If i do say so myself

What Does If I Do Say So Myself Mean?

Home » Phrase and Idiom Dictionary » What Does If I Do Say So Myself Mean?

If I Do Say So Myself Meaning

Definition: In my opinion.

People often use this to soften praise they are giving themselves.

Origin of If I Do Say So Myself Meaning

The exact origin is unclear. However, it may have originated in the 1800s.

Examples of If I Do Say So Myself Meaning

In the example below, a husband and wife are talking about some renovations the husband made to their house.

Kip: Look! I repainted this room while you were gone today.

Caroline: Wow! That’s quite a bold color that you chose.

Kip: Yes! I’m so glad you agree. I also put carpeting on the first floor.

Caroline: I see you even put carpeting in the bathroom. That’s an unusual decision.

Kip: Yeah, that way our feet will stay warm even in the winter! It’s a genius idea, if I do say so myself. I’m glad you like it.

Caroline: Well, I didn’t actually say that I like it…

The next example involves two friends who are discussing an offer one of them received.

Brian: So, I accepted the job offer.

Raj: Really? Aren’t you worried about the fact that you won’t be able to finish school?

Brian: Actually, they wanted to hire me so badly that they agreed to let me work for them part time until I graduate. It’s a great deal.

Raj: Wow! That’s awesome. Congratulations!

Brian: Thanks. I’ve done pretty well, if I do say so myself. I’ve got a job with a great salary and benefits, and they’re willing to work with my schedule and everything. They’re even going to provide me housing and a company car!

Raj: Wow! That’s great! I agree with you! You have done well.

More Examples

This excerpt is about an actress who loves her hair.

This is an excerpt about a new team, which the author believes has low priced tickets.

Summary

The phrase if I do say so myself is an expression people use when they are giving their opinion on something that might be biased about.

It shows that they believe this in spite of the fact that they know it sounds biased.

if I say so myself

Definition of if I say so myself

Learn More About if I say so myself

Share if I say so myself

Dictionary Entries Near if I say so myself

if I say so myself

Statistics for if I say so myself

Cite this Entry

“If I say so myself.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/if%20I%20say%20so%20myself. Accessed 15 Aug. 2022.

WORD OF THE DAY

dilatory

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Words Named After People

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.

Subscribe to America’s largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

As illustrated by some very smart pups

Bikini, bourbon, and badminton were places first

Do you take pride in Pride?

Look up any year to find out

How to use a word that (literally) drives some pe.

We’re intent on clearing it up

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

«The public is a hot mess»

Can you tell a meerkat from a wombat?

A vocab quiz with panache

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli.

Learn a new word every day. Delivered to your inbox!

If i do say so myself

For example, in the sentence «pretty cool guitar. If I do say so myself»
Person A thinks that the guitar is cool, stating that it is their own opinion.

@MLearningEng_____ ok!

Символ показывает уровень знания интересующего вас языка и вашу подготовку. Выбирая ваш уровень знания языка, вы говорите пользователям как им нужно писать, чтобы вы могли их понять.

Мне трудно понимать даже короткие ответы на данном языке.

Могу задавать простые вопросы и понимаю простые ответы.

Могу формулировать все виды общих вопросов. Понимаю ответы средней длины и сложности.

Понимаю ответы любой длины и сложности.

Решайте свои проблемы проще в приложении!

( 30 698 )

If I do say so myself.

olcountrylawyer

Senior Member

Hello. How would I translate «if I do say so myself» in a sentence such as this one:

I’m a good cook, if I do say so myself.

Soy buen cocinero, si lo digo yo.

Ol’ Country Lawyer

keyko

New Member

olcountrylawyer

Senior Member

Muchísimas gracias, Keyko, pero «en mi opinión» no traduce con exactitud el matiz que deseo comunicar. Quiero expresar que es muy posible que no sea buen cocinero porque soy yo quien lo dice y que a lo mejor tengo una opinión demasiada alta de mis habilidades culinarias.

¿Entiendes lo que quiero decir?

Silvana del Val

Senior Member

Muchísimas gracias, Keyko, pero «en mi opinión» no traduce con exactitud el matiz que deseo comunicar. Quiero expresar que es muy posible que no sea buen cocinero porque soy yo quien lo dice y que a lo mejor tengo una opinión demasiada alta de mis hablilidades culinarias.

