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Definition of Let alone
1. Adverb. Much less. "She can't boil potatoes, let alone cook a meal"
Definition of Let alone
1. Conjunction. (idiomatic negative polarity item) Much less; to say nothing of; (non-gloss definition used after one negative clause to introduce another, usually broader and more important clause, whose negation is implied by the negation of the first.) ¹
2. Conjunction. (idiomatic positive polarity item rare) not to mention, as well as; (non-gloss definition used after one item, to introduce a further item which is entailed by the first.) ¹
3. Verb. (transitive) To leave alone, let be; to stop bothering. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Let Alone
Literary usage of Let alone
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. A Library of American Literature from the Earliest Settlement to the Present by Edmund Clarence Stedman, Arthur Stedman (1894)
"Just then came along, on the self-same vay, Another Old Cove, and began for to
say: "Let you alone! That's comin' it strong! You've beti let alone—a darned ..."
2. Shirley: A Tale by Charlotte Brontë (1850)
"She peremptorily requested to be let alone. " How dare you"—she would ask herself—"
how dare you show your weakness and betray your imbecile anxieties ? ..."
3. Poems of American History by Burton Egbert Stevenson (1908)
"THE OLD COVE " All we ask is to be let alone. ... You *ve ben let alone a darned
sight too long; — Of all the sarce that ever I heerd! Put down that stick! ..."
4. The People's Bible: Discourses Upon Holy Scripture by Joseph Parker (1889)
"—When we ask to be let alone, it is our weakness that speaks, not our strength : our
... The one prayer we should constantly offer is, not to be let alone, ..."
5. The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives by Frank Moore, Edward Everett (1862)
"All we ask it to ot let alone."—Sat. DATIS. Л dog having stolen a large piece of
meat, Ran off with the prize he regarded so sweet, And while he was quietly ..."
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