let alone meaning: definition, quotations

let alone

conj

Idiomatic, In the negative Much less; to say nothing of; used after one negative clause to introduce another, usually broader and more important clause, whose negation is implied by the negation of the first. However either of these instances mentioned can be applied with the use of let alone.

He couldn't boil water, let alone prepare a dinner for eight.
My last run this month is an amazing performance of an "A2/3" Pacific, No. 60524, Herringbone (could there possibly be a more infelicitous name for a locomotive than this, let alone for the unhappy horse which first had to bear it?), […].1953 December, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Performance and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 838:

Idiomatic, Rare, In the positive Not to mention, as well as; used after one item, to introduce a further item which is entailed by the first.

At the end of another ten years, let alone sixty, we are likely to see a very different pattern in the realm of British passenger locomotive power.1957 July 23, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Performance and Performance during Sixty Years”, in Railway Magazine, page 496:

Related terms: a fortiori

let alone

verb

To leave alone, let be; to stop bothering.

I wish he would let me alone so I could get some sleep.

Colloquial, Dated To rely on (a person) to do something.

Oh! let him alone for that. He's the boy that can get out of a scrape.1838, Marguerite Countess of Blessington, The Works of Lady Blessington (page 223)
"It's not easy gettin' as good," rejoined the old woman, "an' you ought to be very glad to win him, if you can." "Let me alone for that," said Sally.1849, William Carleton, Tales and Sketches, page 81:

Derived terms: let it alone