less tall than, no less tall than

[diamondcutter]

1. Tom is less tall than Jack
2. Tom is no less tall than Jack.
(Written by me)

I take Sentence 1 to mean Tom is as tall as Jack or shorter than Jack.
And I take Sentence 2 to mean Tom is as tall as Jack or taller than Jack.

Is my understanding correct?

 

[Skrej]

No, you are mistaken about #1. You are correct on #2.

#1 only means that Tom is shorter than Jack, which is the more natural way to express it than 'less tall'.

 

[diamondcutter]

What about this sentence?

Tom is not taller than Jack.

Does it mean Tom is either as tall as Jack or shorter than Jack?

 

[Tdol]

Yes.

 

[Tarheel]

Frankly, it doesn't matter what the sentence means if it's a sentence nobody is going to use.

If I need to compare the heights of two people I will say Bob is taller than Jack, or I would say Bob and Jack are about the same height. (Jack is shorter than Bob is also possible.)