the whys and (the) wherefores

plural noun

: the reasons for something

She explained the whys and the wherefores of the sudden price increase.

Examples of the whys and (the) wherefores in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Eschewing cheap shots, McBride favors a careful, winding excavation – reaching into history for the whys and wherefores of his novels’ crowded casts, while delivering whopper stories with electric finales. —Erin Douglass, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Oct. 2023

Soccer, though, did not waste time wondering about the whys and wherefores. —Ahmed Al Omran, New York Times, 13 July 2023

Mescal doesn’t spell out the whys and wherefores of his character’s pain. —Charles McNultytheater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2023

For the next nine minutes, with Cramer asking tough questions, McMillon gamely walked him through the whys and wherefores of what the company was doing, including the pay increase. —Rick Wartzman, Fortune, 15 Nov. 2022

There is a long tradition of Hollywood productions that feature white Americans as the audience’s POV into the the whys and wherefores of other nations. —Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 2022

Murray Weissman and Tony Angelotti pioneered Emmy campaigning in the late 1980s, but the phenomenon took off when VHS tape allowed networks, studios, and production companies to bring the whys and wherefores of direct marketing the membership. —EW.com, 7 June 2021

Why, then, did Minnesota's GOP representatives vote against a commission to establish the whys and wherefores of the Jan. 6 attack on our U.S. Capitol? —Star Tribune, 20 May 2021

Any hint would be a giant step toward understanding the whys and wherefores of our own origins. —New York Times, 2 Feb. 2021