 & 
|
Re: "To be sure"Posted by Smokey Stover on November 12, 2006 In Reply to: Re: "To be sure" posted by David FG on November 12, 2006
: : What is teh meaning and use of "To be sure" : 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 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. |