to know what is what
1
6.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
saber lo que es lo que
- After years of experience, she finally knows what is what in the industry.
Honestly, I don't even know what is what, but it smells, Herbie.
- Honestly, I don't even know what is what, but it smells, Herbie.
- It just means that you know what is what is enough.
- So then what what you know what was what would you say was your first crime?
- So in fact, I wanted to know what was what were the underpinnings of those theories?
Examples
-
Honestly, I don't even know what is what, but it smells, Herbie.
-
I know what is what.
Fiction book (1998) -
I saw people struggling to get by, not knowing what was what and what was next.
-
And you don't know what is what.
-
Now I don't even know what is what, and that's exactly where I want to be.
-
Most sensible people in town knew what was what, though, particularly when the newspaper reported that a body, beaten and bloated past recognition, had washed ashore at Belle Isle Lake.
Fiction book (1990) -
He has seen enough to know what is what when it comes to making decisions.
-
With all the signs around, it's easy to know what is what in this situation.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To know the meaning of something
294
3.1
To be aware of what is happening
31
3.0
To find out what really happened
15
6.7
To understand a situation or subject well
11
4.9
Understand what really happens in a situation, often when it is bad
1
7.8
To understand how things work in a place or job
Antonyms
How Aware
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is transparently built from 'know' plus the clause 'what is what' (i.e. which things are which / what is going on), so a learner who understands the constituent words can infer 'understand the true situation.' The pattern is compositional and parallels constructions in other languages, making it readily comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The phrase know what is what comes from the simple picture of someone pointing and saying what is what — which thing is which. So, to know what is what means 'to understand the true situation' and to see the important facts.