Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

| Domain | Definition |
Tips from 1870 | Usage: But what, But that. "I don't know but what I shall have to punish him." The sentence should read, "I don't know but that I shall have to punish him." It is equivalent to, "I think that I shall have to punish him." The omission of but will convey the opposite meaning. "I don't know that I shall have to punish him" is equivalent to "I think that I shall not have to punish him." Usage: But what, But that. "Think no man so perfect but what he may err." Say, "but that he may err." "I could not think but what he was insane." Use but that. Usage: But what. "His parents will never believe but what he was enticed away by his uncle." Omit what. The use of but that would be equally objectionable. But is sufficient. A reconstruction of the sentence would improve it. "His parents will always believe," or "Will never cease to believe that," etc. Source: Slips of Speech. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Desire | Cassius has a lean and hungry look; " hungry as the grave "; " I was born to other things "; " not what we wish but what we want "; " such joy ambition finds "; " the sea hath bounds but deep desire hath none "; ubi mel ibi apes. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: BUT WHAT |
| English words defined with "BUT WHAT": function ♦ purpose ♦ role ♦ use. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "BUT WHAT": Blue Beans, But that ♦ Constitutions of Clarendon ♦ low-bandwidth ♦ SLAP-BANG SHOP. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | But what if none of us goes for the blonde (A Beautiful Mind; writing credit: Akiva Goldsman) Then what a pair we could make, but what if it's a lesson I don't care to learn (Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles; writing credit: Anne Rice) But what you'll be really thinking is: we had sex. (Say Anything; writing credit: Cameron Crowe.) I am doing this to save your ass, but what I really want to do is drop you on it. (Dirty Dancing; writing credit: Eleanor Bergstein.) I don't mind flying, but what you're doing is suicide (Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones; writing credit: George Lucas) | |
Lyrics | We realized we're both to blame, but what could we do (One Week; performing artist: Barenaked Ladies) But what I got to say can't wait (I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song; performing artist: Jim Croce) I should stay away but what can I do ("That Old Black Magic"; performing artist: Louis Prima & Keely Smith) Ran thru what we scared up, but what was we afraid for (Awnaw; performing artist: Nappy Roots) I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you (Can't Buy Me Love (Lennon/McCartney); performing artist: The Beatles) | |
Clever | Ink dries, paper burns; but what is written in the soul will last an eternity. (references; author: unknown) Statistics is like a bikini: What is revealed is suggestive, but what is concealed is vital. (references; author: unknown) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | ![]() | What we want to do is to play this tune together : But what tune are you going to play?. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Author Unknown | It isn't so much what happens to us that matters but what we do about it. |
Browning | `Tis not what man does which exalts him, but what man would do! |
Chapman | We will inherit nothing truly, but what our actions make us worthy of. |
Immanuel Kant | Nothing is divine but what is agreeable to reason. |
John Petit-Senn | Not what we have But what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance. |
Michel Eyquem De Montaigne | The memory represents to us not what we choose but what it pleases. |
René Descartes | But what is man? Shall I say a rational animal? Assuredly not. . . . |
Robert Browning | 'Tis not what man does which exalts him, but what man Would do! |
Thomas Carlyle | Not what I have, but what I do is my kingdom. |
| Everywhere in life the true question is not what we gain, but what we do. | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
John Locke | 1690 | Nothing mentioned of him but what he did as a general: and indeed that is all is found in his history, or in any of the rest of the judges. (Second Treatise of Government) |
Winston S. Churchill | 1946 | There is nothing here but what you see. ("Iron Curtain" Speech) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Sylvie and Bruno Concluded | Carroll, Lewis | But what then |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | But what did Scrooge care |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | But what would I have then |
Imitation of Horace | John Dryden | Not heaven itself upon the past has power; But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour |
King Richard III | Shakespeare, William | He hath no friends but what are friends for fear, Which in his dearest need will fly from him. |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | They have no remembrance of anything but what they learned and observed in their youth and middle age, and even that is very imperfect |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | But what is that to the purpose |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | They believe that the market is full of low-grade systems, but what they provide is good quality products and after sales service through a network of engineers and technicians. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Barbara Eden | Oh, sure, because you don't think about anything else but what you're doing. That's your world. It's afterwards that's bad. |
Gary Sinise | I can't do the exact voice, or, you know, I'm not Rich Little or something like that. But what I can try to do is create the impression so that people believe. |
Marla Hanson | Well, I had a hard time accepting that right away, but I think what bothered people weren't so much the scars but what they represented, the violence. I think that really bothered people. |
