Does people ever say that?

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ErylRavenwell

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In dialogue, does people ever say, "figure you" as to mean vaguely "if you don't know"?

For instance: "That’s definitely not true, Jess. Not so long ago I was in Florence, the very cradle of the renaissance, figure you, and the people there, too, were living in..."
 
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Tedium

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No. I have never seen that expression.

Maybe you are thinking of the phrase "mind you". That would seem to fit your needs.

Also, you said "does" when you meant "do". ;)
 

ErylRavenwell

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No. I have never seen that expression.

Maybe you are thinking of the phrase "mind you". That would seem to fit your needs.

Also, you said "does" when you meant "do". ;)

You're right. I just can't think straight of late.
 

Mumut

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I've heard, 'Figure you could say that'. It means 'I think you could say that'. I think it went out with Roy Rogers, though. I can't remember it outside of cowboy films.
 

StephanieFox

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I've heard this...

Do you mean, "I figured that you and the others knew about it."? This is used in very casual speech. The word would be 'figured' not 'figure'. It does mean, "I though that..." It doesn't work unless you include the pronoun and the 'that'.

Perhaps this is regional, but I've heard this usage a lot.
 

IceCreamEmpress

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"I figure you know that Tom and Debbie are planning to get married" means "I reckon you know that Tom and Debbie, etc..."

Both "figure" and "reckon" mean "to add up" in both the literal and metaphorical sense.

Then there's "Figures he'd know that," which is short for "It figures he'd know that"--again, "figure" is used in the sense of "add up," as in, "It adds up that he'd know that."

"It figures!" also means "it's only to be expected" as in the Alanis Morissette song, "Ironic" (don't get me started on that) which has the repeated phrase, "Who would have thought? It figures!"
 

Bufty

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It's not correct grammar, obviously, but on this side of the pond one can and does hear everything screwed up including 'Does' instead of 'Do'. "I does," included. Yuk!

People don't say "does people" either. It's "do people." ;)
 

girlyswot

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Both "figure" and "reckon" mean "to add up" in both the literal and metaphorical sense.

Just as an aside, figure is never used in that literal sense in the UK. You'd never figure your taxes, for instance, you'd calculate them. Reckon is used for arithmetic, but not commonly. Both are used in the metaphorical sense, however.
 

Bufty

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'Figure' is used and abused here the same as anywhere else.

Just as an aside, figure is never used in that literal sense in the UK. You'd never figure your taxes, for instance, you'd calculate them. Reckon is used for arithmetic, but not commonly. Both are used in the metaphorical sense, however.
 

HeronW

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'figure you' sounds out of place by about 100 years, or used by those who are uneducated.
'I figured you wouldn't like it' would be more appropriate as a past tense.
 

Jake Barnes

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"It figures!" also means "it's only to be expected" as in the Alanis Morissette song, "Ironic" (don't get me started on that) which has the repeated phrase, "Who would have thought? It figures!"[/quote]

Are you alluding to the fact that none of the examples in the song are truly examples of irony? I always thought that was ironic!
 

IceCreamEmpress

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Interesting!

"Figured" in the sense of "computed" was a UK usage, as well as a US usage, in the 19th century--see here, for instance--but a little Googling shows that it became a US-ism by the 20th century.

While we're on the topic of figuring and reckoning, it's amazing how the UK and US usages of "reckon" seem to be mutually unintelligible. I find that when I read UK books with US characters, or watch UK films/TV with US characters, at least one of the US characters will use the word "reckon" in a thoroughly unidiomatic (for the US) fashion. I'm sure that US writers do the same thing, but in reverse.
 

girlyswot

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Interesting!

"Figured" in the sense of "computed" was a UK usage, as well as a US usage, in the 19th century--see here, for instance--but a little Googling shows that it became a US-ism by the 20th century.

While we're on the topic of figuring and reckoning, it's amazing how the UK and US usages of "reckon" seem to be mutually unintelligible. I find that when I read UK books with US characters, or watch UK films/TV with US characters, at least one of the US characters will use the word "reckon" in a thoroughly unidiomatic (for the US) fashion. I'm sure that US writers do the same thing, but in reverse.

That is interesting. I didn't know it used to be used like that in the UK too.

How would you use 'reckon' in the US? I don't think I've noticed much difference.
 

IceCreamEmpress

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How would you use 'reckon' in the US? I don't think I've noticed much difference.

First of all, it seems to me that UK writers think that "reckon" is a very US thing to say, so every US character says it regardless of where they're from. And it's just not something that New Yorkers, for instance, say very much at all.

I can't exactly articulate the ways in which the US usage differs from the UK usage, but I think it's something to do with using it closer to the root meaning. People in the US generally only use "I reckon" to connote something closer to "I induce" or "I deduce" than "I imagine." So "I reckon it'll rain" seems like a typical US usage, but "What do you reckon will be the next hit song?" not so much.

I just read the most recent Hester Browne novel, and the heroine's American boyfriend--a rich New York real estate tycoon--says "I reckon" at least three times, in pretty unlikely ways for an Ivy-educated urbanite. For instance, he says of a conversation where he's trying to win over her very county father who's been rhapsodizing about the wonders of guns, "I told him I had a hunting rifle...do you reckon that's enough?" That strikes me as extremely off, but I'm having a hard time pinpointing the reasons why.

Also, in the US, I have never heard anyone express disbelief by saying "Do you reckon?" It's either "Do you think so?" or maybe, among people who pride themselves on their unaffected rural speech, "Do you reckon so?"
 

Axelle

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Actually, "figure you" is used in French. I don't think I've ever seen it written anywhere in English, though.

And while we're at it comparing US talk vs. Brit talk, I've got a question for you guys ; is it a problem if the characters use both British English and American English ?

I'm asking that 'cause in class we're usually taught both (not to mention, our teachers change every year, so one year it's an American guy, the next year a Frenchman, the next year a Brit...) as a result, I often mix it up.
 
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