| 单词 | all one knows |
| 释义 | > as lemmasall one knows Phrases P1. colloquial. a. you know. (a) Used parenthetically, usually following the main statement (frequently with emphatic, persuasive, or reproving intent): as you know (or may like to or should know) is the case. Similarly (now archaic and rare) thou knowest. ΚΠ a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1174 He is my lege man lelly þou knowes. 1565 T. Stapleton Disc. Doctr. Protestants in tr. F. Staphylus Apol. f. 165v The whole corps off scripture was not, you know, at one push approued. 1599 H. Buttes Dyets Dry Dinner sig. Aa4v Yet Time (you know) is Edax rerum. 1625 T. Middleton Game at Chæss iii. sig. Gv W. p... White quickly soyles you know. B. p... Get thee gone, Then I shall smut thee. 1698 J. Kirkwood Plea before Kirk 102 The stranger, a Northlin, not so strait lac'd, you know, as we in the South, slipt into the meeting-house to hear the Curate preach. 1751 S. Richardson Clarissa (ed. 3) V. xxxvi. 318 For Women to Women, thou knowest, are great darers and incentives. 1775 J. Wesley Let. 3 Nov. (1931) VI. 187 I hear nothing from Cornwell; and no news, you know, is good news. 1800 M. Edgeworth Waste Not in Parent's Assistant (ed. 3) V. 136 Lady Diana Sweepstakes, you know, is a famous rider, and archer. 1835 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz (1836) 1st Ser. II. 39 What's the matter, sir? Never say die, you know. 1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus i. 7 Ought I to have cried both my eyes out? You haven't cried out either of yours, you know. 1901 W. F. Fleming tr. Voltaire Orestes iii. iv, in Wks. XVII. 111 The wretched wanderer, thou knowest, was doomed To hate a mother. 1926 G. Hunting Vicarion iv. 63 This represents some years of study, you know, this little exhibition I have given you. 1959 P. O'Brian Unknown Shore x. 190 You are very much beslobbered, you know, Toby. 2000 A. Maupin Night Listener (2001) xvii. 215 This isn't some Hardy Boys mystery, you know. We're talking about a sick kid who could be dead in a month. ΚΠ 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 475. ¶5 How can he help that, you know? (c) Used to temporize, while the speaker considers how to continue, or simply as a conversational filler. Cf. you know what I mean at mean v.1 6d. ΚΠ 1824 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 307/1 We'd be as wise as the dead was, you know, when he sung as they carried him to church. 1849 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 726/1 If this wind were to—ah—you know, heave more abaft, that's to say, get stronger. 1913 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 22 Feb. 14/1 ‘It's the other men. You see’—he began to stammer—‘they know about you and they've begun to kick. They won't work alongside a feller that's been—er—you know—why, in trouble.’ 1937 J. Weidman I can get it for you Wholesale xx. 197 You could run the office, and keep your eye on things in general.., and sort of, well, you know, sort of superintend the whole works. 1955 Carolina Q. Fall 57 I told him all about his quiet spells, and how he never let himself show any—uh—well, you know, emotion about anything. 1968 Listener 16 May 626/2 Too often one hears people on the wireless beginning an elaborate sentence—they flounder about for a bit and then break off with: ‘you know’. 1972 A. Bennett Getting On ii. 41 Andy. George, I have said, you know, nothing. George. That's ‘you know’ right. You have said ‘you know’ bugger all. 2003 R. Liddle Too Beautiful for You (2004) 193 Later I'm..consoling Saul and Dipak because the Animal Liberation Front has firebombed Sheepscape on account of the, you know, sheep. (d) Used, esp. preceding the main statement, to indicate that the speaker expects that the general nature of what is being referred to will be known or understood (and frequently also to stimulate agreement or acquiescence). ΚΠ 1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xvii. 170 I'll talk to her—break it to her gently, you know, and that sort of thing. 1906 Catholic World Apr. 37 ‘A celibate? What's that?’ ‘Oh, you know. A sort of obstinate bachelor.’ 1943 A. Rand Fountainhead iii. v. 491 We'll put Dominique back on the paper and we'll have her write a column..on the home. You know, household hints, kitchen, babies and all that. 1953 S. Kauffmann Philanderer xiv. 235 The other kind was the muscle men. You know, right off the farm where they were lifting tractors with one hand. 1983 N.Y. Times Mag. 28 Aug. 16/2 A sultry summer Sunday is a time for people to drive somewhere with the kids and when they arrive to buy them a pop. A what? You know, a pop—short for Popsicle—ice on a stick. 2006 A. McCall Smith Right Attitude to Rain v. 55 The hundred-year eggs that the Chinese eat. You know, the eggs they bury for a hundred days and then dig up and eat. (e) Chiefly euphemistic. Used in place of something the speaker is unable or does not care to specify. ΚΠ 1900 ‘S. Grand’ Babs xliii. 410 ‘It's a poor heart that never—you know,’ he observed. 1911 D. H. Lawrence White Peacock ii. i. 219 It's the way she swings her body—an' the curves as she stands. It's when you look at her—you feel—you know. 1964 in R. D. Abrahams Deep down in Jungle ii. v. 203 I was sitting around this girl's house, friend of mine's wife, and I was going to give her a little bit, you know. 1986 N. Freeling Cold Iron vi. 66 Even if I'm in the you-know [i.e. lavatory], there's the buzzer. 2006 Independent (Nexis) 17 Jan. 33 A body part. You know. OK, a vinkle. b. British. don't you know: = you know at Phrases 1a.Now generally considered old-fashioned and upper-class. Modern uses are frequently humorous or intended to characterize upper-class speech. ΚΠ 1802 J. Baillie Second Marriage iv. ii, in Series of Plays II. 439 Rob. What do you want? Cook. It is ghost-time, don't you know? and your night for it too. 1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lx. 541 He ain't like old Veal, who is always bragging and using such long words, don't you know? 1896 F. C. Philips Undeserving Woman 104 ‘When?’ said George. ‘I'd like to put the thing right at once, don't you know.’ 1918 ‘B. MacNamara’ Valley of Squinting Windows 59 But sure they're a kind of connections, don't you know, and I suppose 'til only natural? 1930 ‘Sapper’ Finger of Fate 225 My wife is such a nervous woman, don't you know. 1977 ‘E. Crispin’ Glimpses of Moon i. 9 ‘That's another of them, don't you know,’ said the Major. 2006 PC Gamer Apr. 142/2 Do not trash-talk fellow racers. That's terribly ungentlemanly, don't you know. P2. a. be it known (formerly also †known be it): used to introduce an announcement, proclamation, etc. Chiefly with that-clause. Also used parenthetically. Now chiefly archaic or humorous.Sometimes part of a longer formula, as be it known to all (men), etc. ΚΠ 1382 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep.: App. Pt. V: MSS Marquis of Ormonde &c. (1885) 292 in Parl. Papers (C. 4576-I) XLII. 1 Be it knowin that the Monday nexte after the feste of Saint Myghel..It was grantid and ordaynid [etc.]. 1416 in H. M. Flasdieck Mittelengl. Originalurkunden (1926) 58 (MED) Knowen be hit to all Cristen that y, Geffrey Bussh, [etc.]. 1442 in J. Raine Hist. & Antiq. N. Durham (1852) App. 105 Be it knawen..vs..till haue made ordayned [etc.]..Alexander Home..our bailye. c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. xxxviijv/2 Be it knowen to al men by theis presentis me, T. H. of oxenford glouar, ordeyne [etc.]. 1544 J. Bale Brefe Chron. Syr I. Oldecastell f. 41v Knowen be yt here to all the worlde, that he neuer sens varyed in anye poynt therfro. a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) v. ii. 172 Be it known, that we the greatest are mis-thoght For things that others do. View more context for this quotation 1658 J. Jones tr. Ovid Invective against Ibis 75 Be it known to all, what payments fall must light on Cater Tray [i.e. the middle classes]. 1734 J. Mackenzie Treat. Concerning Origin & Progress Fees ii. 65 Be it known to all Men, That I A, heritable Proprietress of the Lands and others after mentioned,..Have sold and disponed [etc.]. 1837 C. Lyell Let. 29 Aug. in C. Darwin Corr. (1986) II. 41 Be it known then to you and others who have read what Von Buch wrote on Norway.., that his notion of the granite overlying the transition rock arose from this. 1882 Ballou's Monthly Mag. July 75/2 Jack, be it known, was the only real, ‘true-blue’ friend that Chris had in the whole Richards family. 1905 Smart Set Oct. 3/1 A ‘knife-thrower’, be it known, is parlance for waitress. 1956 W. S. Burroughs Let. 13 Oct. (1993) 333 Be it known that such nameless ass holes will suffer a painful doom. 2000 Cornish World Oct. 28/2 Be it known to you all that the Bards of the Council..are agreed in their choice of the Bard Jowan An Cleth to serve in succession to me as Grand Bard. b. to let it be known (also to make it known): to inform others that something is the case, esp. indirectly; to announce, declare. Also with clause introduced by how, what, etc. ΚΠ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 2134 (MED) He schal this dredful trompe blowe Tofore his gate, and make it knowe How that the jugement is yove Of deth. 1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng xli. f. 53v Than lette it be knowen howe many acres of errable landes euery man hath in tyllage. 1538 Bp. J. Longland Serm. Good Frydaye sig. F.ii Shewe what it is, let it be knowen that remedye maye be had. 1622 W. Gouge Of Domesticall Duties vii. 642 God in his word hath plainly made it knowne that it is his pleasure that they who are vnder the authority of masters should obey them. 1660 T. Pierce Impartial Inq. Nature Sin 192 I am free to make it known what he hath done in this kinde. 1708 J. Disney Ess. Laws against Immorality & Prophaneness 134 You may punish upon Information in any Part of the County, if those that should do it will not; and let it be known, that you will do so. 1785 Gentleman's Mag. Oct. 533/1 Let it be known that this man..cast himself on thine infinite mercy through Jesus Christ. 