somehow or other

adverb

One way or another; by some (mysterious) means.

“Somehow or other they managed to get that grand piano upstairs.”

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Meanings

adverbsomehow or other (not comparable)

alternative somehow or another · alternative somehow or the other

  1. not comparableOne way or another; by some (mysterious) means.

    Somehow or other they managed to get that grand piano upstairs.

    1 more example

    It’s not by accident Edward wrote “The Goat,” “The Zoo Story” or “Seascape,” with its two lizards, Sarah and Leslie. In fact, in all of his plays the animal is pretty prominent, somehow or other.

    2016 December 1, Tom Donaghy, “The Tender Side of Edward Albee”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 21 Feb 2020

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
one way or another
Cite this entry
APA

somehow or other. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/somehow%20or%20other

MLA

“somehow or other.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/somehow%20or%20other. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “somehow or other,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/somehow%20or%20other.

Source: somehow or other on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.