put two and two together
Connect the dots
To put two and two together is to draw an obvious conclusion from available evidence—inferring what's going on by combining separate pieces of information: When I saw his car at her place three nights in a row, I put two and two together.
The phrase often implies figuring out something that others might have missed or tried to hide.
- connect the dotsNumbered-point tracing puzzle
- join the dotsLink sequential markers
- pieceA portion or segment
- hintIndirect suggestion
- deduceReach by reasoning
ascertain · find out · link · clue · inference · read between the lines · make sense of · add it up · conclude · aha moment · light bulb moment · discernment · reason · get the picture · figure out · get it · intuit · surmise
- learninglearning, learn, classes, instruction, studying
- Thinking phrasesI think, I believe, in my opinion, I wonder, I suppose
- math expressionsdo the math, add up, crunch numbers, number crunching, number cruncher
put two and two togetherjump to conclusions
Judge before full understanding
stab in the dark · grasp at straws · conjecture · hazard a guess
put two and two togethermiss the point
Fail to understand essence
miss the boat · bury one's head in the sand · turn a blind eye