1842 F. Marryat Percival Keene I. viii. 87 He made it known that there would only be a half holiday, and we were consequently all called in for morning lessons. 1851 Notes & Queries 28 June 527 (advt.) Mr. F. G. Tomlins..is desirous to make it known that a Twenty years' experience with the Press and Literature,..enables him to give advice and information to Authors. 1912 Amer. Mag. July 285/2 She let it be known where she could be found day and night. 1943 E. M. Almedingen Frossia iv. 169 The good Boyarin made it known that her dowry would be..five hundred souls. 2006 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Feb. 147 Jagger let it be known that he had bought three complete sets of Everyman's exquisitely bound collection. c. to make oneself known: to become known (to others) by means of one's actions, abilities, etc.; (also) to introduce oneself. ΚΠ 1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) i. 14 And on Ester day the same houre he met with too of his disciples goyng towarde Emaus, & made hymselfe knowen to them in brekyng of brede. 1682 I. Newton Let. 3 Apr. in Corr. (1960) II. 373 I conceived it might help forward his design to be introduced to such acquaintance that by conversing with them he might make himself known. 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 123. ¶5 He could no longer withhold making himself known to him. 1840 Jrnl. 14 Mar. in F. Mathew Founding of N.Z. (1940) 80 I first visited a native Pah..and I made myself known to them as a Rangatira or chief in the service of Her Majesty. 1845 Ld. Campbell Lives Chancellors III. xciv. 441 To make himself known at Court as an antiparliamentarian lawyer. 1866 H. B. St. Marie Let. 23 Apr. in Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs (1867) II. 130 He made himself known to me and acknowledged he was the same party I thought he resembled to. 1962 M. Gee in Landfall Country 34 Becket's got some kid up..so just before the race I go round and make myself known to this kid. 1998 Regatta Oct. 26/3 Mike quietly worked his way through the OUBC selection process in his first year, making himself known on the water and demonstrating his now well-known qualities as a strokesman. 2001 S. Fatsis Word Freak xii. 175 After Alfred Butts made himself known to the company, Selchow trotted him out on a publicity tour. P3. a. Used with an indirect question as object in various idiomatic expressions suggesting common sense, worldly knowledge, shrewdness, etc. Chiefly in particular fixed phrases which are more fully dealt with elsewhere, as to know what o'clock it is at o'clock adv. 1b, to know which way the wind blows at wind n.1 16b, to know on which side one's bread is buttered at butter v. Phrases 2a, to know what's what at what pron., adv., int., adj.1, conj., and n. Phrases 2b, etc. ΚΠ a1529 J. Skelton Why come ye nat to Courte (?1545) sig. D.1v Yet whan he toke first his hat He said he knew what was what. 1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. ix. sig. Kiv [He] knew, whiche waie the wynde blew. 1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. vii. sig. Kv I knowe on whiche syde my breade is buttred. 1547–8 Vox Populi Vox Dei (1821) iv. 16 I knowe not whate acloke. 1631 T. Powell Tom of All Trades 171 He knowes how many dayes goe to the weeke. 1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 12 He knew what's what, and that's as high As Metaphysick wit can flie. 1721 C. Cibber Refusal i. 7 Does his Grace think I don't know which side my Bread's butter'd on? 1781 M. P. Andrews Baron Kinkvervankotsdorsprakingatchdern iii. 71 I always said you knew what's what. 1834 T. B. Macaulay in G. O. Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay (1876) I. 373 I quite enjoy the thought of appearing in the light of an old hunks who knows on which side his bread is buttered. 1860 E. Eden Semi-attached Couple xix. 237 Now that is just what i want, somebody who knows which way the wind blows, and who will tell me what I may, or may not do. 1939 S. Fox in D. Coulter Columbia Workshop Plays 77 If there's ony mon who knows what day it is, it's Sam Small! 1962 TV Times 28 Dec. 6/2 An egg-timer, I repeated with the assurance of a man who knew which way the sand trickled. ?1973 R. Galton & A. Simpson Best of Steptoe & Son (1989) 139 Harold. The vicar still ain't forgotten when you did the crossword puzzle. Albert. Dah, he don't know what time of day it is, he don't. 1994 R. Davies Cunning Man 390 One of those sisters, the heroic Emily, must certainly have known how many beans made five. 2005 C. Tudge Secret Life Trees ii. 37 If foresters don't know what's what, they can finish up making horrible mistakes. b. Similarly with certain nouns as object. Cf. Phrases 5.to know the ropes: see rope n.1 Phrases 5. to know the score: see score n. 14d. to know all the answers: see answer n. Phrases 3. ΚΠ 1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast ix. 74 The captain, who..‘knew the ropes’, took the steering oar. 1845 B. Disraeli Sybil III. vi. viii. 234 ‘Why, at your time of life, my dears, we never even heard of these things, much less talked of them.’..‘I should think you didn't, widow... But we know the time of day now as well as any of them.’ 1897 ‘Ouida’ Massarenes xxxii. 394 ‘She knows the time o' day’, said the other. 1957 Listener 5 Dec. 925/2 He would come to dinner, swallow his soup, and then fall fast asleep. The servants knew the drill and kept his other courses warm. 1962 J. D. Salinger Franny & Zooey 167 You've been around schools long enough to know the score. 2001 New Internationalist Nov. 12/3 Times are changing because ordinary people are street-smart, because they know the ropes. P4. In —— knows, with God, heaven, etc., or later a (coarse) slang word, as subject, used (a) to emphasize the truth of a statement; (b) to imply that something is unknown to the speaker; ‘I don't know’; see also sense 11b(b).Chiefly in fixed phrases, which are more fully dealt with elsewhere, as God knows at god n. and int. Phrases 1d(b), Heaven knows at heaven n. Phrases 3d, (the) Lord knows at lord n. and int. Phrases 2e, etc. ΚΠ a1555 N. Ridley in M. Coverdale Certain Lett. Martyrs (1564) 77 It is impossible to set forth..al yt was (God knoweth) tumultuously spoken. 1654 Trag. Alphonsus i. 12 Thus am I wrong'd, God knows, unguiltily. 1682 T. Otway Venice Preserv'd iv. 45 Heaven knows if yet there be an hour to come E'r Venice be no more! 1792 R. Burns Let. 6 Dec. (2003) II. 166 I am a Placeman, you know; a very humble one indeed, Heaven knows. 1839 M. Gardiner Governess 195 I found him out in his tricks, and that was, goodness knows, very often. 1862 J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers 2nd Ser. ii. ii. 80 ‘Lord knows’, protest the polliwogs, ‘We're anxious to be grown-up frogs’. 1892 W. H. Acklan Sterope xxvi. 82 Lordy knows I wants to see Marse Désiré marry Miss. 1896 McClure's Mag. Sept. 348/2 ‘Are they coming after us, my lord?’ ‘Heaven knows! I suppose so.’ 1934 E. Pound Let. 2 Feb. (1971) 253 What was economics, or inevitable 30 years ago, is now just plain god damn stupidity, and people not having the guts to think what the monetary system is. Hell knows the neo-communists won't. 1948 G. H. Johnston Death takes Small Bites v. 107 ‘Who does he fix the deal with?’ ‘God knows! D'ye think the skulls tell us that?’ 1995 N. Blincoe Acid Casuals iii. 17 Was that good or bad? Fuck knows. 2006 M. S. Klise Regarding Bathrooms 18 Heck knows I could use some help running this town. P5. a. to know one's ——: to have learnt everything necessary about ——; to be well informed about ——.Originally chiefly in various fixed expressions. to know one's business: see business n. Phrases 6. to know one's liripoop: see liripipe n. 2a. to know one's stuff: see stuff n.1 7g. ΚΠ 1559 J. Aylmer Harborowe sig. H They must know their quarter strookes, and the waye how to defende their head. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. ix. iii. 302 These [Heroes] are said to know their Man, and Jones, I believe, knew his Woman. 1776 C. Dibdin Seraglio i. ii. 9 Gun. Why I thought to myself; thinks I, the young Youth does not know his Soundings. Reef. Know his Soundings! Why he'll run bump a-shore for want of a Pilot. 1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies iii. 123 If they want to describe a finished young gentleman in France, I hear, they say of him, ‘Il sait son Rabelais.’ But if I want to describe one in England, I say, ‘He knows his Bewick.’ 1891 C. MacEwen Three Women in Boat 72 Surprise-turns and crooked bends make you, if you know your river, as crafty as any old fox. 1931 B. Marshall Father Malachy's Miracle iv. 73 I know my theology too well to be guilty of any leanings toward modernism. 1952 J. Lait & L. Mortimer U.S.A. Confidential ii. xvi. 181 Quigg comes from a ‘17th St. family’ which, if you know your Denver, is a breath above even the city's mile-high rarefied atmosphere. 1991 Premiere Aug. 30/2 He knows his cinema grammar—why he's put something in a two-shot or why he didn't want a close-up. b. colloquial (originally and chiefly U.S.). Used in same sense, but with substitution of a comically inappropriate noun, esp. the name of a vegetable or other foodstuff.Earliest and chiefly in to know one's onions: see onion n.1 Phrases 1. ΚΠ 1922 Harper's Mag. Mar. 530/1 Mr. Roberts knows his onions, all right. 1924 Iowa City Press-Citizen 16 Jan. 6/3 We found him not only delightful to meet, but a lawmaker who ‘knows his oil’. 1929 Sat. Evening Post 16 Nov. 41/3 R is for Road Driver, the name long-distance haulers give the lad that knows his cucumbers. 1976 W. Guthrie Seeds of Man 45 This clamper gave me a good chance to..sound like I really knew my okra on the handle of my guitar. 