>>> class TestEllipsis(object):
...     def __getitem__(self, item):
...         if item is Ellipsis:
...             return "Returning all items"
...         else:
...             return "return %r items" % item
...
>>> x = TestEllipsis()
>>> print x[2]
return 2 items
>>> print x[...]
Returning all items

>>> from numpy import arange
>>> a = arange(16).reshape(2,2,2,2)

>>> a[..., 0].flatten()
array([ 0,  2,  4,  6,  8, 10, 12, 14])

>>> a[:,:,:,0].flatten()
array([ 0,  2,  4,  6,  8, 10, 12, 14])