A parent says:
“The journey will take nearly two hours, to say nothing of the cost.”
What does the phrase mean?
The speaker has already given one substantial problem. Then they add another.
The cost was not needed to prove the journey is demanding. But once cost is added, the case becomes stronger.
That is the central job of to say nothing of.
Merriam-Webster defines the phrase as not to mention; and notably in addition. Cambridge gives the C2 learner meaning and in addition there is…. Collins makes the reasoning role clearer: the additional point gives even more strength to the point being made.
Current edited English continues to use it in 2026. Dictionary.com’s current examples include a Los Angeles Times article on 19 May 2026 describing a proposal as a radical idea, to say nothing of the enormous expense and time involved; a Wall Street Journal review on 7 May 2026 praising a performer’s precision, to say nothing of his energy; and a MarketWatch article on 24 February 2026 noting a practical limitation, to say nothing of another obvious fact.
The phrase therefore does more than add item B. It often says: A already supports my point. B strengthens it further.
Quick answer: what does “to say nothing of” mean?
A useful paraphrase is not to mention or and there is also the further point of…
Example: “The repair will take weeks, to say nothing of the expense.” The long repair time is already a problem, and the expense is another substantial problem.
Another: “She speaks three languages fluently, to say nothing of her ability to read two more.” Three spoken languages are already impressive; the reading ability adds another reason for that judgement.
The phrase has an additive structure
Think: Point A + Point B.
But not all addition is equal. The phrase often suggests Point A is enough to establish the general direction. Then Point B makes the direction harder to dispute.
Example: “The proposal is difficult to implement, to say nothing of being expensive.” Difficulty is already a problem. Expense compounds it.
The second point is often rhetorically stronger
“The trip is long, and it is expensive” is neutral coordination.
“The trip is long, to say nothing of the expense” places expense as a further consideration that the speaker almost treats as obvious or additional beyond the main complaint.
This produces rhetorical layering.
“Say nothing” does not literally mean remain silent
Learners may parse to say nothing of literally. But the phrase means almost the opposite of literal silence. The speaker does mention the extra point.
The rhetoric is: “I have not even begun to discuss B properly—and B would strengthen the case further.”
It often implies the extra point could support a larger discussion
“The project requires new software, to say nothing of retraining the entire team.”
The retraining issue is large. The writer mentions it only briefly. The phrase says: this is another major matter, even though I am not developing it here.
That is useful in argumentative writing.
It can add a negative consideration
Most common: time, cost, risk or difficulty.
Example: “The policy would be difficult to enforce, to say nothing of the privacy concerns it raises.”
Now the argument has an implementation problem and a privacy problem. The second is additional evidence against easy adoption.
It can add a positive consideration
“The library has an excellent reference collection, to say nothing of the staff’s subject knowledge.”
The second point strengthens praise. So the phrase is not inherently negative. Its core is further strengthening addition.
“To say nothing of” versus “not to mention”
These are close: “The hotel is expensive, not to mention noisy” and “The hotel is expensive, to say nothing of the noise.”
Both add a further point. “To say nothing of” can sound more formal, rhetorical or literary. “Not to mention” is very common modern English.
“To say nothing of” versus “not least”
eduKateSG already has Not Least.
“The project failed for several reasons, not least poor planning” selects one especially important member from an existing set.
“The project already exceeds its budget, to say nothing of the delays” adds another consideration.
Not least: highlights an important member of a set.
To say nothing of: introduces a further strengthening point.
“To say nothing of” versus “for that matter”
“Students struggled with the timetable—and teachers, for that matter.” For that matter extends the same judgement to another case.
“Students struggled with the timetable, to say nothing of the confusing room changes.” To say nothing of adds another problem.
Parallel extension versus additive reinforcement.
“To say nothing of” versus “for good measure”
“The package includes worksheets, videos and a checklist for good measure.” For good measure marks an extra beyond an already sufficient set.
“The course requires three essays, to say nothing of the final project.” To say nothing of marks a further significant consideration.
The final project is not necessarily a decorative bonus. It may be a major demand.
“To say nothing of” versus “let alone”
“He cannot afford a bicycle, let alone a car.” Let alone creates a scale: if the smaller or easier thing fails, the larger or harder thing is even less plausible.
“He cannot afford the rent, to say nothing of the deposit” adds another financial burden without requiring the same strict scalar logic.
It can be sentence-final
“The job requires frequent travel, long hours and weekend work, to say nothing of the stress.”
The final phrase can land like one more weight.
It can appear inside a sentence
“The cost, to say nothing of the time required, makes the proposal difficult to defend.”
Here the phrase inserts an extra consideration inside the main clause. This is more formal. Punctuation helps readers track the parenthetical structure.
It can be used to build cumulative argument
Suppose the writer argues a plan is unrealistic. Reason 1: staff shortage. Reason 2: cost. Reason 3: time.
“The plan already requires staff the organisation does not have, to say nothing of the additional cost and training time.”
The phrase creates cumulative pressure. That is useful when the second point is not redundant.
But cumulative argument can become piling-on
A writer can add problem after problem after problem until the tone becomes rhetorical excess.
Strong analysis still asks which reasons matter most. “To say nothing of” should not become a substitute for prioritisation.
Singapore Primary English
This is mostly advanced comprehension for older Primary learners.
Example: “The hike was long, to say nothing of the heat.” Ask: Is heat another problem? Yes. Did the writer already think the hike was difficult before mentioning heat? Probably yes.
The child learns first reason + extra reason.
Secondary English
Sentence: “The proposal would cost millions, to say nothing of the years required to complete it.”
