if only

In any case, humans are likely to have the last word on the em dash, if only because we’ll never shut up about it.

A witch’s dusty spellbook — trapped in the highest tower of the oldest castle — flies open all on its own, turning its pages to an old incantation said to make everything okay again, if only for a few moments.

If only, Dyer implies, Americans with the misfortune of paying for their own dental care could afford the rite of developing gum boils.

But, after Saturday’s 157th running of the $2 million Belmont Stakes, it certainly has a rivalry, if only for one year.

If only there were some sort of reliable process for the delivery of such funds.