f commodities; _business_, _trade_, and
_commerce_ are chiefly transacted by means of money, bills of exchange,
etc. _Business_, _occupation_, etc., may be what one does independently;
_employment_ may be in the service of another. _Work_ is any application
of energy to secure a result, or the result thus secured; thus, we speak
of the _work_ of God. _Art_ in the industrial sense is a system of rules
and accepted methods for the accomplishment of some practical result;
as, the _art_ of printing; collectively, the _arts_. A _craft_ is some
occupation requiring technical skill or manual dexterity, or the
persons, collectively, engaged in its exercise; as, the weaver's
_craft_.

Prepositions:

The business _of_ a druggist; in business _with_ his father; doing
business _for_ his father; have you business _with_ me? business _in_
New York; business _about_, _concerning_, or _in regard to_ certain
property.

* * * * *

BUT.

Synonyms:

and, however, notwithstanding, that,
barely, just, only, tho,
besides, merely, provided, unless,
except, moreover, save, yet.
further, nevertheless, still,

_But_ ranges from the faintest contrast to absolute negation; as, I am
willing to go, _but_ (on the other hand) content to stay; he is not an
honest man, _but_ (on the contrary) a villain. The contrast may be with
a silent thought; as, _but_ let us go (it being understood that we might
stay longer). In restrictive use, _except_ and _excepting_ are slightly
more emphatic than _but_; we say, no injury _but_ a scratch; or, no
injury _except_ some painful bruises. Such expressions as "words are
_but_ breath" (nothing _but_) may be referred to the restrictive use by
ellipsis. So may the use of _but_ in the sense of _unless_; as, "it
never rains _but_ it pours." To the same head must be referred the
conditional use; as, "you may go, _but_ with your father's consent" (_i.
e._, "_provided_ you have," "_except_ that you must have," etc.). "Doubt
_but_" is now less used than the more logical "doubt _that_." _But_
never becomes a full synonym for _and_; _and_ adds something like, _but_
adds something different; "brave _and_ tender" implies that tenderness
is natural to the brave; "brave _but_ tender" implies that bravery and
tenderness are rarely combined. For the concessive use, compare
NOTWITHSTANDING.

* *