I hardly know her
/aɪ ˈhɑɹd.li noʊ‿əɹ/
I hardly know her phrase: a joking retort that draws attention to the possibility of sexual innuendo when a word ends with a schwar.
Phrase
I hardly know her
- A joking retort that draws attention to the possibility of sexual innuendo when a word ends with a schwar.
- Person 1: My face is breaking out again, I gotta go buy new cleanser.
Person 2: Cleanser? I hardly know her! - Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson): How many people a year do you think get their arms cut off in a baler?
Michael Scott (Steve Carrell): Baler? I hardly know her.2007, The Office, season 3, episode 19
- Person 1: My face is breaking out again, I gotta go buy new cleanser.
Forms of I hardly know her
| alternative form | I hardly even know her |
|---|---|
| alternative form | I hardly know 'er |
Origin of I hardly know her
From the fact that a word ending in /əɹ/ (usually ⟨-er⟩ or ⟨-or⟩) sounds like a verb followed by “her” as the direct object.
Questions about I hardly know her
- What does I hardly know her mean?
- I hardly know her means a joking retort that draws attention to the possibility of sexual innuendo when a word ends with a schwar.
- What part of speech is I hardly know her?
- I hardly know her is a phrase.
- How do you pronounce I hardly know her?
- I hardly know her is pronounced /aɪ ˈhɑɹd.li noʊ‿əɹ/ (US).
Words near I hardly know her in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: I hardly know her (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-I hardly know her.wav.
Cite this entry: “I hardly know her.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/i_hardly_know_her. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.