whys and wherefores
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mescal doesn’t spell out the whys and wherefores of his character’s pain.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2023
It takes a while before kids interrogate the whys and wherefores of their family’s dynamics.
From Slate • Feb. 4, 2020
“If the book was so right for me, there were bound to be maybe thousands like me who really wanted to learn the whys and wherefores of good French cooking,” she wrote.
From Washington Post • Aug. 2, 2017
Don’t ask about the whys and wherefores; I doubt whether even the screenwriter could tell you.
From New York Times • Sep. 22, 2011
"The whys and wherefores cannot come within the Province of a Mineral Surveyor."
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
