you tell me
I'm asking you
You tell me is a response indicating the speaker doesn't know the answer and suspects the listener might—or that the answer should be obvious.
It can be genuinely inquisitive: How long will this take? You tell me, you're the expert.
More often it expresses exasperation or rhetorical challenge: Why does this keep happening? You tell me.
The phrase shifts responsibility for answering back to the questioner.
- questionRequest for information
- your guessAttempted answer without certainty
- answerSolution to query
- replyVerbal or written answer
- queryRequest for information
deflection · wait · conversation · coyness · response · wondering · clarification · provocation · evasion · seeking · irony · just saying · debate · challenge · doubt · speculation · discussion · implication
you tell melet me explain
Preface to a breakdown
obviously · clearly · without a doubt · definitely · certainly
you tell meabsolutely
Completely, without exception
no question · undoubtedly · precisely · plain and simple · beyond doubt
tell, telling, you, yourself, teller, tells, retell, y'all, yourselves