What is the meaning of ifs and buts?

ˌifs and/or ˈbuts. (often used in negative sentences) used to stop somebody arguing, protesting or making excuses when you tell them to do something: I want this work finished by Friday and no ifs and buts.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on idioms.thefreedictionary.com


What does the saying mean no ifs ands or buts?

Definition of no ifs, ands, or buts

—used to indicate certainty As far as I'm concerned, she's the most qualified candidate, and there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it!
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on merriam-webster.com


What buts mean?

Meaning of buts in English

an excuse or an argument against something: No buts about it – you're going to school today.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on dictionary.cambridge.org


Where can I use but?

But can be used in the following ways:
  • As a conjunction (connecting two phrases or clauses): She's 83 but she still goes swimming every day.
  • As a preposition (followed by a noun): There's been nothing but trouble since he came.
  • As an adverb: We can but hope that things will improve.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on macmillandictionary.com


How do you say but in English?

Ways to Say BUT in English
  1. although.
  2. however.
  3. except.
  4. nevertheless.
  5. on the other hand.
  6. still.
  7. though.
  8. yet.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on englishgrammarhere.com


? No Ifs Ands or Buts Meaning No More Ifs Ands or Buts Examples C2 English



How do you use ifs and buts?

no ifs, ands, or buts (about it)

2. Absolutely no excuses, discussion, or protestations (about something). I don't care how, but you make sure you're at your son's party tomorrow—no ifs, ands, or buts about it! No ifs, ands, or buts—just do as I tell you!
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on idioms.thefreedictionary.com


What is the meaning of odd and ends?

Definition of odds and ends

1a : miscellaneous articles. b : miscellaneous small matters (as of business) to be attended to. 2 : miscellaneous remnants or leftovers odds and ends of food.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on merriam-webster.com


What is the saying if ifs and ands were pots and pans?

if ifs and ands were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands traditional response to an over-optimistic conditional expression, in which ands is the plural form of and 'if'. The saying is recorded from the mid 19th century.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on encyclopedia.com


Who said if ifs and buts were candy and nuts?

Don Meredith once said, "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas."
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on bleacherreport.com


What are tinkers hands?

proverb A phrase that advises against wishing for impossible or absurd things to happen. The full phrase is "If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands." A: "If only my parents would give me a car, life would be so much easier." B: "Yeah, well, if ifs and ands were pots and pans, right?"
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on idioms.thefreedictionary.com


What is the meaning of pots and pans?

Pots generally refer to high, straight sided cookware that will often contain larger quantities of items. Pans may refer to frying pans, cake pans or many other different types of kitchen cookware that have lower depth sides and a variety of shapes and sizes.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on recipetips.com


What means part and parcel?

Definition of part and parcel of

: a basic and necessary part of (something) Stress was part and parcel of the job.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on merriam-webster.com


What does kith and kin mean?

Definition of kith and kin

: friends and relatives They invited all their kith and kin to their new home.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on merriam-webster.com


What is to and fro motion?

adjective. back-and-forth: to-and-fro motion. noun, plural to-and-fros. a continuous or regular movement backward and forward; an alternating movement, flux, flow, etc.: the to-and-fro of the surf.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on dictionary.com


What does the expression by and large mean?

Definition of by and large

: on the whole : in general.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on merriam-webster.com


Where did no buts no cuts no coconuts come from?

In an extended discussion of "No cuts, no buts, no coconuts," Barry Popik's Big Apple site locates a first instance from the TV show Hey Arnold! from 1997.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on english.stackexchange.com


What does the phrase once and for all mean?

As a settled matter, finally, permanently, as in Once and for all, we're not hiring that organist again, or We've settled that question once and for all. This expression is in effect an abbreviation for “one time and for all time.” [ Late 1400s]
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on dictionary.com


What does Thick and Thin mean?

Definition of thick and thin

: every difficulty and obstacle —used especially in the phrase through thick and thin was loyal through thick and thin.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on merriam-webster.com


What is the meaning of leaps and bounds?

Rapidly, or in fast progress, as in The corn is growing by leaps and bounds, or School enrollment is increasing by leaps and bounds. This term is a redundancy, since leap and bound both mean “spring” or “jump,” but the two words have been paired since Shakespeare's time and are still so used.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on dictionary.com


What does turning a deaf ear mean?

Refuse to listen, as in You can plead all day but he's turning a deaf ear to everyone. This expression dates from the first half of the 1400s and was in most proverb collections from 1546 on.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on dictionary.com


What's the meaning of null and void?

Definition of null and void

: having no force, binding power, or validity.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on merriam-webster.com


What does dont pass the buck mean?

To shift blame from oneself to another person: “Passing the buck is a way of life in large bureaucracies.” (See the buck stops here.)
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on dictionary.com


What is the meaning of peace and quiet?

Tranquillity and freedom from disturbance. This phrase's redundancy—quiet here does not mean “lack of sound” but “peacefulness”—gives added emphasis. It often is used in wishes for this condition, as in All I want is a little peace and quiet. [
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on dictionary.com


What do Americans call pots?

Like pot, the word marijuana refers to cannabis, the hemp plant Cannabis sativa (or Cannabis indica). The plant grows naturally in central Asia and other warm regions. Its uses vary from recreational to medicinal to religious. Marijuana is the dried leaves and female flowers of the hemp plant.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on dictionary.com


What does the term tinkers mean?

Definition of tinker

(Entry 1 of 2) intransitive verb. : to work in the manner of a tinker especially : to repair, adjust, or work with something in an unskilled or experimental manner : fiddle always tinkering with his car. transitive verb.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on merriam-webster.com