Where for all

Posted by Baceseras on March 14, 2008 at 16:37:

In Reply to: Where for all posted by Victoria S Dennis on March 14, 2008 at 08:30:

: : 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)

"Hasn't got the *sense* to come in out of the rain" --- I don't think 'wherewithall' would normally be used to stand in for 'common sense'. I've never heard it to mean anything other than material resources. As, for instance, a vagrant might lack the wherewithall to come in out of the rain if he was in the nightclub district and couldn't pay the cover charge.

• Where for all pamela 16/March/08