to put two and two together
15
3.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
sacar conclusiones
- Surely you must be able to put two and two together?
- put two and two together and come
- start to put two and two together
- put two and two together to get
I'm just saying you put two and two together.
- I'm just saying you put two and two together.
- So that's why I went down and somebody put two and two together.
- Things like GLP, one agonist, so any listener with their neurons firing, we'll put two and two together and say, OK, what's the deal?
- And it was only later as the evening was drawn again that it came on the news and I put two and two together.
- Therefore they don't know how to put two and two together by trying to read you or capture hints and things like that.
- And then I'm and I hear it's, there's a wretched guy named Simon Cowell and I'm still not putting two and two together.
- And towards the end of this this first book, the maker of universes, we find that wolf is starting to put two and two together.
- We can put two and two together.
- And so the idea that you could reliably keep such a thing a secret indefinitely and it would never put two and two together.
Examples
-
So after the incident, when you describe this to your family, did they put two and two together that this has happened?
-
Well, I saw your luggage, and then when I noticed the airline ticket, I put two and two together.
Fiction book (1994) -
I just put two and two together.
-
Unless he found out about us and put two and two together.
-
You hear a story and... you see a picture and you kind of put two and two together.
-
You can put two and two together.
-
I have always been pretty good at putting two and two together.
Fiction book (1998) -
I read about the meteor the next day in the paper and put two and two together.
Blog text (34) -
Finally, I put two and two together and I realized, he's totally off his rocker.
-
After hearing the rumors, I quickly put two and two together and realized the truth.
Synonyms
57
5.5
Decide that something is true using evidence
45
4.6
Figure out something from facts or evidence
To join facts or observations to make a clear connection
Antonyms
How Certain
- Informal
45
4.6
- Informal
15
3.8
- Informal
∞
2.2
925
3.6
768
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
put + two + and + two + together
The phrase uses a concrete arithmetic image (putting 'two and two' together to get four) to metaphorically mean combining pieces of information to reach a conclusion. This metaphorical extension is partly transparent — learners can infer the general idea of 'combining facts' but not necessarily the precise idiomatic sense without exposure; cross-linguistic parallels exist but the leap from arithmetic to inference makes it only partially predictable.
Etymology
The verb put two and two together may come from simple adding: if you put two and two together you get four, a clear result. That's why it now means 'figure out' something from the facts.