Why, when people are angry, do they say "I was all but angry" as opposed to "I was angry"? What's the difference between the two and why are they used interchangeably?
Learn English – “I was all but angry” vs “I was angry”
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Best Answer
"All but" is (rather old-fashioned, in my view) idiom, meaning "nearly".
I don't recall having heard "I was all but angry", but to me it means "I was almost, but not quite, angry".