280 What’s More and Whatever
Whatever you will/ want/ desire appear only in the modern period. We also
fi nd explicitly metalinguistic forms (“to call it”):
(35) a. Yes; the place, the sphere, the home, whatever you choose to call it , will
be perfectly natural to you, and all its glorifi ed inhabitants (1857 North
American Review [COHA])
b. She can, by an act of volition, become hypnotic, clairvoyant – whatever you
choose to call i t. (1891 Crawford, The witch of Prague [CEN])
c. And now I am to get three shillings, and that little Methodist or Plymouth
Brethren there, whatever you like to call her , is to get nine!” (1894 Moore,
Esther Waters [CEN])
d. don’t you see that THAT is the authority, the motive power, whatever you
like to call it , by which things are done? (1896 Frederic, The damnation of
Theron Ware [COHA])
We might consider that in the cases of whatever you please/ like/ choose/ will/
want/ like , a form of imperative “do” (or perhaps “think,” cf. 34i) has been
omitted. However, explicit structures with “do” are rare, with only one pre-
twentieth century found in my corpora:
(36) a. “There,” he cried, throwing down the key, “there it is, do whatever you
please .” (1749 Fielding, Tom Jones [CLMET3.0])
b. NEIL BENNETT You can stay; you can go. Do whatever you please, Anna.
(1962 Kingsley, Night life [COHA])
It has also been suggested that whatever derives from whatever you say
( Wikipedia : s.v. Whatever (slang)), which, as Cooper notes (see Liberman
2007 ), “has pretty much identical meaning.” Support for this origin is provided
by Aviad Eilam (see Liberman 2007 ), who explains that the Hebrew equivalent
of whatever is equivalent to “whatever you say.” The online Macmillan diction-
ary (s.v. whatever you say/ whatever you think is best ) suggests that whatever
you say can be “used for telling someone that you are ready to accept their
decision, especially when you do not really agree with them but you do not
want to argue.” It cites the following short discourse: ‘I think we should deal
with this matter ourselves.’ ‘Oh, all right. Whatever you say.’ Here, of course,
bare whatever would be equally suitable.
The original meaning of parenthetical whatever you say is ‘in spite of what
you might say,’ as in (37a– b). However, COCA evidence suggests that this
usage is now quite rare, (37c– d):
(37) a. Dora interrupted him. “No, don’t say any more. I don’t like you, Picter, and
I don’t want to talk any longer. I’m going to sleep, and shan’t answer again,
whatever you say .” (1865 Austin, Dora darling [COHA])
b. on one point I am quite determined, Elmer; whatever you say , I shall not
invite the Prince (1907 Wharton, Madame de Treymes [CEN])