"why and wherefore" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "whys and wherefores",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "whys and wherefores"
      },
      "expansion": "why and wherefore (plural whys and wherefores)",
      "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 entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2015 February 16, Vanessa Friedman, “At New York Fashion Week, Whatever Looks Warm Will Work”, in New York Times, retrieved 2018-06-17",
          "text": "[T]ruth be told, once clothes make it into the stores, the why and wherefore of their creation in the designer mind is essentially beside the point.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A full and complete explanation."
      ],
      "id": "en-why_and_wherefore-en-noun-~9a7Pzc8",
      "links": [
        [
          "set phrase",
          "set phrase"
        ],
        [
          "pluralize",
          "pluralize"
        ],
        [
          "explanation",
          "explanation"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "set phrase; often pluralized; set phrase; often pluralized",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(set phrase, often pluralized) A full and complete explanation."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "why and wherefore"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "whys and wherefores",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "whys and wherefores"
      },
      "expansion": "why and wherefore (plural whys and wherefores)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English coordinated pairs",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2015 February 16, Vanessa Friedman, “At New York Fashion Week, Whatever Looks Warm Will Work”, in New York Times, retrieved 2018-06-17",
          "text": "[T]ruth be told, once clothes make it into the stores, the why and wherefore of their creation in the designer mind is essentially beside the point.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A full and complete explanation."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "set phrase",
          "set phrase"
        ],
        [
          "pluralize",
          "pluralize"
        ],
        [
          "explanation",
          "explanation"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "set phrase; often pluralized; set phrase; often pluralized",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(set phrase, often pluralized) A full and complete explanation."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "why and wherefore"
}