[Ads-l] whyever

[Ben Zimmer]

Then there's OED2 def 2: "interrogative. An emphatic extension of _why_,
implying perplexity or surprise (colloquial; frequently written as two
words)." This also has just one cite, from 1924 (not coincidentally when
this unrevised entry was published).

---
Brooklyn Daily Times, Aug. 11, 1862, p. 4, col. 1 [Newspapers.com]
Whyever should Gilbert be an owld name?
---
Liverpool Mercury, Oct. 27, 1862, p. 5, col. 1 [Newspapers.com]
Whyever, in the name of faith, were not the soldiers marched through the
neighbourhood of the hovels of these roughs.
---

On Sun, Jun 29, 2025 at 12:56 PM Jonathan Lighter <
00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> 'For whatever reason.'
>
> OED has just a single cite, from 1891. I can't say that I've encountered it
> before now.
>
> 1871 _N.Y. Times_ (June 22) 2 [Newspapers.com]: However, whoever, and
> whyever it is.
>
> 1958 James Jones _The Pistol_ (N.Y.: Scribner) 63: But whyever the
> decision, arbitrary or not, four was the rule for Makapoo.
>
> 1995 _Herald-Journal_ (Spartanburg, S.C.) D7 [GenealogyBank]: Whyever, it's
> VCR time!
>

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