Whȳ'-nŏt, n.
n. 1. A violent and peremptory procedure without any assigned reason. [Obs. and cant.]
*When the church Was taken with a why-not in the lurch. Hudibras.*
Sense 2. Any sudden event. [Obs. and rare.]
*This game . . . was like to have been lost With a why-not. Nuge Antiq.*