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"To be sure"

Posted by Smokey Stover on November 12, 2006

In Reply to: "To be sure" posted by David FG on November 12, 2006

: : What is teh meaning and use of "To be sure"
: : Thanks
: : Hasan
: :

: It is of Irish origin. It means, simply, 'indeed' or just 'I am/it is' - that sort of thing.

: An example might be:

: Q 'Are you going to London?'

: A. 'To be sure'.

: It is a bit stereotyped, and is not used nearly as much by Irishmen as the English seem to think it is.

: DFG
: DFG

It could be rendered sometimes as "I'm sure", or "That's for sure." A typical use might be, "He's a jackass, to be sure, but he does have some good qualities." "To be sure, I have a vested interest in this, but I still say, stay away from it." You can see from my examples that I use the phrase when there is a contrast or conflict. Sometimes the contrastin clause can be omitted. "She's a handful, to be sure." The rest of the conversation will provide the contrasting clause.
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