Talk:I see what you did there

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Latest comment: 12 years ago by Liliana-60 in topic I see what you did there
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The following information passed a request for deletion.

This discussion is no longer live and is left here as an archive. Please do not modify this conversation, but feel free to discuss its conclusions.


I see what you did there[edit]

Looks like BS to me. ---> Tooironic 23:53, 14 December 2011 (UTC)Reply

Yes just delete it. Mglovesfun (talk) 23:56, 14 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
Not BS (in the sense of "invented"): I've definitely heard it. Likely SOP, though. And if not, I wonder whether it's attested to our standards.​—msh210 (talk) 00:22, 15 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
I don't see how the definition given is SoP. I also find it implausible that it could be attested in the meaning given. But, some seem to hold that attestation need only cover the existence of a term, not its meaning or any aspect of its meaning. DCDuring TALK 02:09, 15 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
Citation hunting will determine whether the definition given is correct or the broader "I understand what you just said" is. If the former, I agree it's not SOP. If the latter, I'm not sure. (Perhaps neither is attested.) I have no time now to look.​—msh210 (talk) 05:13, 15 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
keep -- Liliana 02:11, 15 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
Of course the expression exists (as a sum of parts), but I seriously doubt the definition given. I'm prepared to be surprised by cites -- even just one might prevent deletion! Dbfirs 13:44, 15 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
Even if it can be found that it has a meaning-in-context like that give in three cases, does that make it includable? I could probably also find some uses like those of Billy Crystal's character in w:King of Comedy: "Did you see what I did there?", where "there" refers to a comic bit in some just concluded utterance. That kind of context-dependent meaning doesn't seem to belong in a real dictionary. DCDuring TALK 21:54, 15 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
Common enough on the Internet to have an abbreviation, ISWYDT: [1] Equinox 22:01, 15 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
I think it must be British. I haven’t heard it before. —Stephen (Talk) 15:40, 17 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
I think it is decidedly Internet slang, and should be tagged as such. -- Liliana 01:34, 18 December 2011 (UTC)Reply

This is an oft used phrase, and I see no reason to delete it. If people diagree with the definitions on its page, then let them edit and after a while I think the article, or whatever you wanna call it, will be perfectly OK. Just my two cents, but I really see no reason to feel otherwise about the matter. — This unsigned comment was added by 83.109.217.3 (talk) at 16 December 2011.

I only know this in a sum of parts way: "I see (witness or observe by personal experience) what you did there." Our definition seems to be a specific case referring to an unfunny joke, but to me it's the same sense when referring to things other than jokes. Mglovesfun (talk) 12:13, 18 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
I think the phrase is used in response to something subtle but clever. Yesterday I (accidentally) referred to SOPA as 'Stop Online Privacy Act' and someone responded with 'I see what you did there'. —CodeCat 13:21, 18 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
(off-topic) You too? Haha. -- Liliana 13:24, 18 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
I don't think it necessarily means that the joke is unfunny. It's used to acknowledge that a joke was made; naturally that will frequently be sarcastic, but it needn't be. BTW, I realize this isn't an RFV, but google:"I see what you did there" site:imdb.com inurl:quotes inurl:title -inurl:search finds exactly two quotes:
  • 2006, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0823153/quotes:
    Killer Frost: She's right. I'm criminally insane. Want to see my note from the doctor?
    Zatanna: No. But if you don't step aside, I'm putting you in the hospital.
    Killer Frost: Funny! I see what you did there. You should get off a good one-liner before you die.
  • 2010, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1632244/quotes:
    Leonard Hofstadter: I'm an experimental physicist. You know, one of those people that says, "Hello, Maker of the Universe. I see what you did there. Good one."
I read both cites as being in this sense, and both as being ironic, but only the 2006 cite as being sarcastic.
A similar phrase once occurred on Family Guy; Google suggests that it was something along the lines of:
  • Stewie: Oh, Brian going on a date? Who is he? [pause] Hah! You see what I did there? I made it look like you were a homosexual.
I rather doubt that that variant would occur in real life, though.
RuakhTALK 03:26, 19 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
Doesn't have to be a joke. Any sort of verbally expressed observation or conclusion would work as well. And yeah, you can turn it round and say did you see what I did there? which I'm more likely to use than "I see what you did there". Mglovesfun (talk) 13:51, 19 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
DYSWIDT Equinox 14:14, 19 December 2011 (UTC)Reply

kept -- Liliana 19:47, 27 January 2012 (UTC)Reply