ifs, ands, or buts

名词 n.
中文释义

英文释义

名词 n.
  1. Modifications, limitations, or addenda; qualifications of any kind; speculations about whether a particular idea or enterprise is good. plural,plural-only
    — 1867, The Frankfort Commonwealth, Frankfort, Kentucky. August 30, 1867, p. 3. Some of those elected on the Rebel Democratic ticket, at the opening of the war, in the interest of the traitors to the Government, professed to be "Union men, without any ifs, ands, or buts."

词形变化

ifs, ands or buts alternative if's, and's, or but's alternative

词源

Earlier as ifs and 'ans, plurals of if and 'an (or an, en, or and), dialectal for then, influenced by the conjunction an (meaning if) (See OED entry on and conj.2). Thus it meant ifs and thens. Brewer's analyzes it as ifs and ans, with the meaning ifs and ifs, and that the spelling ands is a mistake. In any case, it was later supplemented with buts.
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