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I know you are, but what am I

I know you are, but what am I is the alternative form of I know you are but what am I.

Meaning of I know you are but what am I

Phrase

I know you are but what am I?

  1. (childish, humorous, rhetoric) 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.
    • I know you are but what am I? Jeannie would say out loud, whenever I mouthed a name at her.1984, McCall's, volume 111, page 62
  2. (Internet, rhetoric) Used to mock a retort in a dispute that tries to reverse an insult on its original speaker.
    Synonyms:
    IKYABWAI
  3. (humorous, rare) Used to direct back a statement as a compliment.
    • > Vince, you're cute! O.o
      I know you are but what am I?1999 August 6, Vincent Kelgar Valentine, “Vince finally has a picture!”, in alt.games.final-fantasy (Usenet), archived from the original on 18 Apr 2026

Questions about I know you are, but what am I

What is I know you are, but what am I the alternative form of?
I know you are, but what am I is the alternative form of I know you are but what am I.

Words near I know you are, but what am I in the dictionary

  1. I know
  2. I know it
  3. I know it when I see it
  4. I know that's right
  5. I know you are but what am I
  6. I know you are, but what am I
  7. I know, right
  8. I like pie
  9. I like reading
  10. I like that
  11. I like turtles

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: I know you are, but what am I (page history and authors); I know you are but what am I (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.

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