1995 Muzik July 28/1 It's where every DJ who knows his carrots goes to be seen for the summer holidays. P6. Proverbial uses. a. what one doesn't know doesn't hurt one and variants. ΚΠ 1576 G. Pettie Petite Pallace 168 So long as I know it not, it hurteth mee not. 1863 L. E. Guernsey Tattler vi. 175 What people don't know don't hurt them. 1869 Quiver 23 Jan. 243/2 What she doesn't know can't hurt her. But he knows already. 1895 Med. & Surg. Reporter 21 Dec. 765/2 Some of the blind and blundering procedures remind one of a very common expression of women..‘What you don't know will never hurt you!’ 1908 E. Walter Easiest Way iii. 66 What a fellow doesn't know doesn't hurt him. 1939 E. S. Gardner in Street & Smith's Detective Story Mag. Jan. 11/1 And has it ever occurred to you, sir, that what Sergeant Ackley doesn't know won't hurt him? 1992 A. Lambert Rather Eng. Marriage (1993) vi. 115 Everyone's entitled to their privacy and what you don't know can't hurt you. 2009 Vancouver Province (Nexis) 31 July a58 I do not know who else is running and I do not care. What you don't know doesn't hurt you, eh? b. one never knows (what one can do) till one tries and variants. ΚΠ 1639 R. Abbot Young-mans Warning-peece (new ed.) 64 (margin) They know not what they can do in good because they try not. 1725 M. Davys Self-rival iv, in Wks. I. 50 Oh! you don't know what you can do, till you try; you will think very different then from what you do now. 1819 W. Cobbett Year's Resid. U.S.A. ii. vi. 182 A man knows not what he can do 'till he tries. 1897 P. White Passionate Pilgrim 49 ‘There isn't fish to catch,’ she returned incredulously. ‘You never know till you try,’ said I. 1945 N. Coward Willy in B. Day N. Coward: Compl. Lyrics (1998) 230/1 Love's a thing to conjure with, Willy, You don't know until you try. 1968 D. Francis Forfeit xiv. 217 ‘Ty, you aren't fit to drive.’ ‘Never know what you can do till you try.’ 1991 D. Purcell Place of Stones (1992) iv. 135 Sure, why don't you have a go, Father? You never know till you try! c. to know (all) is to forgive (all). [Probably after French savoir c'est pardonner (1836 or earlier); compare quot. 1860.] ΚΠ 1860 Chambers's Jrnl. 3 Nov. 277/2 The French proverb which says, Savoir c'est pardonner, ‘To know all, is to forgive all’. 1899 Strand Mag. June 703/2 Dear Hugo—I know all: and to know all is to forgive all. 1899 Jrnl. Proc. & Addr. 38th Ann. Meeting (National Educ. Assoc.) 79 ‘To know is to forgive’, as the proverb has it. 1914 Virginia Law Reg. 20 636 In judging human beings we should emphasize their excellencies rather than defects. As has been said, to know all is to forgive all. 1952 K. Fuller Silken Cord xv. 175 After all, to know all is to forgive all, as my poor dear father used to say. 1994 D. Irvine Massenet (1997) xiv. 178 He understands Werther's torment, and ‘to know is to forgive’. 2008 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 3 Aug. 16 She seems motivated by the idea that to know all is to forgive all, less because her parents deserve forgiveness than because she can't bear to hate them. P7. a. to know otherwise: to be aware of information or evidence to the contrary. Similarly (now nonstandard) to know different. ΚΠ ?1586 R. P. tr. D. Ortúñez de Calahorra Third Pt. First Bk. Mirrour of Knighthood xliv. f. 228v For if they had knowen otherwise,..they were such knights, that they would not haue affirmed that which they had sayd for all the kingedome of Hungaria. 1678 G. Fox & J. Burnyeat New-Eng.-fire-brand Quenched i. 151 And thou sayst, The Quakers in the latter Years in Lancashire came from the Grindletonians... This is also false, the Grindletonians know otherwise. 1692 W. Salmon Medicina Practica i. xiii. 65 He thinks that which is made by Nature, is better than that which is done by Art. But by Experience I know otherwise. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. xii. xiii. 300 I might have thought it was the Devil's Money, and have been afraid to use it; but as you know otherwise,..it would be an Affront to Fortune to part with it all again. View more context for this quotation 1824 W. E. Andrews Crit. & Hist. Rev. Fox's Bk. Martyrs I. 40 Others say, that as St. Peter raised the see of Antioch before he established that of Rome, the bishop of Antioch ought to have supremacy. St. Ignatius however,..knew different. 1854 J. E. R. Hornblower Vara xiii. 143 I oncet used to think arter the same fashion; but I knows different now. 1900 Cincinnati Lancet-Clinic 20 Jan. 58/1 These gentlemen now know different, and that a university management is a business. 1973 E. H. Colbert Wandering Lands & Animals viii. 209 Certain early students..thought the pyrotheres to be a branch from the proboscideans. We now know otherwise. 1993 D. A. Smith In Cube xi.156 Physicists may claim that space-time can be bent into viable four-dimensional Loopholes only far away from Sol's distorting gravity, but I know different. b. not to know (any) different (colloquial): to have only experienced one set of circumstances in life; (also) not to know it is better to do things differently; to be uninformed or ignorant. Also to know no different. Cf. not to know any better at Phrases 9a. ΚΠ 1855 Putnam's Monthly July 22/1 Hadn't no education, ye see, an' don't know different. 1894 A. W. Brayley Schools & Schoolboys of Old Boston iii. 32 As they and their fathers knew no different, they asked no better. 1912 J. B. Connolly Wide Courses 102 The poor kid, of course, don't know any different. 1966 D. Elser Ticket to City 17 They don't know any different, so they never miss him [sc. their father]. 1999 Northern Echo (Nexis) 11 Mar. 10 For most common criminals the answers are obvious: I needed the money, it's the way I've been brought up, I know no different. 2004 W. B. McCloskey Raiders iii. xvi. 227 The others had his pickety-pick from the start so they don't know different. P8. to know what it is: see what pron., adv., int., adj.1, conj., and n. Phrases 2d. P9. a. to know no better: not to be wiser, more discerning, or more prudent (than to do something); to be uninformed or ignorant. Also not to know any better and variants; cf. not to know (any) different at Phrases 7b. ΚΠ 1602 R. Shelford Lectures (new ed.) 19 They [sc. parents] themselues were brought vppe so rudely too, & so they teach their children no more, because they knowe no better themselues. 1644 J. Milton Of Educ. 3 Others lastly of a more delicious and airie spirit, retire themselves knowing no better, to the enjoyments of ease and luxury, living out their daies in feast and jollity. 1726 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. Nov. (1966) II. 71 I leave the great World to Girls that know no better. 1771 Mem. Lady Woodford I. 46 But you are a simpleton, and don't know any better yet. 1795 W. Cowper Pairing Time 6 The child who knows no better, Than to interpret by the letter A story of a cock and bull. 1824 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XVI lxiv. 96 She was country born and bred, And knew no better..Than to wax white—for blushes are for quality. 1880 Harper's Mag. June 82/2 He..would say, with a compassionate air, ‘Poor crayture! poor crayture’! as if the poor crayture could not be expected to know any better. 1897 Sat. Rev. 2 Jan. 8/2 The Dean and Chapter..being..artistically ignorant, and socially mundane and precinctuary,..know no better. 1919 F. Hurst Humoresque 189 The Eyetalians maybe didn't know no better. 1958 Observer 15 June 15/7 A muddle-headed momma..who knows no better than to drive away her husband..by constant yackety-yack. 1981 J. Sullivan Only Fools & Horses (1999) I. 1st Ser. Episode 3. 33 Well Vimmal, he wouldn't know any better, would he, eh? 2001 P. Barham Sci. Cooking ix. 139 Knowing no better, I had assumed the white bulb one bought from the supermarket was a clove. b. to know best: to have the greatest knowledge or wisdom.Usually with the implication that the person in question should therefore be deferred to. ΚΠ 1486 J. Mirk's Liber Festiuall (Rood & Hunte) sig. d.ix/2 He seyth that it is as fer from erthe to heuen as a holy man myght leue a thousand yere and euery day go a thousand myle. But he that mette this wey knowithe beste [1483 knoweth hit beste], and this wey shall be mette of a ryghtfull & a goode man.] 1672 J. Lacy Dumb Lady iv. i. 54 You Learned men know best, I leave all to you. 1747 Fortune's Tricks in Forty-six 43 I say it is so—and surely I ought to know best, who am full ten Thousand Pounds a wiser Man than yourself. 1796 M. Edgeworth Parent's Assistant (ed. 2) 109 For my part, ma'am, I know you knows best, but I should be afraid to let any of those Villaintropic folks get into my house. 1823 Brothers viii. 39 Aye, you told me so, sure enough, but I thought I knew best, and so I would not listen to you. 1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles I. vii. 90 ‘Very well; I suppose you know best,’ replied Tess with calm abandonment. 1936 M. Lawrence School of Femininity ix. 215 The depression in the United States has brought to the surface a small battalion of matriarchal writers, looking wise and saying, ‘Mother knows best’. 1992 Daily Express 9 Sept. 9/6 These editors are telling us and our children that we're not to be trusted, that they know best. c. to know better (formerly also †better things): to be wiser, more discerning, or more prudent, or have better manners, than to do something. Also without comparative clause, esp. with should or ought to. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > common sense > be sensible [phrase] > increase in sense to know better (formerly also better things)a1680 to grow up1951 a1680 Ld. Holles Considerations Prelates i. 218 in Let. to Friend (1682) But for the penning of Records, both Mr. Hunt and Mr. W. know better, than to think the Clerks in those times stuffed them with Tautologies. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables cii. 97 One would have thought you had known Better Things, then to Expect a Kindness from a Common Enemy. 1732 Vanelia ii. i. 21 You and I know better, than to think that a fine young Lady is in love with Age and Impotence. 