Question

anything but和nothing but

Answer 1

nothing but（除……外；什么也没有；只有）后面可接(1) 名词或代词：
For miles and miles I could see nothing except (= but) a great fire and lots of smoke. 一连好几英里，除了大火和浓烟我什么也看不见。
Under the soil there is nothing but sand. 在这层土壤下边只有沙子。
（2）不定式：A cold-blooded animal has no choice but to lie down and sleep. 冷血动物别无选择，只好躺下来睡觉。（注：这种句型中的不定式通常要带to；但当其前面的动词是do，或只有情态动词时，but后面的不定式要省去to。例如：
He did nothing but sleep all day long. 他什么也不干，成天睡觉。
I can but obey it.（= I can do nothing but obey it.）我只能服从。
再如：
Politeness costs nothing but wins everything. 这是一句谚语，意为彬彬有礼，惠而不费，或者理解为和气生财。

anything but 绝不，根本不。如：
I was anything but happy about going.我一点也不愿意出去。
He was anything but a fool.他根本不是个傻瓜。

Answer 2

but 就是转折的意思
anything but 就是“一点都不是”， nothing but “就是”
He is anything but a hero. 他一点也不是英雄
He is nothing but a coward. 他就是个懦夫。

Answer 3

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