Is this an Americanism?

I'm reading a book, which has a sentence "No one story is fully complete." Shouldn't it be "not one"? It just doesn't sound right!

I don't think it's an Americanism, and "Not one story is fully complete" would mean something different. Unfortunately, it's a bit difficult to describe the difference with what we have at the moment... is there any more context? Especially anything immediately after that?

Well I'll explain, furrykef. "No one" in that context means that no story ever made is fully complete, ephasising that an author never will fit in enough to be complete and perfect . Whereas "Not one" means that the stories were never completed, in the context that they weren't finished.

Not bad for a "dumbass", eh furry?

I never called you a dumbass. In fact, I don't think I've ever insulted you personally. Attacking your thread (and the ideas within it) and attacking your person are two entirely different things.

Anyway, yes, that is more or less the difference, but I think more context can still provide a better answer.

- Kef

There is a better answer than that, but Josh probably has it. No pressure, no pressure.


Kef, you didn't call him that, but it was pretty close. Maybe you forgot what you wrote. For some people, saying that their answer was a "dumb" answer is just as insulting as saying that they are an ass.

What surprised me was the relish MJD had in that thread.

This forum occasionally has surprises.

omg what's the thread?

What is the better answer, guest? I answered perfectly the differences between them.

Can you do better?

I am well aware you didn't call me "dumbass". But you had no qualms with those idiots calling me such on my thread.

Josh Lalonde is going to say the same thing as me.

Maybe Kef was right. We need context here.

Maybe Kef was right. We need context here.

Look, forget what happened in that other thread. It's over, and there's no need to continue arguing about it. All right? :)

I think it would be less ambigious to say "Never has a story ever been fully completed". Josh is indeed correct, if it was implying a series of stories in one/some book/s/volume/s/etc. If it is implying all the stories ever made by the history of man, then it means no author ever could perfect a book, there is no perfection ever.

Yeah, I was just proving I'm not an idiot.

I think it means that you can't get the whole picture from just one source. You have to get multiple sources and compare them to be thorough, in other words...

Wouldn't that just be "look around for other sources to get a second opinion, as no story could ever be the final word "? It's talking about "completion", so I doubt it's talking about that. It's a very poetic usage, "no one", when used in sentences describing a single object.

I could use this in a different context: "No one life has ever acheived immortality" compared to "Not one life has ever achieved immortality". The former is emphasising on the individual more with "one", and would be used in a case teaching wisdom. The latter on the other hand seems more something used in normal conversation, like reading from a history book.

Very crude, I know, but I'm trying.