1760 C. Johnstone Chrysal I. ii. vii. 180 Come, come, mistress! one of your trade should know better things, than to ask for money back again! 1788 J. Skinner Eccl. Hist. Scotl. II. lix. 678 That a serious respect to, and diligent study of, the language..should be despised and scoffed at by those who ought to know better. 1831 W. Youatt Horse viii. 123 Glanders have often been confounded with strangles, and by those who ought to have known better. 1872 Punch 24 Feb. 78/2 Some persons who should know better than to talk nonsense. 1886 J. Ruskin Præterita I. xii. 431 Nothing to blame themselves in, except not having known better. 1939 L. Yutang Moment in Peking i. i. 5 The elder maid..was silently smiling, being secretly glad that she had known better than to overdress. 1990 T. Robbins Skinny Legs & All 177 People who ought to know better were delighted with his upbeat redneck manners, his muscles, his aloha shirts and new red beret. 2000 R. J. Evans Entertainment xii. 175 It was like a deep sea, where all was calm, but you knew better than to take chances with it. P10. not that I know: = not that I know of at Phrasal verbs. ΚΠ 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 156 Pol. Hath there been such a time..That I haue positiuely said, tis so, When it proou'd otherwise? King. Not that I know . View more context for this quotation 1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy IV. Slawkenbergius's Tale 61 He has got a defluxion, said the traveller—Not that I know, cried the host. 1808 Rep. Trials Col. A. Burr II. 11 Chief Justice. Is not that denied to be law? Mr. Randolph. Not that I know. 1882 Ld. Tennyson Promise of May i, in Locksley Hall. 60 Dobson. He's been arter Miss Eva, haän't he? Dora. Not that I know. 1986 S. Grafton C is for Corpse xvi. 140 ‘Does the name Blackman mean anything to you?’ ‘Not that I know.’ P11. to know no bounds: (chiefly of immaterial things, esp. emotions or qualities) to have no limits or restrictions; to be unrestrained. ΚΠ 1613 F. Beaumont Masque of Inner Temple & Grayes Inne sig. Cv These streames, Which rolling downe from heauen aspiring hils,..swell in glorie till they know no bounds. 1618 S. Daniel Coll. Hist. Eng. 181 In this violence which knowes no bounds, they presume to abridge the Queene of her maintenance. 1673 T. Culpeper Plain Eng. 8 Creditors seem confin'd by Law, whilst Chapmen, methinks, know no bounds. 1754 T. Hartley Serm. Var. Subj. Pref. p. xviii Piety was now termed Puritanism, Profaneness and the Love of Pleasure knew no Bounds. 1830 C. Macfarlane Armenians II. ix. 158 At this abjurement of errors..the delight of the seraffs and of all their connexions, knew no bounds. 1873 J. E. Cooke Her Majesty the Queen i. iv. 21 Miss Villiers is confidential maid of honor to her majesty, and..her devotion knows no bounds. 1956 R. F. Nichols Advance Agents Amer. Destiny i. 18 He had maintained valuable Philadelphia connections, notably with those leading merchants, Robert Morris and Thomas Willing, whose interests seemed to know no bounds. 1995 Computer Weekly 4 May 35/1 Even relatively closed E-mail networks can be attacked by logic bombs via the Internet, proving if nothing else that the ingenuity of virus peddlers knows no bounds. P12. for all (that) —— knows: conceivably; used to emphasize that a person has not sufficient information to have or offer an informed opinion, or (esp. in for all I know) is merely speculating. Cf. for prep. 25b. Similarly for aught (that) —— knows. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > know [phrase] > according to one's knowledge to a person's knowledgec1500 for all (that) —— knowsa1616 to the best of a person's knowledge1768 in the light of1870 a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) v. iii. 282 It might be yours or hers for ought I know. View more context for this quotation 1624 H. Wotton Elements Archit. 105 [This] word (being in truth his owne, for ought I know). 1675 C. Cotton Burlesque upon Burlesque 7 For all I know, thou much do'st glory In thy renowned Oratory. 1731 A. Pope Epist. to Earl of Burlington 11 Some are Vellom, and the rest as good For all his Lordship knows. 1785 J. Mecom Let. 30 Nov. in Lett. to B. Franklin (1859) 140 He may deserve a halter for all I know, notwithstanding his being a branch of a good family. 1811 I. Pocock Any thing New ii. vii. 44 The evening is so dark, that, that blockhead La Roque may have blundered into the fish-pond for all I know. 1836 J. S. Popkin Three Lect. Liberal Educ. 65 It may be all pure Greek, or all pure Hebrew, or both, for aught that those know, who know little or nothing about either. 1860 A. S. Roe He could he help It? xv. 175 Cursing yourself and all the rest of mankind—why, it may, for all I know, relieve your stomach a little, but it hurts my ears dreadfully. 1898 Argosy May 291 Yet for aught I knew the duchess might be in dire peril. 1909 Chatterbox 322/2 For all that we knew, the combe might be full of militia. 1937 D. Runyon More than Somewhat v. 104 Leaving the wop yelling very loud, and maybe cussing us in wop for all I know. 1955 Greece & Rome 2 33 The legend that the waters of the Styx proved fatal to Alexander the Great may be true for aught I know. 1994 J. Kelman How Late it Was 117 It felt like there was a jaggy nail digging into the side of one [toe] and it was probably bleeding for all he knew. P13. to know one's place: see place n.1 15b. P14. to get to know. a. To gain understanding of, acquire a practical knowledge of (something); (also) to commit (something) to memory. ΚΠ 1621 T. Proctor Righteous Mans Way vii. 41 But now to conclude this chapter, get to know and haue in minde, not the ten commandements onely, but also the other commandements which branch themselues out of those ten. 1791 G. Dixon Navigator's Assistant Pref. p. viii Our Pupil..must be taught the..Table of Logarithms;..then let him get to know the Names of all the Lines of F10. p. 18. 1823 T. Cosnett Footman's Direct. 211 Some coachmen who live twenty years in a place are so stupid that they cannot get to know the round of visits, but depend entirely on the footman to direct them. 1870 Remembrancer 8th Ser. 51 When we get to know that it is spiritual baptism that saves, this meaning gives us life. 1912 J. P. Bate tr. B. Ayala Three Bks. Law of War II. 139 As the proverb goes, we ought to get to know the times, so as to avoid what usually happens in ill-starred schemes. 1981 God, bless this Food ii, in N. E. Koenig Runaway Heart If you get to know your tables well, math will be easier for you all your life. That kind of memory work is important. 2007 P. Race & R. Pickford Making Teaching Work iii. 26 To help you to get to know their names, once you have a complete list of these ask people..some (easy) questions..to help you to put names to faces. b. To become acquainted or familiar with (someone or something) over time. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > make friends with [verb (transitive)] > make acquaintance yknowOE knowc1175 strike1595 to get to knowa1622 a1622 N. Byfield Comm. First Epist. St. Peter (1637) i. 179 Thou maist come to acquaintance with the Father, by living amongst the children: thou maist get to know God by living amongst the godly. 1660 J. Trapp Comm. Holy Script. xxxiii. 320 Gods praying people get to know much of his mind above others: like as John, by weeping, gat the book opened; and Daniel, by prayer had the Kings secret revealed unto him in a night vision. a1752 R. Erskine Serm. (1777) II. xviii. 51 How do the saints get to know the love of God to them? 1771 Guardian II. 16 May 2 So matters have been contrived, that he could never get to know her mind thoroughly. 1821 M. Sterndale Life of Boy I. vi. 147 ‘What made you get to know so much about trees?’ ‘I know no more, my dear, than I suppose every one knows who exercise their senses and their faculties.’ 1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xx. 253 Nobody else can tell her how hard I tried to get to know you better, in order that I might get to know her without seeming to wish it; can they? 1876 Rep. Case Commonw. vs. John Kehoe et al. 15 During the time that you went in Schuylkill County, down to March, 1876, did you get to know any of these defendants? 1952 D. S. Thomas et al. Salvage ii. 269 I got to know them because I had to deliver things to their employers. After I got acquainted, I used to go see them in between deliveries. 1996 J. Sharman-Burke et al. Compl. Bk. Tarot 18 Getting to know your Tarot deck is obviously a vital part of the initial process of understanding Tarot. 2012 P. Carfizzi in E. Olin Singing in Russ. vi. 127 Growing up, my impression of Russian was from old war movies. The ‘enemies’ [sic] language inevitably..never sounded beautiful, but as I got to know Russian I found it to be quite the opposite. c. To find out, discover. Also intransitive. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > find out, discover [verb (transitive)] seeOE fanda1000 finda1200 kenc1330 lenda1350 agropea1393 contrive1393 to find outc1405 outsearch?a1439 ripec1440 inventc1475 disclose?a1500 fish1531 agnize?1570 discover1585 to grope out1590 out-find1590 expiscate1598 vent1611 to learn out1629 to get to know1643 develop1653 ascertain1794 stag1796 root1866 to get a line on1903 establish1919 1643 B. Agar King James, His Apopthegmes §21. 12 That in the Primative Church of Rome, there were inferiors to Bishops, and were but seven in number;..but how they..become the Electors of the Papacy, I cannot get to know. a1656 A. Gray Eleven Communion Serm. (1716) ix. 107 There are many among us that go from our Being, before that we get to know, why we had a Being. 1746 R. Rauthmell Antiqvitates Bremetonacenses vi. 61 By knowing what these British words signify, which make up the name of a station, we get to know some remarkable thing to illustrate the history of that station. 