Meanings
- Used to introduce, or alluding to, an apt adage.
Near-synonym: as the saying goes
2 more examples
You know what they say about fish and company. After three days, you start to stink. -- but after three decades of Hosni Mubarak, the stench has become unbearable.
2011 January 30, Sherry Jones, “Opinion: What I Saw In Egypt”, in AOL News, archived from the original on 30 Jan 2011You know what they say about men with big feet, don't ya?" A man in back smirked at me. I really didn't know what to say. I had heard the saying about men with big feet were supposed to be well hung, but I had no idea what would happen if I said something.
2007, Katherine D. Bennett, Forever OneSynonyms: as the saying goes
Synonyms & antonyms
phraseUsed to introduce, or alluding to, an apt adage.
Cite this entry
you know what they say. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/you%20know%20what%20they%20say
“you know what they say.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/you%20know%20what%20they%20say. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “you know what they say,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/you%20know%20what%20they%20say.
Source: you know what they say on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.