English

Phrase

the dear knows

1. (Ireland, dated) God knows; nobody knows
   • 1806 'Caleb Thistle' "How are the mighty fallen!" in The Evening Fire-side; or Literary Miscellany (Philadelphia; 10 May 1806) Vol.II No.19 p.147:

     O thou, whom poets call Melpomene,

     Who hast inspir'd, the dear knows how many

     In ancient times to sing O Dear O's

     On hapless fates of unknown heroes,

   • 19th century Anonymous Irish or Scottish ballad, I Know Where I’m Going:

     I know where I’m going,

     I know who’s going with me,

     I know who I love,

     But the dear knows who I’ll marry.

   • 2004 Cynthia Harrod-Eagles The Dear Departed p.205:

     And there it sits, spreading rubbish about because of the cats, and smelling like the Dear knows what.

2. (Ireland, dated) God knows; of course, certainly, nobody could doubt
   • 1914 James Joyce, "A Mother" in Dubliners:

     Then she gave a little sigh and said: “Ah, well! We did our best, the dear knows.”

   • 1939 Flann O'Brien At Swim-two-birds, Chapter One:

     The dear knows your father worked hard enough for the money he is laying out on your education.

References

• Michael Traynor The English dialect of Donegal (Royal Irish Academy: 1953) p.76 s.v. "Dear"
• A. Bliss "English in the south of Ireland" p.184 in Language in the British Isles Peter Trudgill ed (Cambridge University Press: 1984) [ISBN 0521284090]
• Terence Dolan A Dictionary of Hiberno-English (Gill and Macmillan: 2nd ed. 2006) p.74 s.v. "dear" [ISBN 0717140393]