to know the score
11
4.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
saber la verdad
- After talking to his manager, he finally knew the score regarding his job performance.
- want to know the score
- know the score here
- think we know the score
Examples
-
Some of these kids don't know the score.
Fiction book (1997) -
It's so refreshing to discuss these topics with someone who knows the score.
Blog text (30) -
Hey, do you know the score?
-
And he really knew the score.
-
- You know the score, yeah?
-
So he thinks he knows the score.
Fiction book (2002) -
"You sure you know the score?"
Fiction book (2001) -
You know the score, pal?
-
I know the score, Reggie.
-
You know the score.
Synonyms
294
3.1
To be aware of what is happening
31
3.0
To find out what really happened
16
7.1
To learn the true facts after not knowing them
15
6.7
To understand a situation or subject well
13
6.3
To notice things quickly and act to fix them
7
7.0
To understand someone tricked you and become more careful
1
6.4
To understand what is really happening because of experience
Antonyms
How Aware
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'know' plus the noun 'score' (here meaning the facts or true situation) are related to the idiomatic sense, but 'score' more commonly denotes points or music for learners, so the specific sense 'the true facts' is not a default, salient meaning. Because the connection is partly compositional but relies on a less frequent sense of 'score' and pragmatic/contextual knowledge, a B1 learner who only knows the constituents may not reliably infer the full meaning.
Etymology
Know the score may come from games and sports, where the score is the number of points that shows who is winning. If you 'know the score' you see how things really stand, so the phrase now means 'to be aware of the true facts'.