ifs, ands, or buts

Etymology
Earlier as ifs and 'ans, plurals of if and  'an (or an, en, or and), dialectal for then, influenced by the conjunction an (meaning if) (See OED entry on and conj.2). Thus it meant ifs and thens. Brewer's analyzes it as, with the meaning ifs and ifs, and that the spelling ands is a mistake. In any case, it was later supplemented with buts.

Noun

 * 1) Modifications, limitations, or addenda; qualifications of any kind; speculations about whether a particular idea or enterprise is good.
 * 2) * 1947, Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, Dramatists Play Service, Inc. (1952), ISBN 0822210894, page 29,
 * BLANCHE. That must’ve been what happened. ¶ STANLEY. I don’t want no ifs, ands or buts! What’s all the rest of the papers?
 * 1) * 1962, advertisement, in Popular Science, Popular Science Publishing Company, page 175,
 * There are no gimmicks. There are No Exceptions, No Exclusions, No Limitations, waiting periods, no ifs, ands or buts.
 * 1) * 2007, Walt Love, The Gospel According to Rev. Walt "Baby" Love: Inspirations and Meditations from the Gospel Radio Legend, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 0743291654, page 32,
 * There are no ifs, ands, or buts if we are going to stand on the promises found in the Holy Bible.
 * 1) * 2007, Walt Love, The Gospel According to Rev. Walt "Baby" Love: Inspirations and Meditations from the Gospel Radio Legend, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 0743291654, page 32,
 * There are no ifs, ands, or buts if we are going to stand on the promises found in the Holy Bible.

Usage notes

 * Most often in a negative phrase (especially "no ifs, ands or buts")

Translations

 * Finnish: ,
 * German: Wenn und Aber
 * Romanian: dar și poate, doar și poate
 * Russian: ,
 * Swedish: om och men