the.com/whereabouts
A location so vague it comes with built-in plausible deniability.
means The general area or rough location where someone or something is, without pinning down the exact spot.
from Built from 'where' plus 'about' (in the sense of 'approximately, in the vicinity of') plus the adverbial '-s' — the same pattern that gives us 'hereabouts' and 'thereabouts.' It's been drifting around English since the 1500s, doing exactly what it says: gesturing vaguely toward a place rather than naming it.
- grammar quirk
- takes a plural verb despite meaning one place
- etymology
- literally where plus abouts, hedging since the 1600s
- usage tell
- favored by detectives, exes, and parole officers alike
- vs location
- location is precise, whereabouts shrugs on purpose