not a bit of it - Glite Dictionary

Examples

She thinks I care about his opinion. Not a bit of it!
They warned the hike would be tough, but not a bit of it was difficult for him.
He pretended to be interested, but not a bit of it was genuine.
She said she was angry, but not a bit of it showed on her face.
He pretended to be interested, but not a bit of it was genuine.
She said she was angry, but not a bit of it showed on her face.
I believe he is guilty? Not a bit of it!

Synonyms

not at all

vsnot a bit of it

331 1.0

In no way

focuses on denying that something is true or happens

in the slightest

vsnot a bit of it

19 3.8

Shows no effect or feeling, not even a little

is used as a full denial that something is true or happens

not an ounce of

vsnot a bit of it

Informal

3 4.9

There is not even a tiny bit of something

is about denying truth or occurrence rather than measuring quantity

by no stretch of the imagination

vsnot a bit of it

Informal

8.1

Not true or possible in any way

is a general denial without extra imaginative emphasis

Antonyms

entirely

∞ 2.2

Completely without leaving anything out

without doubt

7 2.3

Says that something is certainly true

How Untrue

not a bit of it

Informal

8.1

sort of

Informal

∞ 2.1

Surface Forms

not a bit of it main

Morphology

not + a + bit + of + it

The meaning 'not at all' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'not' (negation) + 'a bit' (a small amount) + 'of it' (referring to the matter), yielding 'not even a small amount of it.' This negation + small-quantity composition is cross-linguistically common and follows transparent compositional patterns that a B1 learner who knows the words would readily understand.

Etymology

Not a bit of it comes from the image of looking for a small piece, the bit, and finding none. So it became a strong way to say 'not at all'.