D defs.my
Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913

Why-not

· Why·-not · IPA
01 n. A violent and peremptory procedure without any assigned reason; a sudden conclusive happening.
  1. 1.
    A violent and peremptory procedure without any assigned reason; a sudden conclusive happening.[Obs.]
    “When the church Was taken with a why-not in the lurch.” — Hudibras.
    “This game . . . was like to have been lost with a why-not.” — Nugae Antiq.