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
“I felt something new needed to be done to lay down the whys and wherefores of street life, its attractions and distractions.”
From Washington Post • Jun. 14, 2018
“Don’t ask about the whys and wherefores; I doubt whether even the screenwriter could tell you,” Stephen Holden wrote in The Times in September.
From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2012
"The whys and wherefores cannot come within the Province of a Mineral Surveyor."
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
