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Where for all

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on March 14, 2008 at 08:30:

In Reply to: Where for all posted by Chantalle on March 14, 2008 at 08:13:

: Has anyone heard the saying "Where for all" or is it "wear with all" the meaning having relating to having the common sense... For example, "didn't have the where for all to come out of the rain.

I hadn't heard this exact form before, though "hadn't the sense to come in..." is commonplace. The word you don't recognise in there is "wherewithal", which means "the resources needed [to do something]". If you say "I haven't the wherewithal to buy a car", the resource you need but haven't got is course money; if you "haven't the wherewithal to bake a cake", the necessary resources are ingredients; if you "haven't the wherewithal to come out of the rain", the resource you need but haven't got is common sense. (VSD)

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