What not. It’s an interesting phrase. I have a friend who appends it to the end of almost every sentence – “So, I got into a car accident on Saturday and severed my foot below the ankle and what not…” Ever since I noticed this foible, I’ve become more sensitive to the usage of the phrase. I hear it everywhere now. What not. What does that even mean?!
Well, thank goodness for the internets. I just looked it up and discovered it’s actually spelled “whatnot.” So, I guess it’s a word and not a phrase. The origins, as explained here, are not that illuminating:
Word Origin & History
whatnot
1540, “anything,” from what + not. As the name of a furniture item, first attested 1808, so named for the objects it is meant to hold.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
I am so glad that the Online Etymology Dictionary relieved me of my ignorance of the origin of the word “what not” by telling me that it came from “what” plus “not.”
Anyway, back to Veronica Mars and whatnot. Tim and I recently discovered the first season of Veronica Mars on Netflix Streaming. We are only 6 episodes in, but so far I really, really like it. It’s freeing me from my Bones kick, which is good because the show was starting to annoy me, but I was so used to watching it that I couldn’t stop. Plus Emily Deschanel is so interestingly pretty. She’s hard not to watch. Look at her!
Man, am I ever tangential tonight. Back to Veronica Mars. It’s a good show. I can’t wait to find out what really happened to Lilly Kane (the estimable Amanda Seyfried, who won my heart in Mean Girls). Maybe some night when Tim is not home, I will skip to the end and watch the last episode of season 2. Or I’ll read the plot synopsis on the internets. Mu ha ha ha. You can’t stop me, Teem!!!