1787 J. Timbury Story of Le Fevre 11 I fear'd your honour's patience would be tir'd, E'er I could get to know what you desir'd About the sick Lieutenant and his Son. 1834 Rep. of Inq. Existing State Corporation of Hull 325 We only wanted to see that they charged nothing but what was right—to get to know what the law required us to pay. 1892 Rev. of Reviews Feb. 57/1 At present you do not know where the hitch is, but when you get to know, then half the battle is won. 1898 J. Conrad Tales of Unrest 172 What would she think tomorrow? He must find out. And yet how could he get to know? 1971 N. Mokgatle Autobiogr. Unknown S. Afr. viii. 45 During their time together they told each other stories about their people and tribes, and as a result the man from her tribe got to know that grandmother was alive. 1996 P. Franklin Pied Cloak i. 29 They got to know that I am a very light sleeper, and that often in the night I would go for a prowl round. 2004 J. Trecksler Tears of San Antonio lxv. 354 She got to know her son, if only for a moment, and he got to know that his mother wasn't all bad. P15. Phrases with it used to denote a fact or event (see sense 11d). a. and (he, she, etc.) knows (also knew) it: and (he, she, etc.) is (or was) well aware of the fact. ΚΠ 1694 W. Congreve Double-dealer i. 5 She's handsome, and knows it. 1759 Court Intrigues 239 She is beautiful, knows it, and, no Doubt, will set a Price upon herself. 1848 E. C. Gaskell Mary Barton I. vi. 103 The son was strikingly handsome, and knew it. 1898 G. B. Shaw Mrs. Warren's Profession iii. 208 I'm not a young man, and I know it. 1932 E. V. Lucas Reading, Writing & Remembering xi. 182 Meredith was very handsome, and he knew it. 1990 I. Rankin Hide & Seek 157 Rebus had Holmes at a disadvantage, and knew it. ‘I hope you've been busy while I've been having a chinwag.’ 2002 Untold June 139/3 One of the fittest girls we've seen in a while—totally buff and knows it. b. colloquial. not if I know it: used to indicate that one will take care that the thing referred to does not come to pass. Cf. not if I (he, she, etc.) can (also could) help it at help v. Additions. Now rare. ΚΠ 1834 C. A. Somerset Sea ii. v. 35 in Cumberland's Minor Theatre VII Kit. In short, we are going to be married tomorrow morning. Jack. Not if I know it. 1865 A. Trollope Miss Mackenzie I. ii. 33 ‘Tom,’ said I, when he asked me to go down to Drunder Street, ‘not if I know it.’ 1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. iv. 52 After that, do you think I could marry you? Not if I know it. 1921 Times 1 Feb. 2/4 (advt.) ‘What! buy a car,’ said N. to B. ‘Not if I know it.’ a1983 J. Leftwich tr. S. Lewin Dark Mountains & Blue Valleys (1988) xi. 52 She's going to try to get him into her Communist Party. Not if I know it! c. colloquial. don't I know it: I am well aware of it, you need not tell me. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > know [phrase] don't I know it1839 you're telling me (also us)1921 1799 W. Scott tr. J. W. von Goethe Goetz of Berlichingen i. 9 George. Had I been with you last time, you would not have lost your cross-bow. Goetz. Do you know that? George. You threw it at your antagonist's head; one of his squires picked it up, and ran off with it.—Don't I know it [Ger. Gelt, ich weiß]?] 1839 Bentley's Misc. 5 497 False to me! Don't I know it? Why again? 1899 R. Kipling Stalky & Co. 151 ‘We didn't always knock him about, though!’ ‘You did when you could catch him... Don't I know it!’ 1936 ‘R. West’ Thinking Reed xii. 419 ‘I hate it,’ she said. ‘I hate it.’..‘Don't I know it,’ said Alan. 1964 J. Creasey Look Three Ways x. 96 ‘He's in a mess..that poor devil is.’ ‘And don't I know it?’ 1997 B. MacLaverty Grace Notes (1998) 115 ‘Look, things are not the same as in your day.’ ‘Don't I know it.’ d. colloquial (originally U.S.). wouldn't you (just) know it?: used to suggest that a particular turn of events was only to be expected, or is especially fitting or (esp.) ironic. Also wouldn't you (just) know?. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > lack of surprise [phrase] it is great, little, small wonderOE no selcoutha1250 no ferlyc1275 (and) no wonder!1390 no wonder that, if, or though1390 what ferlya1605 what wonder if1667 I shouldn't wonder1836 small wonder that1913 wouldn't you (just) know?1919 1919 B. King City of Comrades viii. 120 ‘Wouldn't you know it?’ Miss Barry said, lightly. ‘One of the nicest rooms in the house.’ 1946 H. P. M. Brown Sound of Hunting i. 52 Wouldn't you know? Of all the days to get stuck out there, he has to pick this one. 1973 Washington Post 13 Jan. B. 8/7 Wouldn't you just know. Lorne Greene, also known as Ben Cartwright, has gone right out and gotten himself another steady job; this time with the ABC network. 1999 in D. Bolger Ladies' Night at Finbar's Hotel 247 She arrived at the back of the hotel instead of the front and wouldn't you know, for all their penthouse and fancy exterior, it had stacks of garbage bags outside, just like anywhere else. 2003 T. Litt Finding Myself 62 I drove over to pick him up. And, wouldn't you know it, he'd brought his bloody dog!. P16. to know the reason why: to demand (and get) an explanation, esp. of why an intended event has not occurred. Cf. reason n.1 10. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [phrase] > why > know the reason why to know the reason why1719 1719 Court Misc. No. 1. 20 I'll have my Earl as well as She, Or know the Reason why. 1767 T. Gray Let. 5 Nov. in Corr. (1971) III. 979 Come quickly, if the main chance will suffer you, or I will know the reason why. 1825 R. S. Hawker Cornish Ballads (1869) 1 And shall Trelawney die? Here's twenty thousand Cornish men Will know the reason why! 1857 A. Trollope Barchester Towers II. vi. 106 He made the promise in the bishop's name, and if it is to be broken, I'll know the reason why. 1934 G. B. Shaw On the Rocks ii. 68 My Union Jack men would keep order, or theyd know the reason why. 1941 Punch 20 Aug. 155/2 Two months ago Herr Hitler said his armies would sweep through Russia or he would know the reason why. 1968 Times 21 June 1/1 Now they were going to get six of the best where it hurt most, or Mr. Wilson would know the reason why. 2004 OC Weekly (Nexis) 12 Mar. 100 We would have pillow fights, or I'd know the reason why! P17. all one knows. a. Everything one knows how to do; everything one can. ΚΠ 1751 Universal Mag. Nov. 203/2 Poor M. Bury the Commander did all he knew, and all he could. 1824 in G. T. Curtis D. Webster (1870) I. 266 ‘You find it hard work enough this morning, I think,’ said Mr. Webster. ‘Yes, Sir,’ said the boatman, ‘it puts a man up to all he knows, I assure you.’ 1872 Punch 27 Jan. 40/2 Both men will do all they know, and a clinking good contest is expected. 1883 D. C. Murray Hearts II. 206 He was not accustomed to be badgered in this way, and it cost him all he knew to restrain his anger. 1902 F. McElrath Rustler xv. 237 Horace chafed her hands and poured some whisky down her throat, and did all he knew to restore her. 1999 J. Elium & D. Elium Raising Teenager iii. 46 The right medication seemed to steady him, and I did all I knew to help him recognize his talents and abilities. b. colloquial. Adverbially: to the utmost of one's ability. Also (now chiefly) all one knows how. ΚΠ 1822 Sporting Mag. Jan. 190/2 A hare, which proved a ‘teaser’, leaving her eager pursuers no other alternative than ‘to play all they knew’, and ‘prove their metal’. 1863 in F. Moore Rebellion Rec. V. 72/1 ‘They are here in large force,’ said he to the General. ‘Pitch into them all you know how,’ was the prompt response. 1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms II. ii. 21 A good many men tried all they knew to be prepared and have a show for it. 1889 R. S. S. Baden-Powell Pigsticking 173 If they find themselves being pursued..they will shoot round on the instant, and make the running ‘all they know’ back again. 1927 A. W. L. Fawcett Films, Facts & Forecasts xv. 142 In these surroundings the players must ‘emote’ all they know. 1982 M. Seide Common Wilderness (1983) 655 I warned him... I kept warning him all I knew how. 2001 C. R. Hart & M. K. Grossman Insulin-Resistance Diet p. xi You've tried every diet, read every book, and exercised all you know how, but you still can't lose weight. P18. a. what does (also would) (a person) know?: used as a dismissive rhetorical question, implying the person referred to lacks the capacity or necessary information to understand something fully. Also with about, of. ΚΠ 1761 London Mag. Feb. 61/2 Your savage notions are ridiculous—what do you know of a husband's feelings? 1807 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 10 Jan. 45 Highly useful and necessary indeed! And what do you know about the high usefulness and necessity of Yagers? 1824 T. C. Croker Researches S. Ireland v. 83 What do doctors know about sick people? 1846 A. Marsh Father Darcy II. v. 107 It may be the same divinity, what do I know? 1911 W. S. Johnson Glamourie vii. 106 The man was a fool of course. What would a policeman know of a high soul's craving for communion with the Quiet? 1951 D. Bevan & E. Trzcinski Stalag 17 ii. ii. 51 I'm only a corporal..what do I know? 1969 B. Harris Catching Saradove 192 You were just sitting there on Clive's lap, like a scaredy-cat baby or something—what would you know? 1999 S. Stewart Sharking iv. 60 What would you know about it, cobweb fanny? b. colloquial. that's all you know (also that's all you know about it): you do not know all the facts, you do not understand (used dismissively of a remark made by the person addressed). ΚΠ 1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan II. xvi. 93 ‘They've got you, you mean.’—‘That's all you know about it!’ 1863 D. M. Craik Fairy Bk. 110 ‘Never did I see anyone who could at all compare with you.’ ‘That's all you know,’ said the princess. 1876 A. Trollope Prime Minister III. xi. 183 ‘They may do foolish things, dear; and yet..not interfere with politics.’ ‘That's all you know about it, Plantagenet.’ 1930 E. H. Young Miss Mole ii. 20 ‘And breakfast in bed is not what you want, Hannah.’ ‘That's all you know about it,’ Hannah said. 1961 I. Fleming Thunderball ii. 19 ‘I wouldn't have thought these people would be interested.’.. The young man snorted, ‘That's all you know.’ 2001 C. Storr If Game (2002) xiv. 87 That's all you know. Girls can know about football just as well as boys. P19. With cognate object. Now rare. a. to know one's (own) know: to be confident or secure in one's own understanding or knowledge of things; to know one's own business. In later use Irish English. ΚΠ 1764 P. Gibbes Hist. Lady Louisa Stroud II. 176 He makes no other Answer than, that he knows his own know. 1793 M. Pilkington Rosina II. xxiv. 279 Aye,..he know'd his own know for that, I warrant him. 1842 Godey's Lady's Bk. Feb. 63/1 Ye've supped sorrow sure enough a-lannan; but I know my own know, a cushla. 1896 J. K. Snowden Web of Old Weaver x. 124 Still, she knew her own know, and reckoned up other folk very sharply. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 8 Dec. 2/1 I know me own knows! 1925 S. O'Casey Shadow of Gunman 35 He knew his own know, an' would keep it to himself. 1977 T. Murphy Famine in Plays: 1 (1992) 41 We all know our know then? b. Irish English. In emphatic statements of ignorance (of a fact, etc.), as never (also not, devil, sorrow) a know I know, etc.: I do not know at all. ΚΠ 1795 W. Macready Bank Note ii. 27 Sir. Cha. Which way? Kill. The devil a know I know sir. 1827 G. Griffin Tales Munster Festivals I. 339 Sure, never a know do I know, Miss. 1835 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 98/1 Why, thin, divel a know I know. But this I know full well to my cost, that I never set eyes on him since. 1851 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. Dec. 396 Not a know do we know of what they done with that or anything. 1885 A. Trollope Land-leaguers i. 6 ‘You do,’ said Ada. ‘How was it done? Who dit it—and why?’ ‘Sorrow a know I know,’ said the boy. 1900 R. Boldrewood Babes in Bush xviii. 269 ‘Tom, do you happen to know anyone of your own name in this part of the country..?’ ‘The divil a know I know,’ replied Tom. 1922 Atlantic Monthly Feb. 178 So he pays Jack's passage out to New York, an' what the ind av him was, not a know do I know. 1957 S. O'Casey Let. 26 Nov. (1989) III. 498 One of my favorite plays is Strindberg's Dream Play. What form is it in? Divil a know I know. P20. as if (a person) didn't know: used to imply that a person is feigning ignorance; (hence, esp. in as if I didn't know) used to imply that something is well-known or obvious. ΚΠ 1765 G. Colman tr. Terence Phormio ii. ii, in tr. Terence Comedies 554 Pshaw! I will not tell.—As if you didn't know, You're come to try me. 1844 G. P. R. James Rose D' Albret 112/2 ‘Come, come, now,’ answered Prior, in a tone of jocular reproach; ‘as if I didn't know, Bill.’ 1888 C. Reade Hard Cash (new ed.) 141 ‘Where is the other lantern?’ was Robarts's first word on reaching the deck: as if he didn't know. 1942 College Eng. 4 65 What is this unworthy purpose? you ask, as if you didn't know. 1987 S. Bellow More die of Heartbreak 250 ‘I have a great-uncle in politics—’ ‘Vilitzer. As if I didn't know.’ 2004 Independent 12 Jan. 31/1 I refer—as if you didn't know—to the big issue of the moment: have Julia Sawalha and Alan Davies married? P21. colloquial. a. do you know: used, frequently parenthetically, to introduce a noteworthy or surprising fact, observation, etc. ΚΠ 1772 F. Burney Early Diary (1889) I. 160 Do you know, it stands me in a hundred a year for chaises? 1776 T. Francklin Contract ii. 31 Betty, I'm the happiest creature in the universe. Do you know I've regain'd my freedom, am mistress of myself, [etc.]. a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) I. vi. 67 Do you know, I saw the prettiest hat you can imagine. View more context for this quotation 1849 J. Ruskin Let. 24 Apr. in M. Lutyens Ruskins & Grays (1972) xxi. 185 Do you know, pet, it seems almost a dream to me that we have been married. 1910 H. S. Johnson Williams on Service x. 110 But do you know, the little villain has taken French leave and gone anyway. 1933 D. Thomas Let. 25 Dec. (1987) 75 My sister has just returned from a week's holiday in Paris, and, do you know, she didn't go to the Louvre once. 2002 H. Holt Leonora (2003) x. 111 She was..groomed within an inch of her life—do you know, she said she goes for a manicure every single week! b. (do) you know something?: = do you know at Phrases 21a. Cf. you know what? at what pron., adv., int., adj.1, conj., and n. Phrases 2c. ΚΠ 1879 Catholic World Aug. 583/2 Do you know something? I begin to be sorry for having refused that offer. 1897 M. J. Safford tr. G. Ebers Barbara Blomberg I. xviii. 242 Do you know something, Luis? The best results have often followed my most reckless acts. 1949 A. Miller Death of Salesman i. 21 It got so embarrassing I sent him to Florida. And you know something? Most of the time he's talking to you. 1971 J. Brunner Honky in Woodpile v. 37 ‘You know something?’ We looked expectant. 1972 J. Wilson Hide & Seek ii. 29 Do you know something, Mary? Mr Harris is the nicest man I know, except for my father. 2003 M. Salzman True Notebooks iv. 40 You know something, the thing I hate most about my life is when I stress. P22. to know what one likes: used to imply that a person knows which works of art, poems, etc., he or she likes without necessarily having an informed opinion to support these preferences. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > liking or favourable regard > [phrase] > without informed opinion to support view to know what one likesa1780 a1780 J. Harris Philol. Inq. (1781) ii. xii. 233 Some intrepid spirit may demand again, What avail these subtleties?—Without so much trouble, I can be full enough pleased.—I know what I like.—We answer, And so does the Carrion-crow. 1864 Cornhill Mag. Mar. 337 ‘I know what I like,’ is the not over sapient remark made on such occasions by those who affect..an interest in some particular class of art. 1873 H. James Compl. Tales (1962) III. 72 I went with Harold a great deal to the Louvre, where he was a very profitable companion. He had the history of the schools at his fingers' ends, and, as the phrase is, he knew what he liked. 1959 Listener 9 July 75/3 In reality, she was just a wealthy collector. She knew what she liked. 1974 R. Hill Very Good Hater xi. 93 ‘Are you interested in art?’ asked Mrs Housman politely. ‘I know what I like,’ he answered. 2001 Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press (Nexis) 9 Sept. n1 I won't claim to know much about music, but, as they say, I know what I like, and I liked the symphony of Thursday afternoon. P23. to know little (or nothing) and care less: to be unconcerned (about); to be ignorant (of) and willing to remain so. Cf. sense 10b. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > be inattentive [verb (intransitive)] > be unconcerned not to pass a fly (also fig, pin, point, straw, whit, etc.)?1548 matter1678 to know little (or nothing) and care less1783 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > be ignorant [phrase] > know nothing to say (also know) neither buff nor stye?a1750 to know little (or nothing) and care less1783 not to know beans1833 not to have the remotest1864 (not) to know from nothing1933 not to know shit from Shinolaa1948 1783 J. Murdoch Pictures of Heart I. iii. 149 About the propriety of this or that mode of worship,..he knew little, and cared less. 1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park II. xi. 251 ‘I know nothing of the Miss Owens,’ said Fanny calmly. ‘You know nothing and you care less, as people say. Never did tone express indifference plainer.’ 1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel II. viii. iv. 322 ‘Ah!’ said Egerton, who, as it has been before said, knew little, and cared less, about the Hazeldean pedigree, ‘I..had forgotten it.’ 1924 R. H. Mottram Spanish Farm i. 71 Madeleine knew little and cared less as to what this might mean, except as it affected the work of the farm. 1925 F. Harris My Life & Loves III. xii. 183 The great London doctors knew nothing about leprosy and cared less. 1937 N. Coward Present Indicative viii. v. 321 Even at the time we realised in our hearts that the bulk of the public knew nothing about Sirocco and cared less. 2006 D. Winner Those Feet 123 The World Cup was still regarded as a faraway competition of which we knew little and cared less. P24. to know something when one sees it and variants: to be able to identify something for what it truly is. Used esp. to emphasize one's acute judgement or indicate that one cannot be easily fooled.With quot. 1785 cf. to know what's what at what pron., adv., int., adj.1, conj., and n. Phrases 2b. ΚΠ 1785 C. Macklin Man of World i. 13 I know what's what, when I see it. 1842 Ainsworth's Mag. 6 26 I know madness when I see it. 1872 Times 2 Aug. 8 I know a fact when I see it. 1904 Windsor Mag. June 305/2 Do you think I don't know a love-look when I see it? 1959 Daily Tel. 13 Nov. 12/2 Their followers know double-think when they see it. 1987 J. Dailey Heiress v. 56 I know tears when I see them. 2000 W. Monahan Light House xlii. 205 I know gangrene when I see it. P25. a. before one knows it: very soon, very quickly. ΚΠ 1795 F. Reynolds Rage 70 I shall be a dead man, before I know it. 1844 tr. ‘C. Sealsfield’ Rambleton 201/1 Cunning chap, that Harry! He'll turn you before you know it! 1884 Cent. Mag. Dec. 254/2 Before he knew it his son had him out of his class day spread at Harvard. 1896 G. Ade Artie xvii. 154 This thing got the half-Nelson on me before I know it. 1913 W. Wilson in L. E. Sullivan Bandits & Bibles (2003) 198 They take another jolt and before they know it, they become ‘dope’ fiends themselves. 1937 Amer. Home Apr. 101/1 (advt.) Almost before you know it, there'll be cool, crisp curtains at your windows. 1986 R. A. Jamieson Thin Wealth 55 Before she knew it, they were sitting O-levels and Highers and were off to university in Aberdeen. 