no earthly idea
5
7.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
no tengo ni idea
- I had no earthly idea that it was such a cool city.
- she said she had no earthly idea
Examples
-
I have no earthly idea why you're here.
-
We have no earthly idea how to accomplish it.
-
What that rating has to do with teaching, I have no earthly idea.
Blog text (24) -
To which the only honest answer is "I have no earthly idea."
Blog text (31) -
I just watched the entire segment, and I have no earthly idea what his point is.
Blog text (29) -
I had no earthly idea when I started blogging that I would find such genuine friendship.
Blog text (17) -
Many times when a subscriber opts in, they have no earthly idea what to expect from your emails.
Blog text (23) -
You have no earthly idea what you want, Max! And stop calling me Betsy Ilene Kahn.
Fiction book (1992) -
"Damn," Sawyer said absently, having no earthly idea what the acronym stood for.
Fiction book (1997) -
When I asked him about the project, he said he had no earthly idea how to proceed.
Synonyms
279
3.6
To have no idea about something
110
5.5
Not told about important things, so you do not know them
80
6.4
To not know anything about a subject or situation
7
8.6
I do not know
4
7.2
Not knowing any more after something is explained
4
9.0
I do not know
1
9.7
Have almost no idea about something
To not understand anything about a subject
Antonyms
How Knowledgeable
- Informal
∞
1.0
- Informal
111
4.1
- Informal
5
7.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The core meaning 'no knowledge' is directly derivable from 'no' + 'idea', but the adjective 'earthly' functions as a non-literal intensifier meaning roughly 'at all' or 'in the world'. That intensifying use is somewhat idiomatic and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner solely from the literal meanings, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrase no earthly idea uses earthly to mean 'from this world' and idea to mean a thought. The image is that there is not a single idea on earth about it, so it means 'no knowledge at all'.