what have you
72
7.6
- idiom
:
y cosas así
- She packed her bag with clothes, snacks, and what have you for the weekend trip.
You know, I'm made of flesh and bones and what have you, you know, flesh and blood.
- You know, I'm made of flesh and bones and what have you, you know, flesh and blood.
- I'm going to make them my target and my compatriots and what have you, my mentors.
- Meetings downtown, heading for lunch, what have you.
- And you know, the, they worship Saturn and what have you.
- It's got a big dent over there, dent over here and what have you.
- Some people are better at it, have thicker skin, what have you.
- Religious persuasions, family breakdowns, what have you.
- And you can substitute poverty out for discrimination, public education, what have you.
- And it's not always just a one-on-one me and one other poet or what have you.
- And hopefully enough that you could, yeah, find those replacement parts or what have you.
- So that was there was an awareness of that with union negotiations and what have you.
- So, you know, you get farther out, you're, you're not getting enough, you know, you know, photons or, or what have you to, to actually detect it.
Examples
-
They showed us their favorite places, including the park, the cafe, and what have you.
-
We went to the park and then to the cafe, and what have you after that?
-
In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to?
-
My question for you is what have you found that men absolutely love?
-
And tell me, what have you done in these years?
-
Dad: And what have you learned from all this?
Fiction book (2001) -
Otherwise, what have you and I been talking about?
Fiction book (1996) -
Take away his good looks, his height and his talent, and what have you got?
-
Tell us, what have you been doing with yourself since the 2008 invasion?
Blog text (22) -
We are here at the conference. What have you found this week that has been interesting, inspiring, or exciting?
Blog text (33)
Synonyms
259
2.0
A thing like the one just mentioned
11
3.5
Things or people similar to those just mentioned
1
7.9
Other similar things you could mention
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'what have you' is an informal, elliptical expression meaning 'and so on' that cannot be fully predicted from the literal meanings of 'what' + 'have' + 'you'. The word 'what' does hint at unspecified things (a partial clue), but the overall discursive/elliptical use is idiomatic and typically requires exposure, so it is only partially transparent to learners.
Etymology
What have you comes from a short question made of what, have, and you, originally meaning 'what else do you have'. People used that question when listing things, so it became a quick way to say 'and so on'.