A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

what ever • whatever
what ever —is used as a more emphatic variant of “what”:
“What ever are you doing in that ridiculous costume?” Jonny
let out a girlish giggle…
whatever —no matter what: Whatever I say, he always finds
a way to tell me that the same thought occurred to him a few
weeks earlier.
what goes around, comes around • what goes up,
must come down
what goes around, comes around —one is bound to see the
long-term effects of his current actions and behavior: “What
goes around comes around” and eventually each of you will
answer for all the lies you have published.
what goes up, must come down —when smth. such as a stock
price, etc. goes up it will most certainly come down: It is not
clear what triggered the price drop: though perhaps it is simply
a case of what goes up must come down.
what is in it for someone • what is it to someone
what is in it for someone —what advantage or benefit can a
person receive from smth.: He had an inbred suspicion of any
kind of offered help, he wanted to know why people were giv-
ing it, what was in it for them.
what is it to someone —what business is that of mine, yours,
etc.; does it concern me, you, etc.: Now why does that thought
gnaw at me? What is it to me if he does not pay more attention
to me?
what matter • what’s the matter
what matter —(coll.) what difference does it make: But what
matter from whom he heard this.
what’s the matter —
1
. what happened; what is the problem:
What’s the matter, Cynthia? You sound odd. 2. what’s wrong
with: I’m a farmer all right. What’s the matter with farming?
what with • what’s with
what with —on account of smth.; as a result of smth.: The
idea of being homesick didn’t even occur to me, what with all
the new things that were going on.
what’s with —what’s wrong with: It seems that well-educated
people should be the most well informed. What’s with these
people?