how come?

1. How is it that, as in How come you're not attending the conference? Sometimes how come follows a statement and asks the question “why” or “in what way,” as in You're not going? How come? The related phrase how so? functions the same way, as in You say she's changed her mind—how so? How come is short for how did it come about that and dates from the mid-1800s; how so, short for how is it so or how is it that, dates from about 1300.

Example Sentences

Burrell replied simply, “Honestly I don’t know…” Another fan asked, “Chef, how come you are not doing ‘Worst Cooks’ this season?

From Salon

If he was made of the right stuff, then how come Martin benched him against St Mirren last Sunday, against Brugge last Tuesday, against Alloa before that and against Dundee before that?

From BBC

Filmmakers seem to take a special pleasure in depicting an apocalyptic future for Los Angeles — how come?

From Los Angeles Times

“You know, some states are pretty good at this. The other day I was chatting with my girlfriend, she’s from Texas. She’s got like huge red hair. Like, she’s from Texas. And I said something and she said, well, you know, oh, I know what it was. I said, how come it takes so long to drive 10 hours from Galveston to Amarillo? And she said, well, you know, Texas is bigger than Spain. I didn’t know that. So I looked at the map. Texas is huge!”

From Salon

Why is dad so concerned about “status”? Why does her stepmom call some meals “WASP lunches”? How come every time they visit somebody’s house she’s assigned to see if they have a copy of “The Power Broker” on their shelves?

From Los Angeles Times