Would you like to scold someone about something you have warned them against? The phrase 'mark my words' is a common phrase in the English language that is often used as a different way to say 'I told you so'. This post unpacks the meaning, origin, and correct use of the phrase.
Meaning
'Mark my words' is a common figurative saying that is mostly used in the English language.
When someone says the phrase 'mark my words', it is usually said either before or after a statement that warns the person about something.
'Mark my words' is a way of telling someone that 'I told you so' for the future tense.
The phrase 'mark my words' usually emphasizes something that has already been said or implied by the speaker.
'Mark my words' is most often said from one person to another as a cautionary phrase.
The phrase 'mark my words' might also be used to refer to a third-party in conversation with another person, or to an event that people are witnessing or discussing.
The phrase is not common in the negative form, and it's not typical for someone to say 'don't mark my words' although this is possible as an emphasis to the phrase.
Example Usage
“If you go down to the woods tonight, you're in for a big surprise. Mark my words, some of those teddy bears that are hiding down in the woods are pretty creepy when the clock strikes midnight.”
“He's going to put pineapple on your pizza, and you're going to be that girl who married the guy who puts pineapple on a pizza forever. Mark my words, not even once.”
“You're not going to be able to stand the electric guitar at the bar. Mark my words, you're going to listen to five minutes of this guy's gig and you're going to want to come right home.”
“Mark my words, Johnathan. What a man does with his horse is his business.”
Origin
According to online language resources like idiomorigins.org, the phrase 'mark my words' was in use from at least the 1600s – and the phrase was recorded in phrasebooks shortly after this period.
The phrase 'mark my words' might have had an original, literal meaning that refer to the literal emphasis of someone's written words. The assumption is that this might have been done in a legal context, though this is not stated by most language resources that describe the term.
After use of the phrase was popularized through news and other media, modern use would continue with little changes to the expression – though its modern meaning is taken as more figurative than literal.
The phrase 'mark my words' is recorded on the website Urban Dictionary from 2004.
Phrases Similar to Mark My Words
- Believe you me
Phrases Opposite to Mark My Words
- N/a
What is the Correct Saying?
- Mark my words
Ways People May Say Mark My Words Incorrectly
There are several ways in which someone can use the phrase 'mark my words' in the wrong way, or misunderstand the meaning of the saying when it is used in conversation or text.
'Mock my words' is a common misheard version of the phrase, which does not render the correct meaning.
The phrase does not typically become 'don't mark my words', although this use is possible even though it is more rare.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Mark My Words
There are several correct ways in which someone can use the phrase 'mark my words', usually to say that someone should pay attention (or thus 'heed') the words of someone else.
'Mark my words' is usually said on its own, after a statement, or in response to something that a speaker has said (or that both speakers have observed).