Monday, March 19, 2007

"Believe you me"

Every time I hear this phrase, I'm left a little puzzled. I think I know what they are trying to emphasize, but is this correct? And if it is acceptable, would a phrase like that be left alone or would copyeditors replace it with a more commonly used phrase?

5 comments:

Pat said...

This is what's called an idiom. See my post on the dictionary of idioms I found online.

Pat said...

Idioms are more commonly found in dialogue than other kinds of writing. In those cases, they are generally left alone unless used incorrectly.

Pat said...

Sorry, Chi, I found that the dictionary I cited wasn't any help at all! Please take a look at this page from World Wide Words.

Takashi said...

I’ve always liked how Yoda talks. I think the editor of the Star Wars manuscript would have done a horrendous evil if he or she had corrected Yoda’s lines into “proper” contemporary English.

Pat said...

Wise copyeditors are like Yoda: they know what to correct and when to correct.