Rush Limbaugh | But what I haven't yet told you is that this confusion-about the domestic-policy differences between Bush and Reagan and the domestic-policy similarities between Bush and Clinton is the result of a calculated strategy of the Clinton campaign. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | But what was new only emphasized clearly what was lost. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Expression using "BUT WHAT": not but what. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| Language | Translations for "BUT WHAT"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Greek | ωστόσο (however, never the less, nevertheless, not but what, yet). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | utbay atwhay.(various references) | |
Romanian | decât cel pe care, de ce (why). (various references) | |
Turkish | rağmen (after all, altho, although, as, but yet, considering, despite, even though, for all, in despite of, in spite of, notwithstanding, spite of, whilst), ki (as, but, quod, so that, that), gene de. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Romans Chapter 7, Verse 15 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | O gar katergazomai ou ginwskw ou gar o qelw touto prassw all o misw touto poiw |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Quod enim operor non intellego non enim quod volo hoc ago sed quod odi illud facio |
| Old English | 990 | West Saxon | Ic ne forstande þæt ic wyrcie. Forþy ic ne wyrcie þæt ic will wyrcan, ac þæt ic gefeoge wyrcan. |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | For Y vndurstonde not that that Y worche; for Y do not the good thing that Y wole, but Y do thilke yuel thing that Y hate. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | Because I wote not what I doo. For what I wold that do I not: but what I hate that do I. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | For that which I do, I allow not: for what I would, that I do not; but what I hate, that I do. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And I have no clear knowledge of what I am doing, for that which I have a mind to do, I do not, but what I have hate for, that I do. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Romans Chapter 7, Verse 15 |
| Cebuano | Dili ako makasabut sa akong kaugalingong panglihok. Kay dili ako mobuhat sa buot ko untang pagabuhaton; mao hinooy pagabuhaton ko ang butang nga ginadumtan ko. |
| Chinese | 為 我 所 作 的 、 我 自 己 不 明 白 . 我 所 願 意 的 、 我 並 不 作 . 我 所 恨 惡 的 、 我 ' 去 作 。 |
| Croatian | Zbilja ne razumijem što radim: ta ne èinim ono što bih htio, nego što mrzim - to èinim. |
| Danish | Thi jeg forstår ikke, hvad jeg udfører; thi ikke det, som jeg vil, øver jeg, men hvad jeg hader, det gør jeg. |
| Dutch | Want hetgeen ik doe, dat ken ik niet; want hetgeen ik wil, dat doe ik niet, maar hetgeen ik haat, dat doe ik. |
| Finnish | Sillä minä en tunne omakseni sitä, mitä teen; sillä minä en toteuta sitä, mitä tahdon, vaan mitä minä vihaan, sitä minä teen. |
| French | Car je ne sais pas ce que je fais: je ne fais point ce que je veux, et je fais ce que je hais. |
| German | Denn ich weiß nicht, was ich tue. Denn ich tue nicht, was ich will; sondern, was ich hasse, das tue ich. |
| Haitian Creole | Lè m' fè yon bagay, mwen pa konprann sa m' fè a. Paske, sa m' ta vle fè a, se pa sa m' fè. Epi sa m' pa vle fè a, se li mwen fè. |
| Hungarian | Mert a mit cselekeszem, nem ismerem: mert nem azt mívelem, a mit akarok, hanem a mit gyûlölök, azt cselekeszem. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Sebab saya sendiri tidak mengerti perbuatan saya. Hal-hal yang saya ingin lakukan, itu tidak saya lakukan; tetapi hal-hal yang saya benci, itu malah yang saya lakukan. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Karena barang yang kulakukan tiada aku tahu, karena bukannya barang yang aku gemar, aku amalkan, melainkan barang yang aku benci, itulah aku buat. |
| Latvian | Es nesaprotu, ko daru: jo es nedaru labu, ko gribu, bet es daru ïaunu, ko ienîstu. |
| Maori | Ko taku hoki e mahi nei kahore e mohiotia iho e ahau: kahore hoki e mahia e ahau taku i pai ai; heoi ko taku i kino ai, meatia ana tenei e ahau. |
| Norwegian | for hvad jeg gjør, vet jeg ikke; for jeg gjør ikke det som jeg vil; men det som jeg hater, det gjør jeg. |
| Portuguese | Pois o que faço, não o entendo; porque o que quero, isso não pratico; mas o que aborreço, isso faço. |
| Rumanian | Cqci nu wtiu ce fac: nu fac ce vreau, ci fac ce urqsc. |
| Shuar | Kame Túrajna nuna itiurchat Enentáimtajai. Pénker Túratniun wakeraj nuna Túratsjai. Antsu nakitiaj nuna nekaska Túriniaitjai. |
| Spanish | Porque lo que hago, no lo entiendo, pues no practico lo que quiero; al contrario, lo que aborrezco, eso hago. |
| Swahili | Sielewi nifanyacho, maana kile ninachotaka sikifanyi, bali kile ninachochukia ndicho nikifanyacho. |
| Swedish | Ty jag kan icke fatta att jag handlar såsom jag gör; jag gör ju icke vad jag vill, men vad jag hatar, det gör jag. |
| Uma | Uma ku'incai kalaua-na kehi-ku toi. Po'ingku to lompe' to doko' kubabehi, uma lau kubabehi. Po'ingku to kupokahuku' -e, toe lau-di to kubabehi! |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-h-t-t-u-w" | |
-2 letters: battu. | |
-3 letters: abut, baht, bath, batt, bhut, butt, habu, haut, tabu, taut, that, thaw, tuba, watt, what. | |
-4 letters: att, bah, bat, but, hat, haw, hub, hut, tab, tat, tau, taw, tub, tut, twa, uta, wab, wat, wha. | |
-5 letters: ab, ah, at, aw, ba, ha, ta, uh, ut. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Crosswords 2. Usage: Modern 3. Usage: Commercial 4. Images: Photo Album | 5. Quotations: Familiar 6. Quotations: Historic 7. Quotations: Fiction 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Quotations: Spoken 10. Quotations: Speeches 11. Expressions 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Bible Trace 14. Anagrams 15. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.