Not know from nothing
verb phrase
To be ignorant; be deeply uninformed or ill-informed: Gallo knows from nothing
[1936+; fr Yiddish nit zu wissen fin gornisht]
Related Terms
know from nothing
Read Also:
- Not know shit from shinola
verb phrase NOT KNOW one’s ASS FROM one’s ELBOW •Often euphemized: a tightfisted banker who doesn’t know what from Shinola/ In high school I didn’t know shoot from Shinola [1930+; fr Shinola2, a brand of shoe polish; used partly for a suggestion of brown color, mainly for alliteration]
- Not know someone from adam
verb phrase (also Adam’s off ox or from Adam’s house cat)Tobe entirely unacquainted with or uncognizant of: We’re bigger than 90 percent of the companies on the Big Board, but nobody knows us from Adam/ I didn’t know from Adam’s house cat who Nolan Ryan was (entry form 1843+, ox 1890+, cat 1908+) Be unable […]
- Not know something if it bit someone
verb phrase To be quite ignorant and unperceptive: Kuttner wouldn’t know a strategic trade policy if it bit him on the leg (1990s+)
- Not know where to turn
Also, not know which way to jump or turn. Have no idea of how to get help or what course to take. For example, With all these offers coming in, he didn’t know where to turn, or When her car was towed, Meg was distraught and did not know which way to jump. The first […]
- Notlayaglove on someone
verb phrase To leave unscathed; fail to hurt: To this point, they haven’t laid a glove on him (1940s+ Prizefighting)