I guess it's older than I thought, which makes me even more curious
Does anybody know anything about this phrase know from, which is used to mean know about? For example, I now sometimes hear (or, more often, read) someone say something like, "I don't know from basketball," or "He doesn't know from science" when they mean, "I don't know about basketball," or "He doesn't know about science." (Have I already posted about this?)
I find this a very strange phrase. I had never heard it until maybe 2006, but I'm seeing it more frequently now. Since I had only heard it recently, I assumed it was new. I didn't know where it came from, but I was guessing maybe Britain, since they talk funny there, and it could possibly have spread to the US, maybe with the help of certain pop culture figures.
Here's the thing, though: I just watched Beetlejuice, which came out in 1988, and one character says, "I don't know from guilt, but..." So it's been around for at least 20 years.
I'm wondering if it's a regionalism. I feel pretty certain I've never heard anyone say it in Indiana, and I don't remember hearing it in Oklahoma, either. Are there certain areas of the country where people have been saying "know from" for generations?
I checked for articles in my library databases but didn't find anything useful. I got over 9 million Google hits for the phrase "know from," but the first page only contained things like, "We know from chemistry that blah blah blah is true," which is a different usage. I tried "I don't know from," but that gave me lots of hits for "'Tell me something I don't know' from [some singer lady]."
Anyway, how long have you been hearing people say this? Do you use it yourself? Do you consider it an odd phrase? Is it slang? Is it normal? I'd like to hear about other people's experience with "doesn't/don't know from."
I find this a very strange phrase. I had never heard it until maybe 2006, but I'm seeing it more frequently now. Since I had only heard it recently, I assumed it was new. I didn't know where it came from, but I was guessing maybe Britain, since they talk funny there, and it could possibly have spread to the US, maybe with the help of certain pop culture figures.
Here's the thing, though: I just watched Beetlejuice, which came out in 1988, and one character says, "I don't know from guilt, but..." So it's been around for at least 20 years.
I'm wondering if it's a regionalism. I feel pretty certain I've never heard anyone say it in Indiana, and I don't remember hearing it in Oklahoma, either. Are there certain areas of the country where people have been saying "know from" for generations?
I checked for articles in my library databases but didn't find anything useful. I got over 9 million Google hits for the phrase "know from," but the first page only contained things like, "We know from chemistry that blah blah blah is true," which is a different usage. I tried "I don't know from," but that gave me lots of hits for "'Tell me something I don't know' from [some singer lady]."
Anyway, how long have you been hearing people say this? Do you use it yourself? Do you consider it an odd phrase? Is it slang? Is it normal? I'd like to hear about other people's experience with "doesn't/don't know from."