2003 M. Salzman True Notebooks vii. 72 One Latino fool threw his gang sign and jumped this black fool, and before you know it, fools are jumping on other fools. b. before you know where you are, etc.: = before one knows it at Phrases 25a. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > immediacy > immediately [phrase] without restc1225 but bodea1300 without residence1488 before you know where you are1803 in a heartbeat1860 before (one) can say knife1874 1803 Anti-Gallican 1 No. 8. 245/1 So luff up Bony or you'll be fast a ground before you know where you are. 1840 W. M. Thackeray Catherine v [We] found ourselves regular knights of the road, before we knew where we were almost. 1916 A. Huxley Let. 30 June (1969) 104 Steps must quickly be taken, or we shall find the place full of effigies and all the money spent before we know where we are. 1930 W. S. Maugham Breadwinner ii. 102 Almost before you know where you are, they're young men and women with characters of their own. 1970 C. Whitman Death out of Focus xii. 183 You're a clever devil... You'll be an Inspector before you know where you are. 2001 J. Boyle Galloway Street 35 And before you know where you are he's jooked away past you and put in a cross to Owen Mangan or Tommy Duignan. P26. to be known to the police: (of a person) to have a criminal record; to be considered a suspicious character by the police. ΘΚΠ society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > break the law [verb (transitive)] > mark as criminal or suspect spot1718 to be known to the police1804 1797 Times 27 Jan. 3/4 He has a brother and a sister..who daily parade the metropolis, committing depredations, who are known to the Police Officers.] 1804 Times 1 May 3/2 This agent, spy, and emigrant, and [sic] who has received his pardon, was already known to the Police. 1828 T. B. W. Dudley Tocsin 36 [He] appears to me to be rather too delicate of the liberty of the subject, as regards suspicious characters, or those known to the police. 1857 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 179/1 The definite number of thousands of convicted thieves at large,..all ‘known to the police’, and yet living in perfect security under the wing and eyes of the law. 1924 A. Christie Poirot Investigates ix. 255 Billy Kellett?.. He's known to the police! 1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad ix. 112 A long communication telling us that Mrs. Cousins was not ‘known to the police’. 2000 Sunday Times 23 July (Mag. section) 53/2 Most have not a blot on their character, but a good few are antisocially inclined (some ex-attendees of the local behaviour adjustment unit) and are frequently well known to the police. P27. a. I'd like to know: used parenthetically with a question, generally with implication of indignation, irritation, etc. ΚΠ 1810 R. T. Spence Minstrelsey of Edmund the Wanderer 153 Of what avail, I'd like to know, You envious unregarded foe, Is your derisive look of scorn? 1886 Harper's Mag. Apr. 696 What's kept her from being trodden down by these Wissan Bridge racketers, I'd like to know? 1939 D. Thomas Let. July (1987) 389 And what have I got to sparkle about I'd like to know? 1991 J. Barth Last Voy. Somebody the Sailor 451 What's to become of us simple, hardworking sex-slaves and entertainers, I'd like to know? 2003 C. Birch Turn again Home iii. 42 And what, I'd like to know, was that decent education for? b. U.S. regional (chiefly New England). (I) want to know!: used to express surprise. Now rare. ΚΠ 1833 J. Neal Down-easters I. 45 I want to know! exclaimed the other down-easter. Well, you do know, replied the southerner. 1840 Knickerbocker 16 20 ‘I want to know!’ said the lady; ‘precious soul!’ 1904 J. C. Lincoln Cap'n Eri iii. 39 ‘I want to know!’ exclaimed Captain Perez. ‘You don't tell me!’ said Captain Jerry. 1963 N. Hale New Eng. Discov. p. x There is no more Yankee sentiment than that summed up in the vernacular rejoinder, ‘Well, I want to know!’ 1968 E. Coatsworth Maine Memories 155 They exclaim, ‘Want to know!’ at a piece of news. c. colloquial. wouldn't you like to know?: said teasingly in response to a question, esp. as an indication that the speaker may not give an answer; similarly wouldn't he like to know?, etc. ΚΠ 1860 M. C. Harris Rutledge xxii. 289 ‘What did he say, pray?’ ‘Wouldn't you like to know!’ she cried, in her teasing, school-girl fashion. 1891 C. O'Brien Lover & Half ii, in Possible Plays for Private Players 10 Clem. Anglice? Alg. Wouldn't you like to know? 1941 I. Baird He rides Sky 123 The old crumpet fires off a lot of bilge like..‘What do you do in your spare time?’ (wouldn't he like to know?)... And so on and on. 1963 M. Borrelli Street Lamp & Stars xiv. 127 ‘And what did you do, Naso Stuorto?’ ‘Wouldn't you like to know.’ ‘I can guess.’ 2003 L. F. Stolarz Blue is for Nightmares (2004) vii. 48 ‘Where were you tonight, anyway?’ I ask. ‘Wouldn't you like to know? You saw me leave the cafeteria with Donovan.’ d. not to want to know: (a) to show no interest; to be unwilling to take notice or get involved; (b) to act as if one is unacquainted with, to refuse to have dealings with (a person). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > ignoring, disregard > ignore [verb (intransitive)] overhipa1325 to hide one's facea1382 to look aside1530 to look beside ——1533 not to hear on that side1548 to look through the fingers1549 to pull away the shoulder1560 connive1602 to turn a (also the) blind eye1698 to bury (or hide) one's head in the sand1844 Nelson eye1893 not to want to know1948 the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > ignoring, disregard > ignore, disregard [verb (transitive)] > not care about value1591 matter1652 (not) to give (something or someone) a (also another) thought1762 not to want to know1948 1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway iii. 79 I was trying to tell her what to do if things look bad. But if she doesn't want to know, I can't do more. 1967 Listener 14 Sept. 326/1 After doing a hard week's work I had nothing in my pocket..nothing at all and that went on for four years... After that I said: ‘Well, that's it. I don't want to know. I can get a living a lot easier than going to work.’ 1969 Focus Feb. 16/2 But if you are paying it all in on a Friday, and taking it all out again on Saturday, do not be surprised if the building society does not want to know you. 1973 Times 19 Sept. 13/4 (advt.) Graduates you have a problem. If you wanted the summer following graduation free, you missed out on the ‘milk round’. Many employers don't want to know by the autumn. 1992 D. Robins Tarnished Vision vi. 46 In England, when children reach a certain age, they don't want to know you. They stand up with fists to you. 2007 Western Daily Press (Bristol) (Nexis) 24 Dec. 17 On a couple of occasions they have even been stopped or seen going into their own homes. But the police don't want to know. e. you (really) don't want to know: said teasingly or evasively in response to a question, especially as an indication that the answer may be shocking, embarrassing, or otherwise disagreeable to the enquirer. ΚΠ 1899 Life 16 Mar. 214/1 ‘How much, did you say?’ ‘Oh, you really don't want to know.’ 1944 Morning Bull. (Rockhampton, Austral.) 9 Mar. 2/3 He asked his wife where she was going and she said, ‘You don't want to know.’ 1959 L. Abel in Partisan Rev. Fall 545 Jesse: Let's have the whole story. Marianne: (with much coquetry)..No, you really don't want to know. 2009 J. Kellerman True Detectives x. 93 ‘I..predict the correlation between economic downturns and the rise of insurgency in Malaysia.’ ‘How's it looking for Malaysia?’ ‘You don't want to know.’ P28. if you know what is good for you, etc.: used as a threat or warning to reinforce an order or direction. ΚΠ 1821 Rep. Trial E. Hall vs. R. Grant 13 If Miss Hall and her friends know what is good for her, she will abandon the suit. 1833 A. Greene Life & Adventures Dr. Dodimus Duckworth I. xiii. 168 Let alone beating him, if you know what's good for you. 1847 C. Carey Lady of Green & Blue xiii. 51/1 You'd better be off out of this latitude, if you know what is good for you. 1903 Outlook 15 Aug. 943/2 If they know what is good for them they will not get in the way of this social and industrial evolution. 1956 M. Dickens Angel in Corner x. 179 Stay away, if you know what's good for you. 2000 Z. Smith White Teeth (2001) v. 85 I just told him to shut it, and he'll shut it if he knows what's good for him. P29. Chiefly British. to be not to know: to have no way of learning. Usually with indirect statement. ΚΠ 1833 W. G. Simms Martin Faber xiii. 126 He was not to know that I had most effectually acquitted him, to her, of the offence, for which he anticipated her scorn and hatred. 1898 Times 19 May 16/4 They were not to know that the Russophile passage in Mr. Balfour's Bristol speech was a mere oratorial tag. 1957 F. Hoyle Black Cloud (1960) 18 Pity you didn't show it to me right away. But of course, you weren't to know. 1985 W. Radice in tr. R. Tagore Sel. Poems (1994) Introd. 31 [The translation] also leaves out a whole verse, though the English reader is not to know that. 1997 Business Age Sept. 11/1 True, you were not to know he was about to die, but criticism on one of our true business legends is totally unnecessary, out of place and unfair. P30. to know too much: to be in possession of knowledge (esp. about criminal activity) which places the person at risk of being killed, imprisoned, etc. ΚΠ 1835 D. Crockett Acct. Col. Crockett's Tour 73 Jackson used these very men like dogs: they knew too much, and must be got rid of, or they would stop his profligacy too. 1853 W. B. Devereux Lives & Lett. Devereux Earls Essex I. x. 300 Philip..resolved to get rid of the servant who knew too much, and the favoured rival, at one blow. 1875 A. E. Young Wife No. 19 xv. 262 (heading) How ‘accidents’ happened to people who ‘knew too much’. 1922 G. K. Chesterton (title) The man who knew too much. 1953 A. Christie After the Funeral xxi. 163 ‘And why should anyone want to kill you, beautiful Rosamund?’