go figure

English

Alternative forms

• go fig (clipping)

Etymology

Calque of Yiddish גיי װייס (gey veys).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɡoʊ ˈfɪɡ(j)ɚ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Phrase

go figure

1. Expresses perplexity, puzzlement, or surprise (as if telling somebody to try to make sense of the situation).

   The car wouldn't start yesterday no matter what I did, but today it works just fine. Go figure.

   • 2005, Annabelle du Fouet, “Toys for kinky girls and boys—It’s not just whips and chains anymore.” (chapter 3), in Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys, Ellora's Cave, →ISBN, page 52:

     It’s hard for some of us to look at a vicious flogger or a set of restraints used to hang someone upside-down and think of them as toys but kinky people do. Go figure.

Usage notes

• Very often used sarcastically/ironically, as a response to a trivial question, to express obviousness, conspicuousness.

  'I wonder why friends with benefits never work out.' 'Well, go figure.'

Translations

expression of perplexity or surprise

• Czech: včil mudruj, no chápete to, to mi hlava nebere
• Dutch: kun je nagaan
• Finnish: mene ja tiedä, mene tiedä, ota siitä sitten selvää, ota siitä nyt selvää, otapa siitä sitten selvää, otapa siitä nyt selvää
• French: va savoir pourquoi (fr), va savoir (fr), va comprendre
• Galician: vai ti saber, quen sabe
• German: stell dir vor
• Greek: τρέχα γύρευε (el) (trécha gýreve)
• Hebrew: לך תדע (lekh tedá)
• Hungarian: ezt add össze, erre varrjál gombot, ezt kapd ki
• Italian: vai a capire
• Norwegian: skulle du ha sett, rare greier m pl, det hadde jeg ikke trodd, forklar
• Polish: i bądź tu mądry
• Portuguese: vai entender
• Russian: пойди́ разбери́ (pojdí razberí), пойди́ знай (pojdí znaj)
• Spanish: quién lo hubiese imaginado, imaginate (es), imaginátelo

See also

• huh
• no kidding
• what do you know
• who knows
• how about that
• what are the odds