinate ('He is rich') identifies 'him' as being rich. That he is rich might lead one to believe that he is munificent, since many rich people (Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and others) have given large sums of money to charity; however, this is not true: he is in fact mean with his money, and the second coordinate (whose subject and verb are identified by the first) identifies him as being so. The contrast is indicated by 'but'.

I could go on and explain the third sentence, but I do not consider that necessary, since I have given more than enough context.

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Now for my actual question, which is about the below sentence:

Hugh did not revere his boss [Steve], but grew to fear him.

How does the second coordinate rule out the relevant implication of the first? That is, how does the fact that Hugh does not revere his boss contrast with his growing to fear Steve?

While this is subjective, I would like to know what you think the contrast between the two coordinates is.

Thank you.

Answer 1

There is contrast in the example sentence:

Hugh did not revere his boss [Steve], but grew to fear him.

It states that, contrary to expectations of reverence, the reality is he fears his boss.

Consider similar examples:

• "It wasn't terse at all but verbose and long."
• "It didn't stick around but was deleted within the hour."
• "The mods weren't humoured but annoyed and indignant."

Answer 2

Regarding your sentence:

Hugh did not revere his boss [Steve] but grew to fear him.

Your sentence, phrased the way it is, carries more rhetorical "punch" than if it was worded as follows:

Hugh did not revere his boss Steve, but in time he grew to fear him.

Why, you may ask? Concision is part of the reason. Sentences, like jokes, sometimes need to be pared to the bone. My grandfather used to tell me, "Sometimes, the more you say the less the better." Sage advice. Sometimes we need to make our words few.

Another reason has to do with the added impact that certain words can have when they are not surrounded by a surfeit of words.

The singing group The Supremes had a pop song hit years ago. The beginning words are:

Stop! In the Name of Love,

Before You Break My Heart.

How would the same song sound if it's title was

In the name of love,

before you break my heart, stop!

Both song titles have the same number of words, but there is something punchier about the name of the song as it was. Pehaps it is more memorable, or easier to remember. Perhaps using the word "Stop!" at the very beginning has more impact than it does at the very end.

I particularly like the exemplars that dubious provided, especially

"It wasn't terse at all but verbose and long."

It's punchy, it's concise, and it has more power than the following variation:

Rather than being terse, his speech was verbose and long.

Not only does writing come alive when a writer pares their sentences to the bone, but public speaking, too, benefits both the speaker and his or her listeners when the speaker pays close attention to the most important sentences in their speech, especially the central idea (aka thesis or main idea) and the purpose statement.