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Glite Dictionary
why not both

why not both

5.4
Suggest choosing both options instead of one
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : ¿por qué no ambos?
  • You can have pizza for lunch. Why not both pizza and salad?

Examples

  • Faced with two appealing desserts, he smiled and said, 'Why not both?' before ordering them.

  • When asked whether to travel by train or plane, she replied, 'Why not both?'

  • The committee debated investing in marketing or research, but someone suggested, 'Why not both?'

  • I think we should go to the beach. Why not both enjoy the sun and swim?

  • When choosing a dessert, why not both the cake and the ice cream?

  • In the debate about vacation destinations, why not both the beach and the mountains?

  • For the party theme, why not both a tropical and a winter wonderland theme?

How Inclusive

both
∞ 1.0
why not both
  • Informal
5.4
to pick
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

why not both main

Morphology

why + not + both

The meaning is directly built from the constituents: 'why not' functions as a rhetorical question meaning 'there is no reason not to', and 'both' explicitly refers to the two options, so together they propose choosing both. This compositional pattern is common and transparent (and similar constructions exist in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows the words should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Why not both comes from a simple everyday reply: when someone is offered two choices, they suggest taking both instead of choosing one. So it now means 'to consider or pick more than one option'.