.. ‘Because I know too much, of course.’ 1995 Entertainm. Weekly 7 Apr. 64/3 Mick..is dispatched by a fellow hood, George (Peter Boyle), to knock off Fiona (Mimi Rogers), a broad who knows too much. P31. as we know it: as is familiar or understood at the present time. ΚΠ 1838 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 54 The past, as we know it, is made by man. 1893 19th Cent. Mar. 470 The hansom as we know it bears little resemblance to the cumbrous vehicle designed by the inventor. 1927 Amer. Mercury Feb. 220/2 It ignores the palpable fact that all life as we know it comes from death. 1964 J. P. Getty My Life & Fortunes ii. 23 Without oil, there would be—there could be—no civilization as we know it. 1987 G. Lister Star Trekkin' 3 It's life Jim but not as we know it. 2001 DJ 4 July 69/3 It's the real deal with live musicians playing some wonderful jazz over the kick drum, which is the only element that has anything to do with house music as we know it. P32. to know where one is with someone: to know how one is regarded by or what to expect from someone; to know the views or attitude of someone. ΚΠ 1828 Times 23 Dec. 2/3 We do not eulogize the Bank of England circulation;..but still we know where we are with respect to that corporation, or at least we cannot be deceived much.] 1845 B. Disraeli Sybil I. ii. x. 227 You knew where you were with those fellows; it was five-and-twenty per cent off wages and very bad stuff for your money. 1919 T. S. Eliot Let. 29 Mar. (1988) I. 280 I know where I am with them. 1982 A. Fraser Cool Repentance (1986) ix. 110 At least you know where you are with the police, at least the police are doing a job of work. 2001 A. Sayle Dog Catcher 61 She didn't know where she was with this lot, there was a funny vibe she'd never encountered before. P33. to know what (a person or type) is like: to be familiar with the behaviour, habits, etc., of (a person or type); to be able to predict how (someone) will behave or react on the basis of this familiarity. Frequently in you know what he (she, etc.) is like, often expressing resignation or exasperation. Cf. sense 7d. ΚΠ 1845 E. M. Sewell Gertrude II. xliv. 200 ‘You know what she is like when things go wrong.’ Edith did know from bitter experience. 1890 L. Ensor tr. A. Daudet Jack ii. iii. 332 You know what he is like. Very kind but inexorable. 1957 M. Moore Let. 25 Jan. in Sel. Lett. (1997) 537 Well, we know what artists can be like. 1960 J. Symons Progress of Crime xiv. 88 You know what he's like, cool as a cuke. 1992 T. Davies Modest Pageant 117 I'm all right—honest. It's just Les—you know what he's like when he turns. 2003 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 68 235/2 You know what women are like—they tend to fight more when they're put together. P34. to think one knows it all: to have an inflated idea of one's knowledge, wisdom, expertise, etc.; to be oblivious to one's deficiencies. Also simply to know it all. Cf. know-it-all n. ΚΠ 1857 Harper's Mag. Nov. 845/1 You, who had read the novels and thought you knew it all, learned..that no pictures are like the reality. 1892 C. Sotheran Horace Greeley iii. 118 Some of the capitalistic idlers, who know it all, and smack their lips over ‘Chateau-Margaux’, believing it to be the best and purest French vintage; whereas [etc.]. 1912 Science 20 Dec. 842/2 The manager of the college thinks he knows it all, and therefore has no need of advice. 1972 G. Durrell Catch me Colobus vi. 111 As I had warned Long John, there comes a time on every collecting trip when you begin to think that you know it all. This is a moment of great danger, for you never know it all, however hard you try. 1973 Black World Sept. 97/1 To my once respected student who has taken over the pompous entitlement as chief white critic of inferior Black literature, let me say..: ‘Stop knowing it all.’ 1997 Canberra Times (Nexis) 30 Nov. a21 There was one professor who thought he knew it all—he was about as useful as a chocolate teapot. P35. colloquial and slang. Used in various phrases such as you know what you can do (with it), you know where you can put (also shove, stick) it, etc., expressing contemptuous dismissal or rejection through implied or explicit reference to a more emphatic phrase such as ‘stick it up your arse!’ (see stick v.1 Phrases 9). ΚΠ 1885 Amer. Machinist 14 Nov. 7/1 It seems to me..that you are finding considerable fault with the way I do business; if you don't like it, you know what you can do. 1911 R. A. Wason Knight-errant xxxiii. 360 ‘I guess you know where you can stick those two dollars,’ flashed the boy angrily. 1951 R. Terrall Steps of Quarry xvi. 293 You know what you can do with it, Scotty? You can stick it up your ass. 1982 E. Mann Still Life ii. i. 26 He can take those slides and you know where he can put em. Right up his butt. 1999 W. W. Johnstone Hatred in Ashes x. 115 ‘You know where you can shove that order, don't you, Van?’ Red challenged. 2007 T. Brown White Lies 25 I don't give a fuck what Mommy says. She knows what she can do with her curfews. P36. I know (what)!: ‘I have an idea!’ ΚΠ 1904 St. Nicholas Sept. 1000/1 If you'll be good, and not go peeping and prying and tale-tattling, I'll..I know! I'll save you both my honeycake, every day at supper. 1933 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Cloud Howe ii. 70 I know! Let's go and see Segget at night. 1995 G. Kamani Junglee Girl (1996) 22 I know what! When DeSouza comes in today, Savitri should read her sum like this: ‘One plus one cow plus one Italian.’ 2006 S. Preece in S. Maguire Little Black Dress 168 I could play the tambourine—or—I know!—I could have a little skellington on a string and rattle him in time to the music! P37. colloquial (originally U.S.). what do you know?: used to express surprise (also what do you know about that?); also used parenthetically (cf. do you know at Phrases 21a). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection] whatOE well, wellOE avoyc1300 ouc1300 ay1340 lorda1393 ahaa1400 hillaa1400 whannowc1450 wow1513 why?1520 heydaya1529 ah1538 ah me!a1547 fore me!a1547 o me!a1547 what the (also a) goodyear1570 precious coals1576 Lord have mercy (on us)1581 good heavens1588 whau1589 coads1590 ay me!1591 my stars!a1593 Gods me1595 law1598 Godso1600 to go out1600 coads-nigs1608 for mercy!a1616 good stars!1615 mercy on us (also me, etc.)!a1616 gramercy1617 goodness1623 what next?1662 mon Dieu1665 heugh1668 criminy1681 Lawd1696 the dickens1697 (God, etc.) bless my heart1704 alackaday1705 (for) mercy's sake!1707 my1707 deuce1710 gracious1712 goodly and gracious1713 my word1722 my stars and garters!1758 lawka1774 losha1779 Lord bless me (also you, us, etc.)1784 great guns!1795 mein Gott1795 Dear me!1805 fancy1813 well, I'm sure!1815 massy1817 Dear, dear!1818 to get off1818 laws1824 Mamma mia1824 by crikey1826 wisha1826 alleleu1829 crackey1830 Madonna mia1830 indeed1834 to go on1835 snakes1839 Jerusalem1840 sapristi1840 oh my days1841 tear and ages1841 what (why, etc.) in time?1844 sakes alive!1846 gee willikers1847 to get away1847 well, to be sure!1847 gee1851 Great Scott1852 holy mackerel!1855 doggone1857 lawsy1868 my wig(s)!1871 gee whiz1872 crimes1874 yoicks1881 Christmas1882 hully gee1895 'ullo1895 my hat!1899 good (also great) grief!1900 strike me pink!1902 oo-er1909 what do you know?1909 cripes1910 coo1911 zowiec1913 can you tie that?1918 hot diggety1924 yeow1924 ziggety1924 stone (or stiffen) the crows1930 hullo1931 tiens1932 whammo1932 po po po1936 how about that?1939 hallo1942 brother1945 tie that!1948 surprise1953 wowee1963 yikes1971 never1974 to sod off1976 whee1978 mercy1986 yipes1989 1909 M. R. Rinehart Man in Lower Ten xii. 103 ‘Well, what do you know about that!’ he exclaimed. ‘That's something you didn't tell me, Lollie.’ 1925 Life 23 July 20/2 I will have a couple but we have got to stick to good old cider, and what do you know, Jeff, they didn't have a drop of cider in the hotel. 1943 K. Tennant Ride on Stranger vii. 72 Why, the louse!.. He's glad to get rid of us. What do you know about that? 1957 J. Kerouac On the Road i. xii. 80 And that thousand dollars was..right there on top of the safe, what do you know about that? 1968 ‘A. Gilbert’ Night Encounter v. 80 ‘Well,’ marvelled Frankie, ‘what do you know?’ 2003 J. Cohen Farewell to Legs 44 I asked him to transfer me, and what do you know, he did. P38. colloquial and depreciative (originally U.S.) In phrases indicating that a person would be incapable of recognizing something however obvious it might be, as he (she, etc.) wouldn't know a —— if it bit (also kicked, etc.) him (her, etc.) and variants. ΚΠ 1919 L. M. Sweet Makin' O' Joe xiii. 178 He wouldn't know a clew if it bit him in the leg. 1943 L. Browne See what I Mean? iv. 33 Christ, he wouldn't know a racket if it reared up and kicked him in the teeth! 1984 ‘W. Tinasky’ Let. 29 Mar. (1996) 16/1 Your poetry editor wouldn't know a poem if it bit her in the ass in broad daylight. 1992 Empire Apr. 24/2 Film Four and British Screen wouldn't know a joke if it sat up and bit them. 2003 I. Edwards-Jones Wendy House iii. 81 You wouldn't know a hard news story if it blew up in your own stationery cupboard. P39. to know whereof one speaks (also writes, etc.): see whereof adv. 5b. P40. to know where the bodies are buried: see body n. Phrases 5. P41. colloquial. I wouldn't know: = I wouldn't know about that at Phrasal verbs. ΚΠ 1950 J. Cannan Murder Included iii. 44 ‘The bedroom..was only locked by the deceased during her ablutions.’ ‘As you say nowadays—I wouldn't know,’ said Sir Charles. 1969 M. Pugh Last Place Left vii. 45 ‘That's why married people get so complicated in bed, isn't it?’ ‘Do they? I wouldn't know.’ 2003 N.Y. Times 6 July ix. 6/1 The bloody mary today..is apparently good without vodka. I wouldn't know. < as lemmas |
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英语词典包含1132095条英英释义在线翻译词条，基本涵盖了全部常用单词的英英翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。