Entertainment For Lively Minds
"For Sure" - where did that phrase come from?
Posted by Tony Donaghey on 25 June 2010 - 7:47pm.
A few years back became aware of some German friends and family using "For sure" in every conversation and wondered if it translated from a German phrase but now Nadal has used it today in interview. Is there some language course that says this is a standard English phrase. I've only ever used it once when buying some deordorant and feeling overcharged " That much - for Sure." (- sorry about that - couldn't resist it).
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It's standard
American English I think.
Can't ever say...
..I've noticed it being said by American's but I'm sure I'll now hear it everywhere - just always jars when I hear it.
I always thought
Sven started it.
When I hear that phrase,
I immediately think of Graham Souness. There is an impersonator who allocated this phrase to GS as part of his routine. Also, the Dutch footballer, Ruud Gullit, is guilty of using it at times I reckon. Or maybe that's another mimic. So, blame football and showbiz. Yeah, for sure.
Easy to blame the Americans, Muggsy
When I was in high school (you've seen that on tv here) in late '70's California we had a guy transfer in. His family had moved from Minnesota (you can look it up) which had (has) a very large German/Scandi immigrant population. He used "For sure" all the time but it was the first time we'd heard it and (sorry Muggsy) it never caught on with us.
Wasn't the Coen Bros film,
Fargo based there? I think it might have been part of that strange European (Dutch?) influenced dialect the characters in the film used. So, blame football, showbiz and the Coen Brothers. Oh ya, for sure!
I attended a postgrad course
with a bunch of charming East coast Americans, and I heard 'for sure' in free use from them. This was 1994. I seem to remember the Canadian contingent using it quite a bit too.
All lovely people - good times, for sure.
"Keep smiling,
keep shinin'
Knowin' you can always count on me, FOR SURE
That's what friends are for"
Maybe it's this godawful song's fault? I can well imagine Souness and Sven being fans of it.
It's Valley Girl speak
It may well be much older than that, but it features large in Zappa's Valley Girl as voiced by Moon Unit
groady
and gag me with a spoon never caught on, much to my dismay
I associate it with
German and Dutch people, when they are putting us to shame with their perfectly clear, grammatically correct English.
Also, Polish and other East European speakers saying "But of course."
Agree
I've frequently heard it being used by Germans, as you say, speaking generally excellent English.
Jimmy Webb
has written a song entitled For Sure, For Certain, Forever, For Always. If anyone is interested.
F1
The first time I heard it used by "sportsmen" was by Formula one drivers in the Nigel Mansell era when they used it a lot.
It's Irish isn't it?
It's Irish isn't it?
No
It's definitely not Irish. You may have been hinting at the stereotypical 'to be sure, to be sure' but not 'for sure.
Its Formula 1 speak
first used by Emerson Fittipaldi in his halting English and become part of F1 language ever since.
interesting the sports-specific idioms, another F1 one is "go motor racing",in golf they always refer to the "golf course" or "golf club" or "golf ball" even though they couldn't be any other type of course, club or ball given the context. Don't get me started on football....
Two others....
"no worries" - I hear it constantly. It's like living on the set of Neighbours. Without Kylie, Jane or Bronnie.
And "what was your name"?. "Err, it is the same now as it always was...."
Got it!
Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse as the gay Dutch policemen.
Funny but no For Sure's
Like
Awesome man,for sure has got a wow factor.Grrrrrrr.
For sure
I am sure I first heard it on a pornographic film.
Don't think I find that on...
...on You Tube - is it about sailors by any chance?