not to say

phrase

—used to introduce a more forceful or critical way of describing someone or something
He was impolite, not to say downright rude!

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not to put too fine a point on it
not to say
not touch a drop
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“Not to say.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/not%20to%20say. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.

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