[Ads-l] whyever

[Laurence Horn]

These cites all appear outside my own idiolect, which does however admit “Why ever not?” or possibly “Whyever not?”.  I would tend to space between the “why” and “ever”, though.  “Emphatic extension” seems about right.  It’s essentially a weakened version of “Why the hell”.  

LH

> On Jun 29, 2025, at 2:25 PM, Ben Zimmer <00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> wrote:
> 
> 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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