all but / close to

Guste   Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:16 am GMT
Can "all but" always be used in place of "close to"?

Example:
It must be close to empty.
It must be all but empty.

Thank you.
Tony   Mon Oct 20, 2008 11:10 am GMT
I live close to you.
I live all but you.
Guste   Mon Oct 20, 2008 11:33 am GMT
I see. What about my example? Possible but uncommon?
mutex man   Mon Oct 20, 2008 12:37 pm GMT
In some cases there are interchangeable, but not in other cases. Both are OK in the original example.
Uriel   Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:19 am GMT
If you are using the sense of "almost", both "close to" and "all but" are usually acceptable and interchangeable.

Tony's example doesn't count, because he is using a different meaning of "close to", which is "near".