believe you me

English

WOTD – 2 March 2020

Etymology

Derived from an archaic English sentence structure.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bɪˈliːv juː ˈmiː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /bɪˈliv ju ˈmi/, /bi-/, /bə-/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: be‧lieve you me

Phrase

believe you me

1. (idiomatic) An emphatic form of believe me: you (the subject) had better believe me (the speaker).
   • 1841, Caesar Otway, Sketches in Erris and Tyrawly, by the author of 'Sketches in Ireland ..., page 185:

     Well, sir, believe you me, I'll give that lassy as good a strapping as ever she got when she comes back.

   • 1870, Garland, In re Garland, page 94:

     But many a time, believe you me, I bought a rabbit from you, when I could put something else in the pot...

   • 1877, Justin McCarthy, Miss Misanthrope: A Novel, page 21:

     That's change, if you like to call it so. But the heart of things is just the same. Balzac stands for Paris, believe you me.

   • 1887, Alexander Wardrop, Mid-Cauther Fair: A Dramatic Pastoral : with Other Poems, Songs, and Prose, page 113:

     But, Sandy lad, believe you me, I loe ye like a brither!

   • 1912, George A. Birmingham, The Simpkins Plot, page 75:

     "Believe you me," said Meldon, " she'll know how to manage him."

   • 2016 November 7, Stephen Castle, quoting Theresa May, “British Leader Stands Firm on Timetable for ‘Brexit’”, in The New York Times‎^[1], page A6:

     Believe you me, if the people in this country think they’re going to be cheated, they’re going to be betrayed, then we will see political anger the likes of which none of us in our lifetimes have ever witnessed in this country.

Translations

emphatic form of believe me

• Polish: uwierz mi

Further reading

• “believe you me, phrase” under “believe, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2011.
• “believe me, phrase”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.