the half of it
13
6.5
- idiom
- Informal
- Yeah, you don't know the half of it.
- know the half of it
- say the half of it
- tell you the half of it
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Watch on YouTubeI'm sure like so many people think they have you figured out when they don't even know the half of it.
- I'm sure like so many people think they have you figured out when they don't even know the half of it.
Examples
-
You haven't seen the half of it.
-
And believe me, I haven't told you the half of it.
Fiction book (1992) -
Mother did not know the half of it.
Fiction book (1996) -
- You don't know the half of it.
-
You haven't heard the half of it.
-
"You don't know the half of it," she said.
Fiction book (1995) -
Oh, you don't know the half of it.
Fiction book (1998) -
"You don't know the half of it," she says, and starts crying.
Fiction book (1997) -
"You don't know the half of it," Fran replied with a sigh.
Fiction book (1997) -
You only know the half of it; there are many more details to the story.
Synonyms
16
6.7
A statement that is partly true but leaves out important facts to mislead
Antonyms
How Complete
25
3.0
- Informal
13
6.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
the + half + of + it
The phrase is directly built from the constituents 'half' + 'of' + 'it' and literally means one part of something; its use to indicate that only part of a story or situation has been revealed is a straightforward extension of that literal meaning. This compositional interpretation is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the component words will readily understand the intended sense.
Etymology
The half of it may come from the simple image of something cut in two: you can see one half while the other is hidden, so you only know 'part' of the story. That's why the phrase means a lot more remains unknown or unspoken.