"I believe you, thousands wouldn't" do you believe me or not?
Posted by UnlikelySafetyDance@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 58 comments
Well the title says it all. The phrase "I believe you, thousands wouldn't" does it mean you find my statement believable or not?
HenryNeves@reddit
Pointless post
Squirrel_Worth@reddit
I will accept it as true so we can move on but I’m making it clear it’s not plausible- like when a teenager insists that their homework was done but someone mugged them, and no matter how much arguing they stick to their story, to stop the back and forth ‘I believe you, thousands wouldn’t’; or you’re giving someone trust and believing them while saying you’re not a mug enough to actually believe what they’re saying, you believe them on character not facts.
Belle_TainSummer@reddit
Because saying "I am making a choice to believe you, despite there being well founded reasons for scepticism. I also wish you to know there is reason for scepticism, so that you make sure you tidy up any loose ends which may make me regret my choice and cause you embarrassment. I am also giving you a chance to cease this conversation before you talk yourself into a position where it is impossible for me to continue to suspend any sense of disbelief" is too wordy.
Stinkinhippy@reddit
For me.. I'll act like i believe you, even though it's extremely questionable.
bubbagrub@reddit
I'm surprised to see so many people saying that this means "I believe you". I've only ever heard this used in a sarcastic way to mean "I don't believe you".
It's like saying "Oh yeah, right, this thing you expect me to believe? No-one else would believe it, so why would I?"
Foreign_End_3065@reddit
I feel like a lot of posters are explaining very literally what the statement should mean - but that’s not usually how it’s used!
calmarkel@reddit
Be interesting to see who is saying what and who is NT or ND
As a ND person I mean what the statement literally should mean because why would I lie?
wintermute023@reddit
That’s it! I’m sat here trying to work out if I’m wrong or everyone here is. It clearly means ‘you’re bullshitting, but to save argument I’ll pretend to believe you for now’.
It’s a polite version of “whatever”
calmarkel@reddit
Your statement is unbelievable but I believe you trust this thing happened because I trust you
Don't expect others to believe it though, it sounds mad
kalendral_42@reddit
Or it can be used as a sarcastic/snarky response to highlight that you don’t believe them at all & have no desire to pretend otherwise - depending on the context/tone it’s said in like ‘Suuuure. I believe you, thousands wouldn’t’
TheBladesAurus@reddit
Part of the confusion here, I think, is that it is very often used sarcastically and mockingly.
Suspicious_Banana255@reddit
I would use it to mean, "I don't really believe you but carry on and you may convince me"
Cavsome@reddit
It’s sarcastic; “bless your heart”, “whatever” “oh, you poor, sweet thing” (“0k” in agreement)
Loose_Acanthaceae201@reddit
If I said this, it would mean "I don't really believe you but I'm prepared to act as if I do for the sake of our ongoing relationship and because the stakes are so low it doesn't make a difference".
Cavsome@reddit
AHhhhhhhhhhhh…LUV it!
Indigo-Waterfall@reddit
They don’t believe you and are making a point that nobody else would believe you either, in a humorous way
UnlikelySafetyDance@reddit (OP)
There is far more debate on this topic than I thought there'd be!
FewAnybody2739@reddit
They do believe you, but are making the point that you're lucky they either know enough to trust you, or are doing you a favour by doing so.
MidasToad@reddit
Looking at the comments, it means different things to different people.
Fwiw, to me it means 'I believe you, because I know and trust you. But the thing you are claiming is not believable to anyone who doesn't know you.'
E.g. a friend might claim "I prevented a global Google outage at work today." As I know they are a high profile ethical hacker, I could say "I believe you, thousands wouldn't."
cleef1111@reddit
Completely depends on time of voice, and which word is emphasised in the sentence
juronich@reddit
My mum used to say this to me as a kid and I hated this phrase because clearly she didn't believe me, much to my chagrin.
Now, I know the phrase is pretty meaningless. I could have told my mum the earth is flat and "I believe you, thousands wouldn't" would be a valid answer, because of all the contrarians and idiots we have.
beanie_0@reddit
Yes. But it’s a reach.
Current_Thing2244@reddit
"I don't believe you and I want to end this conversation".
dwair@reddit
If you believe me when thousands wouldn't, I feel emboldened in my delusions and I thank you for your support.
Final_Anybody_3862@reddit
I think that you are lying out of your arse.
