what with
42
6.7
- idiom
:
debido a
- The last couple of years had been too hard, what with Steve's behavior.
- what with one thing
- what with so many men
- what with the whole situation
Broadway, what with this successful Tom stuff, I'll play.
- Broadway, what with this successful Tom stuff, I'll play.
- And So what with days to go, you and Rachel scrambled and recast the whole thing.
- Not confused, what with the expectable sadness and grief at having to say goodbye and let go of a part of their lives.
- But what with the whole global DRAM shortage and all that, it comes in at a lower price and it is intended for Internet cafes.
- Again, you know what you sell, what with what the world needs.
- You were on the right lines and now you you're spiraling back downwards what with meal deal.
Examples
-
There are proper channels, what with my friends and family here.
-
The day had been long, what with painting, polishing, and packing every last toy to be delivered.
Fiction book (1998) -
It's been a struggle, what with one thing and another.
-
Bob, what with my brake problem, I'd appreciate a lift.
-
And what with business going the way it is, I really can't manage him and it.
-
When I met you, I was very insecure, what with the divorce and all.
Fiction book (1990) -
You know, we've just been so stressed what with the house and all her work.
-
But what with the whole global DRAM shortage and all that, it comes in at a lower price and it is intended for Internet cafes.
-
I know you must be a very busy man, what with services, lectures, private counseling, and house-hunting, and all.
Fiction book (1990) -
Given the delays caused by traffic, what with the construction on Main Street, we should leave earlier.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Because a situation exists at the same time
∞
1.0
For a reason that explains why something happened
Surface Forms
Morphology
The preposition 'with' signals an accompanying circumstance, so a learner who knows 'with' can partly infer that the phrase introduces a reason or condition; however the use of 'what' in the fixed sequence 'what with' is idiomatic and does not transparently add literal meaning, making the whole construction a colloquial connective rather than a fully compositional phrase. Because the causal sense is partly derivable but relies on a fixed, potentially unfamiliar pattern, this is best described as semi-transparent for a B1 learner.
Etymology
What with comes from people listing things together; imagine someone pointing and saying 'what with the rain and the traffic' to show two problems at once. It groups these items as 'reasons', so today we use what with like 'because' to explain why something happened.