Can more than be used here?

[tianhang]

Hi, my dear teachers, your help is appreciated here.
We were given nothing ________ dry bread and water for our evening meal.
A. other than B. more than
The given anwer is A. I know A is a right answer. Other than means except or but. But how about B. In my understanding, nothing more than means only, just like no more than. eg, It is nothing more than a shower.
Thank you very much! I am waiting for your answer.

[JohnParis]

Hi Tinhang,

I might be sticking my neck out here (do you know that expression?) but I'm going to say that they mean pretty much the same thing - at least in print. Reading them I get the same meaning but when spoken, there could be a slight difference.

John

[Gillnetter]

Hi, my dear teachers, your help is appreciated here.
We were given nothing ________ dry bread and water for our evening meal.
A. other than B. more than
The given anwer is A. I know A is a right answer. Other than means except or but. But how about B. In my understanding, nothing more than means only, just like no more than. eg, It is nothing more than a shower.
Thank you very much! I am waiting for your answer.

Both would fit in the sentence. Where was your book published?

[tianhang]

Hi Tinhang,

I might be sticking my neck out here (do you know that expression?) but I'm going to say that they mean pretty much the same thing - at least in print. Reading them I get the same meaning but when spoken, there could be a slight difference.

John

I am sorry to make you stick your neck out here. I can understand you very well. You may think my question very silly. I have no choice but to ask you, though. So, please don't feel upset when the question is asked by a foreign learner.
Thank you very much for your answer!
I like your answer very much.

[Barb_D]

I agree with JP that they mean the same, and another way (and the most natural to my ears) to say the same thing is to say "nothing but."

[tianhang]

Thank you! I doubt about its authority too.