a) If you believe me
Sorry, wrong answer. Please try again.
b) If you remember what I said
Sorry, wrong answer. Please try again.
c) If you understand what I mean
Well done ! That’s the right answer.
If you catch my drift, you understand the meaning, insinuation, or implication of what I am saying.
The phrase is used when the speaker leaves out information or their opinion from what they have just said, because they expect the person listening to understand noneless.
French translation
si tu vois ce que je veux dire, si vous me suivez
How NOT to translate : *si tu attrapes ma dérive
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Examples in the press
Abbey’s Road : ’Shrinkflation’ on a roll, the latest TP crisis
Have you heard the latest toilet paper news ?
They’re saying that because of inflation, TP companies have decided to change gears in a sneaky way — not by raising prices, which would get our attention, but by producing fewer sheets in the same packaging. This is a phenomenon some have dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it is not limited to toilet paper, but since we all have a thing with toilet paper thanks to the Great TP Hoard of 2020, it’s the thing that gets picked on.
The bum end of the deal, if you catch my drift.
Newark advocate, 20 March 2022
- You get 2 idioms for the price of one here, if you catch my drift ! ;)
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Everyday usage
A. - ’I want her ’taken care of’—she’s become too much of a liability.’
B : - ’I think I catch your drift.’
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