how come?

How is it that, as in How come you're not attending the conference? Sometimes how come follows a statement and asks the question “why” or “in what way,” as in You're not going? How come? The related phrase how so? functions the same way, as in You say she's changed her mind—how so? How come is short for how did it come about that and dates from the mid-1800s; how so, short for how is it so or how is it that, dates from about 1300.

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Example Sentences

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Why is dad so concerned about “status”? Why does her stepmom call some meals “WASP lunches”? How come every time they visit somebody’s house she’s assigned to see if they have a copy of “The Power Broker” on their shelves?

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How come he never succumbed to drink and drugs, like many of his contemporaries?

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"It really blew my mind, so I asked: 'How come a country that did not have a colonial past in Zambia had so many artefacts from Zambia in its collection?'"

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How come those tens of millions of Americans who put Trump back in the White House did not listen to these grave warnings — warnings that have now come true?

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“People are going to wake up in about two months and say, 'How come the deficit’s still $2.2 trillion?'”

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howbeit howdah

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