"It's Not That"

Oftentimes I initially want to write "It's not that X, but rather Y" to mean "You might think I'm implying that X is true, so I want to emphasize that X is false; Y is true, and that's what explains my position," but I worry that this idiom is ambiguous; someone is likely to interpret it as meaning, "X might be true, but it's not the relevant consideration; my position is actually explained by Y (which does not necessarily contradict X)", which doesn't mean the same thing.

One thought on “"It's Not That"

  1. Best acted in Woody Allen's "Bananas"

    - But why break up with me?
    - Something's missing, it's not that I don't love you...
    - So, you do love me!
    - No, no I don't, but it's not *that*.

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