let me guess
3
4.6
- idiom
- Informal
:
déjame adivinar
- And I said, let me guess at the bad news, I'm not involved.
- Let me guess, he said
- tell me, let me guess
- so let me guess
And let me guess, you really just want to protect something, which is great.
- And let me guess, you really just want to protect something, which is great.
- And I said, let me guess at the bad news, I'm not involved.
- And let me guess, you can't let that happen.
Examples
-
Let me guess what that is.
-
But let me guess, did he parade it around, you ask?
-
And let me guess, you really just want to protect something, which is great.
-
Then let me guess again.
Fiction book (1993) -
But then let me guess: it's different this time, eh?
Blog text (31) -
Let me guess, you were looking for road 56?
-
Let me guess, you were busy researching a really hot story.
-
Let me guess: you found plywood splinters in the back of his jacket, proving he was pushed.
Fiction book (1995) -
"Let me guess," McLanahan teased, "there's a space up there for an inflight lunch box?"
Fiction book (1991) -
Let me guess, you forgot to bring your homework again.
How Certain
- Informal
278
4.3
- Informal
3
4.6
∞
1.6
80
6.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase composes directly from 'let' (allow) + 'me' + 'guess' (try to determine), so a learner who knows the words can derive the meaning 'allow me to make a guess' and understand the speaker is about to offer a conjecture. It is a routine speech-act formula found across languages (with similar constructions), so its meaning is transparently predictable though pragmatic tone (sarcasm, annoyance) may require context.
Etymology
Let me guess comes from the simple act of asking to try an answer: imagine someone putting up a hand and saying let me before they guess what happened. So we say let me guess when we are about to 'make a guess' about what someone will say or did.