know B from a battledore

present singular third person knows B from a battledore · participle present knowing B from a battledore · past knew B from a battledore · participle past known B from a battledore · alternative know a B from a battledore

1. archaicoften in the negativeTo know anything at all; to have the most basic common sense or intelligence.

   1 more example

   Euery man can ſay Bee to a Battledore, and vvrite in prayſe of Vertue, and the ſeuen Liberall Sciences, threſh corne out of the full ſheaues, and fetch vvater out of the Thames; but out of drie ſtubble to make an after harueſt, and a plentifull croppe vvithout ſovving, and vvring iuice out of a flint, thats Pierce a Gods name, and the right tricke of a workman.

   [1599, [Thomas] Nashe, “To His Readers, Hee Cares Not What They Be”, in Nashes Lenten Stuffe, […], London: […] [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and C[uthbert] B[urby] […], →OCLC

   Synonyms: know A from B, know one's arse from one's elbow, know one's ass from a hole in the ground