to put it past
9
7.5
- phrasal verb
- Informal
- I wouldn't put it past him to break the rules if he thought no one was watching.
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Watch on YouTubeThey are the worst MCN by far and I totally don't put it past them to do something that's sleazy.
- They are the worst MCN by far and I totally don't put it past them to do something that's sleazy.
- We don't know if this is actually true, but I wouldn't put it past Elon.
- I wouldn't put it past Steve, like the slimy Steve, slimy Steve.
- And given their record so far, you wouldn't put it past the BBC to send Nick Knowles around with his DIYSOS team.
- Cheer us I I can never put it past you just how sick and twisted your little mind is.
- So I, I wouldn't put it past us to have some, you know, really unfortunate, you know, things like that as part of it.
Examples
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I wouldn't put it past them to cheat and steal the win.
Blog text (20) -
Well, I wouldn't put it past him.
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I would not put it past him!
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But would I put it past Mac to have been playing games with the people who arrange such stuff?
Fiction book (2001) -
I would not put it past the media if they started reporting the "End of the World Profit Taking."
Blog text (2) -
I wouldn't put it past me.
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I wouldn't put it past them.
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But I wouldn't put it past them.
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I wouldn't put it past anybody I see around here to have done this.
Fiction book (1993) -
I wouldn't put it past her to have spent it just to spite him.
Fiction book (1993)
Antonyms
How Likely
Surface Forms
Morphology
put + it + past
The meaning 'to consider someone capable of doing something' is not directly derivable from the literal meanings of 'put' + 'it' + 'past'; the construction is idiomatic and uses a light-verb + pronoun + preposition pattern. There is a loose metaphorical link (placing an action 'past' someone's boundaries) but that relation is not predictable for an average B1 learner without prior exposure, so partial transparency best describes it.
Etymology
The phrase put it past may come from the image of you put something past a person, sliding it by them so they cannot stop it. So, when you say you wouldn't put it past someone, you mean you think they are 'capable' of doing that thing.