it's all Greek to me

Language: en

Meaning: (idiomatic)I don'tunderstandany of it; itmakes no sense.Synonyms:it's all Chinese to me,(I can’t) make head or tail of (it),double DutchI tried reading the instructions, butit’s all Greek to me.1599(first performance),William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…](First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward]Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act I, scene ii],page112, column 1:But thoſe that vnderſtood him, ſmil'd at one another, and ſhooke their heads: but for mine owne part,it was Greeke to me.[1653, Francis Rabelais [i.e.,François Rabelais], translated by [Thomas Urquhart,Peter Anthony Motteux],The Works of Francis Rabelais, Doctor in Physick: Containing Five Books of the Lives, Heroick Deeds, and Sayings of Gargantua, and His Sonne Pantagruel.[…], London:[…][Thomas Ratcliffe and Edward Mottershead]for Richard Baddeley,[…],→OCLC; republished in volume II, London:[…]Navarre Society[…],[1948],→OCLC, 5th book:During the processions they trilled and quavered most melodiously betwixt their teeth I do not know what antiphones, or chantings, by turns. For my part,’twas all Hebrew-Greek to me, the devil a word I could pick out on’t;]1844,[Frederick] Marryat, chapter XI, inThe Settlers in Canada.[…], volume II, London:Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans,[…],→OCLC,pages181–182:"Well," said Alfred, "it may be a letter, but I confessit is all Greek to me. I certainly do not see why you wish to keep it a secret. Tell me."1849,Herman Melville, “He is Initiated in the Business of Cleaning Out the Pig-pen, and Slushing Down the Top-mast”, inRedburn: His First Voyage.[…], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.:Harper & Brothers,[…],→OCLC,page45:I ran after him, and received an order to go aloft and “slush down the main-top mast.”This was all Greek to me, and after receiving the order, I stood staring about me, wondering what it was that was to be done.1904,George M. Fenn,The Ocean Cat's Paw:“Look here, Mr. Count,” he said; “I am only a rough Englishman, and a lot of what you have been saying about mission and that sort of thing is just so muchGreek to me.”1907,H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells,The War in the Air:[…], London:George Bell and Sons, published1908,→OCLC:“It's more like some firm's paper. All this printed stuff at the top. Drachenflieger. Drachenballons. Ballonstoffe. Kugelballons.Greek to me.”1929,M[ohandas] K[aramchand] Gandhi, chapter VIII, inMahadev Haribhai DesaiandPyarelal Nair, transl.,The Story of My Experiments with Truth: Translated from the Original in Gujarati, volume II, Ahmedabad, Gujarat: Navajivan Press,→OCLC:A Parsi lawyer was examining a witness and asking him question regarding credit and debit entries in account books.It was all Greek to me.1965, Harry Ray Bannister,The Education of a Broadcaster, page16:Cavanaugh explained the network-affiliate relationship, which of coursewas all Greek to meand remained so even after his explanation.2004, Jacob Taubes,The Political Theology of Paul, page99:[…]it was expected of me, or it was considered an honor, to lecture on seventeenth-century philosophy: Descartes (whichwas all Greek to me), Descartes to Spinoza.

Examples:

EN: Well, I said that because it's all Greek to me.
ES: Bueno, lo dije porque eso es griego para mí.
EN: Yeah, well, it's all Greek to me.
ES: Si, bueno, me suena a chino.
ES: Si, buenol, me suena a chino.
ES: Sí, bien, no entendí nada.
ID: Ya. Bagiku itu semua terdengar seperti bahasa Yunani.
EN: Uh, it's, uh, it's all Greek to me.
ES: Esto, me suena todo a griego.
EN: Don't ask me to repeat that because it's all Greek to me.
ES: No me pidas que te lo repita porque me suena a chino.
EN: Nah, it's all Greek to me.
ES: No, es todo griego para mí.
EN: Communism, socialism, it's all Greek to me.
ES: Comunismo, socialismo. Me resultan incomprensibles.
EN: Nope, it's all Greek to me.
ES: No, para mí es todo griego.
ID: Tidak, aku tak mengerti semuanya.
EN: Well, it's all Greek to me.
ES: Bueno, todo esto es griego para mí.
ID: Semua itu bhs. Yunani bagiku.
EN: ♪ "Bloodstained" And "it's all Greek to me" ♪
ES: "Manchado de sangre" y "parece chino"
EN: Q When you're talking insurance it's all Greek to me.
HI: हो गर मेरी बात से आप सब जो एग्री
EN: You know it's all Greek to me.
ID: Kau seperti berbicara bahasa Mandarin.
EN: I dunno, it's all Greek to me.
ID: - Entahlah, ini selera Yunani.
EN: ἀνάφάσις: it's all Greek to me?
TE: మెగాస్టార్ః అంతా ప్రైవేటేనా?
EN: There is a phrase in English which says "it's all Greek to me."
TE: ) ఒక సాధారణ జర్మన్ వ్యక్తీకరణ అర్థం "ఇది నాకు అన్ని గ్రీకు.
EN: it's all Greek to me.
TE: ఇది అన్ని నాకు గ్రీకు ఉంది.

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