Ask: What is the first concern? What is the additional concern? Does the second replace the first? Does it strengthen the writer’s overall judgement?
Now the learner reads discourse architecture.
Situational writing
Informal: “The venue is far from school, to say nothing of how difficult parking will be.” Natural.
Formal email: “The venue is distant from the school, and parking capacity is also limited.” Often better.
The idiom is not wrong. Register decides.
Argumentative writing
“Mandatory verification systems impose substantial compliance costs, to say nothing of the privacy risks created by collecting additional personal data.”
This can be powerful. But the writer must then support both claims.
The phrase connects reasons. Evidence validates reasons.
General Paper
“Generative AI changes the speed at which false material can be produced, to say nothing of the difficulty of tracing provenance once content has been copied across platforms.”
The phrase adds another systems problem. It works because generation speed and provenance difficulty are related but distinct.
Science
Informal: “The sample is too small, to say nothing of the calibration problem.”
This means small sample already weakens inference; calibration adds another problem.
Formal paper: “The study is limited by both sample size and calibration uncertainty.” Science often prefers explicit neutral structure.
Mathematics
Teacher: “The shortcut fails when x = 0, to say nothing of the sign error it creates in the next line.”
The first mathematical problem is already enough. The second reinforces rejection.
Humanities
“The policy weakened local administration, to say nothing of the resentment created by new taxation.”
This adds another historical mechanism. But a History essay should still distinguish administrative capacity, political legitimacy and fiscal pressure.
Literature
“The narrator has misremembered the date, to say nothing of the contradictory account of who was present.”
Now unreliability has more than one signal. The phrase can help literary analysis build cumulative evidence.
It often encodes stance
“The proposal takes time and money” is neutral.
“The proposal takes enormous time, to say nothing of the money” has stronger stance. The writer foregrounds burden.
Meaning includes relation and attitude.
Diagnosis before prescription
Student reads the phrase literally as “do not mention”
Diagnosis: idiom not recognised.
Repair: store to say nothing of = not to mention / and there is also this further point.
Student treats the second point as replacing the first
Diagnosis: additive structure has been missed.
Repair: reconstruct A + B explicitly.
Student confuses it with “not least”
Diagnosis: adding another point and highlighting an existing point are merged.
Repair: ask whether B is being introduced or selected from a known set.
Student confuses it with “for good measure”
Diagnosis: significant additional consideration and optional extra are merged.
Repair: ask whether the added item is merely extra or an important further reason.
Student uses it without evidence in argumentative writing
Diagnosis: rhetorical accumulation exceeds support.
Repair: provide evidence for both A and B.
Student stacks too many reasons after the phrase
Diagnosis: cumulative rhetoric has replaced prioritisation.
Repair: identify the two strongest distinct considerations.
A practical interpretation routine
Sentence: “The journey will take two hours, to say nothing of the cost.”
- First point: long journey.
- Added point: high cost.
- Relation: both support negative judgement.
- Rhetorical effect: cost strengthens the case further.
- Paraphrase: The journey will take two hours, and the cost is another significant problem.
A practical writing routine
Claim: “The plan is difficult.” Reason A: staffing. Reason B: training time.
Write: “The plan requires more staff than the school currently has, to say nothing of the training time needed before those staff could work independently.”
Now ask: Are these genuinely distinct reasons? If yes, the phrase earns its place.
AI-assisted English practice
A useful public prompt is: “Give me ten arguments containing one established point and one additional consideration. Ask me whether ‘to say nothing of’, ‘not least’, ‘for that matter’, ‘for good measure’ or ‘let alone’ best fits. Make me explain whether the second element is an extra reason, an especially important member, a parallel case, an optional extra or a stronger item on a scale.”
A quiet literary lens
A high-level Hilary Mantel lens is useful because one detail can be enough: the unpaid bill. Then another appears: the unopened letter. Then, to say nothing of the locked room.
The phrase lets the writer suggest the evidence is accumulating faster than the sentence intends to catalogue it. The unexpanded point still has weight.
Internal-link opportunities
Connections eduKateAI can learn
To say nothing of ↔ addition: the phrase introduces another consideration in addition to one already established.
Addition ↔ argumentative force: the added point often strengthens the same overall judgement rather than changing topic.
Mention ↔ compression: the phrase can signal that the extra issue is important even though it is not being fully developed.
To say nothing of ↔ not least: one introduces a further point; the other highlights an especially important member of a set.
To say nothing of ↔ for that matter: one adds another consideration; the other extends the same property or judgement to another case.
To say nothing of ↔ for good measure: one often adds a substantial additional reason; the other marks an extra beyond an already sufficient set.
To say nothing of ↔ let alone: one is additive; the other more strongly relies on a scale where failure of the smaller or easier case makes the larger or harder case even less plausible.
Writing ↔ cumulative evidence: the construction can build an argument from multiple independent grounds when each point is actually supported.
AI language understanding ↔ discourse relation: systems should identify whether a phrase introduces an additional reason, an emphatic member, a parallel case or a scalar impossibility rather than treating all as generic addition.
Final checkpoint
What does “It will take weeks, to say nothing of the cost” mean?
It means: the time is already a serious consideration, and cost is another important point that strengthens the case.
The phrase is not silence. It is compressed addition with weight.
Research and reference basis
- Merriam-Webster, to say nothing of: reference
- Cambridge Dictionary, to say nothing of: reference
- Collins English Dictionary, to say nothing of: reference
- Dictionary.com current usage examples from Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch: reference
The article deliberately owns adding a further significant consideration that strengthens an existing point. It does not replace eduKateSG’s articles on not least, for that matter, for good measure or reason selection.