of all people
12
8.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
de entre todos
- That you of all people should appreciate my work is very flattering.
- of all people should know
- of all people should understand
- of all people should realize
And I think, you know, you of all people understand the value of this, like this.
- And I think, you know, you of all people understand the value of this, like this.
- I was reading, funny enough, this caption from John Mayer, of all people.
- Why Gandhi and how's that related to Marcus Aurelius of all people?
- You know, like this is not the stance for you of all people to take.
- I'm also shocked that people are so surprised by Tom Cotton of all people saying this.
- And Elaine, of all people starts talking, and she says, I would like to build a garden after all this.
- Why me of all people in the world to have this happen to them?
Examples
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You of all people know why I needed this job.
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- Why did they pick you of all people?
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Why me of all people in the world to have this happen to them?
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And I think, you know, you of all people understand the value of this, like this.
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You of all people should know this.
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And why would they send an American of all people?
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I thought she of all people would understand why I was doing what I was doing and be happy for us.
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I would think, of all people, you would recognize a wall when you see one.
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The President used John Kerry, of all people, to play the role of Romney.
Blog text (27) -
I can't believe you, of all people, would forget my birthday.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal composition 'of + all + people' yields the sense 'out of everyone,' which a B1 learner who knows the words can partially reconstruct. However, the conventionalized pragmatic use to express surprise or ironic emphasis (e.g. 'of all people, it was you') is a discourse-level meaning that is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so prior exposure or pragmatic inference is typically required.
Etymology
Of all people may come from the image of choosing one person out of a whole crowd and pointing at them in surprise, as if to say 'why them?'. So, it is used to show 'surprise' or 'irony' that this particular person, more than anyone else, is involved.