nothing but everything

[drdeng]

I understand that "nothing but..." means "only...". However, if "only everything" is substitued for "nothing but everything" in the following passage, the result would seem unreasonable. Could anybody give me an explanation?

"Two of his sisters are nurses, one of whom, Peggy LaMassa, recalls that their father, in sharp contrast to J. Seward Johnson, gave his children "nothing but everything." She also recalls� "

[chakka35]

"nothing but everything" is such an ugly, gauche construction anyway that I don't think that "only everything" is any worse.