Possible Clues:

• Except for this it's minus one in France
• "___ you have a better idea"
• Equivocator's word
• "Wait, what if ..."
• If not overcast, taking top off
• Word sometimes followed, mysteriously, by an ellipsis
• "Except if ..."
• If not without cakes supposedly, the first polished off
• The Lorax's final word
• Except when cloudy, going topless