 Scalar implicature

In pragmatics, scalar implicature, or quantity implicature, is an implicature that attributes an "implicit" meaning beyond the explicit or "literal" meaning of an utterance, and which suggests that the utterer had a reason for not using a more informative or "stronger" term on the same scale.The choice of the weaker characterization suggests that, as far as the speaker knows, none of the stronger characterizations in the scale holds.