Solid_Contact6529@reddit
It means I am highly fucking skeptical, but sure, if you say so…
mightypup1974@reddit
I see it as sarcastic - oh sure, I believe you, even though sane people wouldn’t.
anniday18@reddit
Believable. It shows trust in you.
nonsequitur__@reddit
It means I don’t believe you and am being sarcastic because your statement is ridiculous and I cba arguing or don’t even care that you’re lying.
tenthcat@reddit
It means they don't believe you but for the sake of the conversation, proceed as if they do rather than attempting to convince them
the_fox_in_the_roses@reddit
Exactly. It's a way if saying, What you said is unlikely to be true," without being rude.
Foreign_End_3065@reddit
For me it would mean ‘Right, you know I know you’re bullshitting, or otherwise bending the truth, but I can’t be arsed with finding out why or the fight because it really doesn’t matter to me at all, so let’s move on. But be warned that if you tell this story to someone else they might not be so understanding…’
Sxn747Strangers@reddit
No, your statement is not believable.
Choice-Lemon4500@reddit
The statement is unbelievable. It's a nicer way to say "I like you, but that is bollocks".
derekclysdale@reddit
This is a way of saying, "Your full of shit!" So for example bob says "I forgot to set my alarm today and that's why I'm late." Bobs boss, who I guess we'll call Dave, replies by saying "I believe you bob, thousands wouldn't." Suggesting that Dave does indeed know Bob didn't really set his alarm because he went out last night and had few beers and got a few extra hours of sleep because he knew he'd get away with it. Still he works hard, when he does turn up, so I guess it's fine.
RockPaperPootis@reddit
Easy there Mr. Bialystok
BroccoliSubstantial2@reddit
We used to use it sarcastically to say "I agree, it's not worth the relationship to contest it, but it's frankly unbelievable." or in jest to say "yeah, right, whatever you say." as in, bullshit.
Maleficent-Heart2497@reddit
We're just joshing with you. This is always a joke between people you know well enough to have a joke with.
We actually believe you but we're going to pretend that everyone else wouldn't.
So , " I didn't eat the last piece of chocolate"... "well..... I ( capital I with stress) believe you but thousands wouldn't"
We don't really think you've had the choc but we're inferring that others might not believe you.
Sad-Wrap6555@reddit
i believe you cos it was me that beat you to it
Sadly no one else will as your wanton chocolate eating reputation precedes you..
Sepa-Kingdom@reddit
This is how I would use it (Australian)
Ok_Corner5873@reddit
Let's pretend I do, see how far you're going to take this story, I've some time to spare and I might change my mind but unlikely.
sbaldrick33@reddit
I don't believe you, but because [insert reason] I'm reluctantly going along with it anyway.
when_music_hits@reddit
No. It's sarcasm and it means ou think they're talking rubbish but you aren't bothered enough to pull them on it.
OkTadpole2920@reddit
It's almost banter, used in a social context. You could say they were fibbing but, classic British understatement, why on earth would the proper words be used?
AdAffectionate2418@reddit
"You dont deserve the benefit of the doubt, but i am giving it to you regardless". Often used when you, in fact, don't believe them but are willing to act as if you do.
Watchkeys@reddit
I think this gives the wrong idea, as it sounds like a negative judgement of the speaker. The whole point is that they do deserve the benefit of the doubt. It's their statement that doesn't, but gets it anyway.
mamaujeni@reddit
Schrödinger's belief
ukslim@reddit
It means "you should feel privileged that I find you trustworthy" because your claim is so unlikely that they wouldn't believe it from any old person.
toiletconfession@reddit
If I say that I'm telling you I don't believe you but I'm giving you a pass this time.
LeanPawRickJ@reddit
It’s exclusively used as a humorous interjection or response:
“So, I had this really good idea…”.
“I was at the bar and this drop-dead gorgeous girl came up to me…”.
TemporaryLucky3637@reddit
It’s a way of calling someone a bullshitter to their face essentially 😅
Neat-Ostrich7135@reddit
It means "your statement is not credible, but i am not going to make the socially awkward decision of calling you a liar."
tamago27@reddit
It means that the statement isn’t believable.
It’s usually used when the speaker knows something relevant about the person or situation that makes the statement believable.
However, without that knowledge, the statement wouldn’t be believable, so members of the public probably wouldn’t find it believable.
SarahL1990@reddit
No, I don't believe you.
-Soob@reddit
It means most people wouldn't believe you, but I do
parkchanwookiee@reddit
It means you don't find it credible in a general sense but you are taking it on trust regardless
Hazza_time@reddit
It means that they find the statement hard to believe but their trust in you overcomes that difficulty
qualityvote2@reddit
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