"ifs and ans" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "From the old rhyme \"if 'ifs' and 'ans' were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers\" (and variations). Compare if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. See an in archaic sense meaning \"if\".",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "p"
      },
      "expansion": "ifs and ans pl (plural only)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English coordinated pairs",
          "parents": [
            "Coordinated pairs",
            "Terms by etymology"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English pluralia tantum",
          "parents": [
            "Pluralia tantum",
            "Nouns",
            "Lemmas"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "c. 1599, Thomas Dekker, The Shoemaker's Holiday:",
          "text": "Away with these ifs and ans, Hans, and these et caeteraes, by mine honor Rowland Lacy none but the king shall wrong thee: […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1865, The Musical World, page 46:",
          "text": "\"Oh!\" quoth the Emperor, \"Oh, excellent oats! . . . you feed your horses upon ifs and ans. The man that invented ifs and ans certainly made gold of chopped straw! […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1912, Percy Adolphus Vaile, The Soul of Golf:",
          "text": "And yet such is the constitution of the human golfing soul that it not only fails to achieve it, but invents for itself multiform and manifold ifs and ans for not achieving it— […]",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "hypotheticals; counterfactuals; things that one only wishes were the case"
      ],
      "id": "en-ifs_and_ans-en-noun-54HrhJjn",
      "links": [
        [
          "hypothetical",
          "hypothetical"
        ],
        [
          "counterfactual",
          "counterfactual"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "if ifs and ans were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands"
        },
        {
          "word": "ifs and buts"
        },
        {
          "word": "ifs, ands, or buts"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "plural",
        "plural-only"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "ifs and ans"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "From the old rhyme \"if 'ifs' and 'ans' were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers\" (and variations). Compare if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. See an in archaic sense meaning \"if\".",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "p"
      },
      "expansion": "ifs and ans pl (plural only)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "if ifs and ans were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands"
    },
    {
      "word": "ifs and buts"
    },
    {
      "word": "ifs, ands, or buts"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English coordinated pairs",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English pluralia tantum",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "c. 1599, Thomas Dekker, The Shoemaker's Holiday:",
          "text": "Away with these ifs and ans, Hans, and these et caeteraes, by mine honor Rowland Lacy none but the king shall wrong thee: […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1865, The Musical World, page 46:",
          "text": "\"Oh!\" quoth the Emperor, \"Oh, excellent oats! . . . you feed your horses upon ifs and ans. The man that invented ifs and ans certainly made gold of chopped straw! […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1912, Percy Adolphus Vaile, The Soul of Golf:",
          "text": "And yet such is the constitution of the human golfing soul that it not only fails to achieve it, but invents for itself multiform and manifold ifs and ans for not achieving it— […]",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "hypotheticals; counterfactuals; things that one only wishes were the case"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "hypothetical",
          "hypothetical"
        ],
        [
          "counterfactual",
          "counterfactual"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "plural",
        "plural-only"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "ifs and ans"
}