it's all Greek to me en · X
Pronunciation
Etymology
First quoted as it was Greek to me in Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, possibly translated from a sentence in Medieval Latin.
Meanings
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(idiomatic) I don't understand any of it; it makes no sense.
“It's more like some firm's paper. All this printed stuff at the top. Drachenflieger. Drachenballons. Ballonstoffe. Kugelballons. Greek to me.”
1907, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, The War in the Air: […], London: George Bell and Sons, published 1908, →OCLC:I ran after him, and received an order to go aloft and “slush down the main-top mast.” This was all Greek to me, and after receiving the order, I stood staring about me, wondering what it was that was to be done.
1849, Herman Melville, “He is Initiated in the Business of Cleaning Out the Pig-pen, and Slushing Down the Top-mast”, in Redburn: His First Voyage. […], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 45:During the processions they trilled and quavered most melodiously betwixt their teeth I do not know what antiphones, or chantings, by turns. For my part, ’twas all Hebrew-Greek to me, the devil a word I could pick out on’t;
[1653, Francis Rabelais [i.e., François Rabelais], translated by [Thomas Urquhart, Peter Anthony Motteux], The Works of Francis Rabelais, Doctor in Physick: Containing Five Books of the Lives, Heroick Deeds, and Sayings of Gargantua, and His Sonne Pantagruel. […], London: […] [Thomas Ratcliffe and Edward Mottershead] for Richard Baddeley, […], →OCLC; republished in volume II, London: […] Navarre Society […], [1948], →OCLC, 5th book:“Look here, Mr. Count,” he said; “I am only a rough Englishman, and a lot of what you have been saying about mission and that sort of thing is just so much Greek to me.”
1904, George M. Fenn, The Ocean Cat's Paw:I tried reading the instructions, but it’s all Greek to me.
Cavanaugh explained the network-affiliate relationship, which of course was all Greek to me and remained so even after his explanation.
1965, Harry Ray Bannister, The Education of a Broadcaster, page 16:A Parsi lawyer was examining a witness and asking him question regarding credit and debit entries in account books. It was all Greek to me.
1929, M[ohandas] K[aramchand] Gandhi, chapter VIII, in Mahadev Haribhai Desai and Pyarelal Nair, transl., The Story of My Experiments with Truth: Translated from the Original in Gujarati, volume II, Ahmedabad, Gujarat: Navajivan Press, →OCLC:[…]it was expected of me, or it was considered an honor, to lecture on seventeenth-century philosophy: Descartes (which was all Greek to me), Descartes to Spinoza.
2004, Jacob Taubes, The Political Theology of Paul, page 99:"Well," said Alfred, "it may be a letter, but I confess it is all Greek to me. I certainly do not see why you wish to keep it a secret. Tell me."
1844, [Frederick] Marryat, chapter XI, in The Settlers in Canada. […], volume II, London: Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans, […], →OCLC, pages 181–182:But thoſe that vnderſtood him, ſmil'd at one another, and ſhooke their heads: but for mine owne part, it was Greeke to me.
1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 112, column 1:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| it's Greek to me | alternative | lexicographic | |
| that's all Greek to me | alternative | lexicographic | |
| that's Greek to me | alternative | lexicographic |
Synonyms
(I can’t) make head or tail of · double Dutch · it's all Chinese to me
Translations (56)
id bahasa dewa (I don’t understand any of it) · la graeca sunt; nōn leguntur (I don’t understand any of it) · vi nói tiếng Miên (I don’t understand any of it) · pl to dla mnie chińszczyzna (I don’t understand any of it) · nl ik versta er geen bal van (I don’t understand any of it) · sv det är rena grekiskan (I don’t understand any of it) · it non ci capisco un tubo (I don’t understand any of it) · id itu bahasa planet (I don’t understand any of it) · cbk Aleman ese comigo (I don’t understand any of it) · de das sind für mich böhmische Dörfer (I don’t understand any of it) · nb det er helt gresk for meg (I don’t understand any of it) · es esto es chino para mí (I don’t understand any of it) · pt para mim você está falando grego (I don’t understand any of it) · fr c'est du javanais (I don’t understand any of it) · es me suena a chino (I don’t understand any of it) · pt isto é chinês para mim (I don’t understand any of it) · sh шпа̑нска сѐла (I don’t understand any of it) · de das ist Chinesisch für mich (alles) (I don’t understand any of it) · ja 珍糞漢だ (I don’t understand any of it) · nn det er gresk for meg (I don’t understand any of it) · nn det er heilt gresk for meg (I don’t understand any of it) · cmn 一無所知 /一无所知 (I don’t understand any of it) · hu ez nekem kínai (I don’t understand any of it) · cs to je pro mě španělská vesnice (I don’t understand any of it) · de jemand spricht spanisch (I don’t understand any of it) · hu ez nekem kínaiul van (I don’t understand any of it) · fi se on minulle täyttä hepreaa (I don’t understand any of it) · cmn 这是鬼画符吗 (I don’t understand any of it) · ja 珍紛漢だ (I don’t understand any of it) · tr bir şey anladıysam Arap olayım (I don’t understand any of it) · cmn 听起来像鸟语 (I don’t understand any of it) · fr c'est du russe (I don’t understand any of it) · es no entiendo ni papa (I don’t understand any of it) · is þetta er hebreska fyrir mér (I don’t understand any of it) · id bahasa planet (I don’t understand any of it) · nl dat is Chinees voor mij (I don’t understand any of it) · da rent volapyk (I don’t understand any of it) · ro e chineză pentru mine (I don’t understand any of it) · da det er græsk for mig (I don’t understand any of it) · tl parang intsik (I don’t understand any of it) · fr c'est de l'hébreu (I don’t understand any of it) · da en by i Rusland (I don’t understand any of it) · fr c'est du chinois (I don’t understand any of it) · cmn 看起来像天书 (I don’t understand any of it) · sh špȃnska sèla (I don’t understand any of it) · de ich verstehe nur Bahnhof (I don’t understand any of it) · az erməni budaq cümləsi (I don’t understand any of it) · cs španělská vesnice (I don’t understand any of it) · nb det er gresk for meg (I don’t understand any of it) · it è ostrogoto (I don’t understand any of it) · la graecum est; nōn legitur (I don’t understand any of it) · it per me è arabo (I don’t understand any of it) · vi nói tiếng Lào (I don’t understand any of it) · eo Tio estas volapukaĵo (I don’t understand any of it) · es no entiendo ni jota (I don’t understand any of it) · cmn 一竅不通 /一窍不通 (I don’t understand any of it)