know all the answers

Idioms  

1. Also, know a thing or two; know it all; know one's way around. Be extremely knowledgeable or experienced. These idioms may be used somewhat differently, expressing overconfidence, as in Helen always knew all the answers, or thought she did, or competence, as in Bob knows a thing or two about battery technology, or ruefulness, as in I thought I knew it all about plants and then I got poison ivy, or genuine expertise, as in John knows his way around tax forms. The first term dates from the early 1900s, the second from the later 1700s, the third from the later 1800s, and the fourth, also put as know one's way about, dates from the 1500s. Also see know one's stuff; know the ropes; under tricks of the trade.

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Example Sentences

Listen and don’t come in thinking you know all the answers.

From Reuters • Dec. 22, 2021

And she realized that she didn’t need to know all the answers, at least not at the beginning.

From New York Times • Sep. 22, 2021

“Companies have to stop pretending they know all the answers right now; this is quite literally unprecedented,” she said.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 28, 2021

“I don’t know all the answers, but I know where to find them — from you,” he says to residents.

From Washington Post • Jul. 2, 2020

But still it’s frightening to realize that my fate is in the hands of men who are not the giants I once thought them to be, men who don’t know all the answers.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

Related Words

• apprehensive
• careful
• cautious
• cognizant
• conscious
• conversant
• knowledgeable
• observant
• respectful
• solicitous
• vigilant
• wary
• watchful