why and wherefore

why and wherefore (plural whys and wherefores)

1. (set phrase, often pluralized) A full and complete explanation.
   • 1878, W. S. Gilbert, H.M.S. Pinafore, act 2:

     Never mind the why and wherefore,
     Love can level ranks, and therefore,
     Though his lordship's station's mighty
     Though stupendous be his brain.

   • 1888, James M. Barrie, Auld Licht Idyls, ch.3:

     Bursting into the kirk she called the office-bearers to her assistance, whereupon the minister in miniature raised his voice and demanded the why and wherefore of the ungodly disturbance.

   • 1922, D. H. Lawrence, Fantasia of the Unconscious ch. 7:

     Those whose nature it is to be rational will instinctively ask why and wherefore, and wrestle with themselves for an answer.

   • 2015 February 16, Vanessa Friedman, "At New York Fashion Week, Whatever Looks Warm Will Work," New York Times (retrieved 17 June 2018):

     [T]ruth be told, once clothes make it into the stores, the why and wherefore of their creation in the designer mind is essentially beside the point.