¿Entiendes lo que quiero decir?

sendai

Senior Member

catrina

Senior Member

Soy un buen cocinero, aunque lo diga yo

Soy un buen cocinero, pero que conste que lo digo yo

keyko

New Member

GKitty

Member

palmbeach

Member

Cerros de Úbeda

Banned

‘. aunque esté mal decirlo / que lo diga (yo).’
‘. si me permiten decirlo / se me permite (decirlo).’
‘. en mi humilde opinión.’

En España, a nivel coloquial, esta se dice muchísimo.

Coloquialmente se usa una variante más enfática, que es diciéndolo al final de la frase, y con tono de enfatizar que es una opinión personal.

También;
‘. en mi opinión.’

Todas las que habéis mencionado a lo largo del hilo se usan con frecuencia.

La expresión admite distintas variantes. Con ‘if’ o ‘though’, con o sin ‘do’ enfatizador, y con ‘so’ o ‘it’.

Se puede decir también empezándola con los enfatizadores ‘even’, o ‘though’, lo que quizás haga más claro su significado para los que no conozcan la frase:

‘Even if I (do) say so myself.’
‘Even though I do say so / it myself.’

(*) Collins (Eng)
— Though I say it myself

(*) Merriam-Webster
— If I say so myself

Phrase of the day: even if I do say so myself

I’ve been lucky enough to have spent this weekend in the beautiful city of Elche on the south-east coast of Spain. The town was the venue for this year’s Spain TESOL conference, an always-excellent gathering of English language teachers, and it’s hard to imagine a more perfect location for such things. Home to a UNESCO-protected orchard of over 200,000 palm trees, a castle that dates back hundreds of years and plenty of Roman ruins, it really is a lovely corner of the world. I ran a 90-minute workshop on Saturday morning and then gave an hour-long talk later on in the day. On Saturday evening, I went out with some teachers and various old friends and as is usual at such events, we started off by chatting about our day. A German friend of mine who was also talking at the conference asked me how my sessions had gone, to which I replied I think they both went pretty well ….. even if I do say so myself. On hearing this, he rolled his eyes, laughed and told me this was such a British way of saying things! “Why can’t you just do what normal people would do and say they went well? You know they went well. You know that I know that they went well. Why this false modesty? Why do you add even if I do say so myself?”

It’s a good question – and not the first time that fluent foreign friends have asked me about this strange phrase, so I’ve had the chance to think about what is wrong with us and why we can’t just say something was good if we think it was good! I think firstly there’s a very English dislike of boasting: Nobody wants to hear others talking too proudly about their own achievements! It’s just seen as being a bit vulgar, a bit undignified.

Coupled with this is a love of understatement – of saying things in a way that makes things seem less important, big or serious than they really are. This is maybe best exemplified by a conversation I once had with a Colombian student of mine. He passed me on the stairs at work and asked how I was. “Not bad, thanks” I replied, as I often do. Little did I know that this one short phrase would act like a red rag to a bull! “Not bad! Not bad!” he snorted. “Always not bad! You eat a delicious meal, it’s not bad. You see a beautiful woman. Not bad! You feel amazing, incredible. You say not bad! Crazy people, you English!”

So there’s a deep-rooted cultural fear of sounding too enthusiastic, but there’s else as well: a knowledge that if you start blowing your own trumpet and singing your own praises, someone else will stop you getting too big for your boots and will cut you down to size. Given our unhealthy obsession with class and our fear of anyone appearing to be better than we are, it’s very common for friends to stop each other from sounding too big-headed. As such, this kind of exchange is very common:

How did the talk go?

> Really well. It was great.

Even if you do say so yourself!

Of course, you could argue – and trust me, friends of mine have over the years – that actually using the phrase even if I do say so myself is a form of arrogance in itself. It could be seen as basically saying that you’re so sure your talk was good – and are so sure that everyone else knows it too – that you don’t feel the need to make a big song and dance about it, but instead you play down your achievements in a way that only the truly confident can. Who knows? This may well be the correct interpretation.

It would be far too vulgar of me to do so!