Believe you me

Posted by Smokey Stover on November 26, 2005

In Reply to: Belive you... posted by grant on November 26, 2005

: is the saying worded 'belive you and me' or 'belive you me' and what it's meaning

Believe me when I say the phrase is "believe you me," and it means the same as "believe me." The OED comments thus: " believe (you) me, phr. strengthening an assertion." It gives citations which go quite a way back for "believe me," but only from 1926 for "believe you me." Like "believe me," it's an imperative, although the addition of "you" makes it sound somewhat like a subjunctive. As the OED says, it's a way of saying, "It's really so." SS