# How Come

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come/144965>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 26, 2002, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come/144965 "2002-12-26T14:22:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bensonGemini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@bensonGemini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bensonGemini)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come/144965/1 "2002-12-26T14:22:42Z")

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How come people say ‘how come’?

I HATE it when I hear it because it just does not seem correct.

Say ‘WHY’ dont say ‘how come’!

If it does mean something, how do those words come together to mean that?

Thanks.

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**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come/144965/2 "2002-12-26T14:31:28Z")

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Umm, asked and answered. I think.

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**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come/144965/3 "2002-12-26T14:46:26Z")

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I also get agitated about trivialities from time to time. May WAG would be that it is short for, “How did it come about that …”

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**Author:** ![Gjorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@Gjorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gjorp)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come/144965/4 "2002-12-26T14:46:40Z")

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How comes it that ‘how come’ is used? Just like that, the phrase used to be ‘how comes it’ and later just got shortened to ‘how come’.

And, BTW, “correct” English is what people use. Therefore, ‘how come’ is “correct” even if you can’t make sense out of it’s roots.

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**Author:** ![bensonGemini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@bensonGemini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bensonGemini)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come/144965/5 "2002-12-26T14:55:27Z")

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Thank you so much. I feel better now. I will try not to grind my teeth so much next time I hear it.

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**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come/144965/6 "2002-12-26T15:02:12Z")

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Shouldn’t this be in IMHO?

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**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come/144965/7 "2002-12-26T15:47:32Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by bensonGemini \*  
> If it does mean something, **how** do those words **come** together to mean that?_\*

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**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2002, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come/144965/8 "2002-12-26T19:00:34Z")

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As long as we’re on the subject, is “how come…?” an Americanism, or do they say it in other English speaking countries?