I know you are but what am I

English Alternative forms en I know you are, but what am I Etymology en, but dates back at least to the June 15th, 1957 issue of The New Yorker (Vol. 33 No. 17, page 23). In "The Talk of the Town", which was a collaborative effort by the magazine's staff writers: "INTERROGATIVE WISP FOUND IN GUTTER OF MACDOUGAL STREET: 'I know you are but what am I?'" The phrase is often attributed to Pee-Wee Herman. Pronunciation en en-au-I know you are but what am I.ogg AU en en-us-I know you are but what am I.ogg US Phrase phr ? en childish or humorous rhetorical question Used to assert that an insult made by the party to whom the phrase is directed is actually true of that party, and not of the person using the phrase. Usually considered to be a playground taunt. en 1984 McCall's 111 62 I know you are but what am I? Jeannie would say out loud, whenever I mouthed a name at her. en 2003 Mark E. Jones Echoes of Heaven 7 At this point Johnny changes tactics and hollers, "I know you are, but what am I?" and the voice echoes, "I know you are, but what am I?" en 2005 American Numismatic Association The Numismatist 14 So when Mr. Macchia states that people who collect state quarters are fools, my son says I should reply, "I know you are, but what am I?" en 6 June 2005 w:Emma Forrest Tingle Cherries in the Snow London Bloomsbury 88 https://archive.org/details/cherriesinsnowno0000forr/page/88/mode/1up 0 7475 7432 4 “Are you thinking about his cock?” snaps Holly. “Nooo! God, you’re disgusting.” “I know you are, but what am I?” I spit back as instinctively as I had when we were nine. “I know you are, but what am I?” “Infinity.” en 23 November 2020 Amie Gabriel Eighteen Dollars https://books.google.com/books?id=LRpgEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 Kintsukuroi Heart: More Beautiful for Having Been Broken 46 https://books.google.com/books?id=LRpgEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 9798567582732 “Now credit card information.” “I’m putting it in right now!” “That sounds DIRTY!” “Pervert. Real mature, too.” “I know you are but what am I?” “K, I’m hitting enter! One, two, three!” en chiefly Internet slang rhetorical question Used to mock a retort in a dispute that tries to reverse an insult on its original speaker. en IKYABWAI<qq:initialism> en humorous rare Used to direct back a statement as a compliment. en 6 August 1999 Vincent Kelgar Valentine Vince finally has a picture! alt.games.final-fantasy https://web.archive.org/web/20260418061644/https://groups.google.com/g/alt.games.final-fantasy/c/xKmB2_n4JlU/m/2JZXMXGW5oEJ > Vince, you're cute! O.oI know you are but what am I? en 8 April 2001 Mike Curmudgeon critique my Logo Number 1 alt.design.graphics https://web.archive.org/web/20260418061715/https://groups.google.com/g/alt.design.graphics/c/1zdLQJflBxE/m/MAwDhq1gVTUJ > Smile. I see I have another admirer. How cute.I know you are but what am I? en 23 December 2016 John Inman 9 Acting Up Tallahassee, Fla. w:Dreamspinner Press 124 https://books.google.com/books?id=Pix0EQAAQBAJ&pg=PA124 978-1-63477-355-3 This was wonderful too, being able to study him without his knowing. Right where he had kept me all the long night, snug against him. “Beautiful,” I whispered. He grinned. “I know you are, but what am I?” Translations assertion that an insult made by the party to whom the phrase is directed is actually true of that party Arabic: ar الكلامُ صِفَةُ المتَكَلِّم al-kalāmu ṣifatu al-mutakallim Egyptian Arabic: arz كُلُّ خِفْيَة وِانْتَ صَاحِبْهَا kull khifya w inta ṣāḥibha, arz مِرْايِتَكْ يَا فَالِح mirāytak ya fāliḥ Gulf Arabic: afb كِلٍّ يَرَى النَّاس بِعَيْن طَبْعَه killin yarā an-nās bi-'ayn ṭab'ah North Levantine Arabic: apc اللّي بِيحْكِي عَنِ النَّاس بِيحْكِي عَنْ حَالُو illi biyḥkī ʿan in-nās, biyḥkī ʿan ḥāloa, apc كِلْ لِمْنِيحْ مَبْخُوشْ، وَكِلْ نَاقِصْ بِيرِدْ عَبَعْضُو kill il-mnīḥ mabkhūsh, wa kill nāqiṣ biyridd ʿa-baʿḍo Chinese: Mandarin: cmn 駡人的罵到自己 mà rén de mà dào zì jǐ Czech: cs kdo to říká ten to je, tomu se to rýmuje Dutch: nl wat je zegt, ben je zelf Finnish: fi itse olet, fi ite oot colloquial, fi niin oletkin, fi nii ootki colloquial, fi joka toista haukkuu, on itse French: fr c'est celui qui dit qui y est, fr c'est celui qui dit qui l'est Georgian: ka ჩემი შენ გითხარიო German: de wer es sagt, der ist es selber, de selber, selber, lachen alle Kälber Greek: el όποιος το λέει είναι Hindi: hi जो बोलता है वही होता है Hungarian: hu aki mondja másra, az mondja magára Italian: it il bue che dice cornuto all'asino Japanese: ja 言った方が、そうなんだよ itta hō ga, sō nan da yo Norwegian: no det kan du være selv, no jeg vet du er, men hva er jeg? Polish: pl chyba ty Portuguese: pt quem o diz é quem o é p Russian: ru от такого и слышу I hear it from such one Sanskrit: sa यद् वदसि तद् एव असि, sa यद्वदसि तदेवासि Spanish: es el burro hablando de orejas, es el comal le dijo a la olla, es mira quién habla Swedish: sv den som sa det kan va det Turkish: tr kendi diyen kendi olur, tr sensin o Zazaki: zza Kam vano zana beno ey See also it takes one to know one I'm rubber, you're glue pot calling the kettle black en sentences