ifs, ands, or buts

ifs, ands, or buts

Reservations or restrictions; excuses. This expression actually mingles two older ones, ifs and ands with but me no buts. The first, dating from the sixteenth century, was more or less the equivalent of wishful thinking, and its most famous version is Charles Kingsley’s rhyme of 1850: “If ifs and ans were pots and pans, there’d be no trade for tinkers.” Almost as old is “but me no buts,” meaning make no objections or excuses, which according to Eric Partridge was popularized by Sir Walter Scott’s use of it in The Antiquary (1816). The current cliché is most often used as a negative imperative, as in, “I want this done by tomorrow, and no ifs, ands, or buts.”
See also: but
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • ifs and/or buts
  • no ifs, ands, or buts (about it)
  • no ifs, ands, or buts and no buts about it
  • no ifs and buts (about it)
  • no ifs or buts
  • no ifs or buts (about it)
  • no buts (about it)
  • but me no buts
  • if ifs and ands were pots and pans
  • God's gift to the world
References in periodicals archive
The what ifs, ands, or buts are holding back these young people.
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How can one not be transformed after working in a setting with resources that are far from adequate, books that do not invite learning, classrooms that are cramped and overcrowded, students who are tired and hungry, and underachievers who have been automatically promoted to the next grade with no ifs, ands, or buts? Yes, public education is a true hardship post.
Equal opportunity for excellent education
A light box installed on the Rockbund Art Museum's exterior, featuring the neon text one thousand and one nights in Arabic, English, and Chinese (all works 2016), serves as a prelude to Heman Chong's exhibition "Ifs, Ands, or Buts." Prior to entering the museum, the viewer may also notice a disclaimer written on a nearby billboard: the story, ALL NAMES, CHARACTERS AND INCIDENTS PORTRAYED IN THIS EXHIBITION are fictitious.
Heman Chong: Rockbund Art Museum
Remember, there are no ifs, ands, or buts about this minimum GPM required.
Pay attention to heat transfer
"Duane runs the show, no ifs, ands, or buts," Panos told the
Stumptown Investor Comes Forward, But Questions Still Remain
If you determine that number is three hours, then when three hours expire, you should be on final--no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Don't miss it a bit
"She said homosexuality would be punishable by death--no ifs, ands, or buts about it." Allen remembers.
Coming out in the colonies: how would being gay play in the 17th-century village re-created for PBS's Colonial House? Two men found out. An Advocate exclusive
No ifs, ands, or buts about it, aquatics staff need to be working out in the water!
Building blocks to in-service aquatic training
For instance, another factor that sold LeFaivre on his current supplier was that company's "clear-cut, lifetime warranty--no ifs, ands, or buts replacement." He combines it with a warranty, offered by the product's distributor, on glass breakage.
Vinyl offer: turnaround time, strong manufacturer warranties, and product consistency make vinyl windows attractive to some general contractors
"Heinlein was a kind of socialist, no ifs, ands, or buts about it, during the period that he wrote For Us, the Living," Silver says.
Time enough for love
Nevertheless, it took only about two minutes of listening to realize that here was something special, an unqualified recommendation with no ifs, ands, or buts. The interpretation is, to say the least, highly idiosyncratic, and it may not appeal to everyone grown accustomed to a more traditional approach.
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 3; Vocalise. Leopold Stokowski, National Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI 7243-5-66759-2-6
He does not qualify his statement in any way--no ifs, ands, or buts. He just lets them have it: Nineveh is going to be destroyed and he's glad.
You can run but you can't hide
In a book of over 200 pages, all aspects of her career are explored at length but what the entire case boils down to is really quite simple: an unwed girl who becomes pregnant, by her confessor's scribe no less, cannot possibly be a true prophet -- no ifs, ands, or buts. The hide-and-seek approach to history found in the dust jacket characterizes the prose sections of the book as well.
Lucrecia's Dreams: Politics and Prophecy in Sixteenth-Century Spain
No ifs, ands, or buts, or anything else in between.
Direct commission for Cudia
No question--no ifs, ands, or buts. In the early 1970s, all my friends and I looked around and thought that the law would get changed.
AMERICA'S MOST DANGEROUS POLITICIAN