Word.ws English Dictionary

but me no buts

but me no buts phrase: used to cut off objections or qualifications.

Phrase

but me no buts

  1. Used to cut off objections or qualifications.
    • Sir Fran. But me no Buts Be gone, Sir: Dare to ask me for Money agen Refuse Forty Thousand Pound! Out of my Doors, I say, without reply.1709, Susanna Centlivre, The Busie Body
    • VVor[thy]. But Sir— / Pol[itick]. But me no buts—vvhat can be the Reaſon of all this vvarlike Preparation, vvhich all our Nevvs-papers have informed us of.1730, [Henry Fielding], Rape upon Rape; or, The Justice Caught in His Own Trap. A Comedy. […], London: […] J. Wat[t]s, […], →OCLC, Act II, scene xi, page 28

Examples of but me no buts in a sentence

  • “I heartily wish I could, but”–– / “Nay, but me no buts—I have set my heart upon it.” / “I am greatly obliged, my dear sir, but”––1816, [Walter Scott], chapter XI, in The Antiquary. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co....
  • Nay, but me no buts, offer me no objections.1889, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, New York, N.Y.: Charles L. Webster &...
  • Shakespeare. / Bernard Woolley: Oh no, Prime Minister. ‘But me no buts’ is circa 1820.1982, “The Key”, in Yes, Prime Minister:
  • ‘Yes, but—’ / ‘But me no buts.’ Tom glowered at him. ‘Who’s the captain of this crew, anyway?’2003, Wilbur Smith, Monsoon, →ISBN, page 1:

Origin of but me no buts

Coined in 1709 by Susanna Centlivre in the play The Busie Body.

Questions about but me no buts

What does but me no buts mean?
But me no buts means used to cut off objections or qualifications.
How do you use but me no buts in a sentence?
“I heartily wish I could, but”–– / “Nay, but me no buts—I have set my heart upon it.” / “I am greatly obliged, my dear sir, but”––
What part of speech is but me no buts?
But me no buts is a phrase.

Words near but me no buts in the dictionary

  1. but for
  2. but for the grace of God
  3. but good
  4. but hey
  5. but if
  6. but me no buts
  7. but seriously folks
  8. but that
  9. but then
  10. but who's counting
  11. but's

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: but me no buts (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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