Origin of this phrase: "We shall see what we shall see..."

[DaveC426913]

My wife learned this adage from her mother many, many moons go."We shall see what we shall see when we shall see what we shall see."

It bugs me because it is a truism and my gut tells me it's been corrupted from something more pithy.

The only reference I've been able to find is from the Bible, which I doubt is the source. I've always assumed it was from Alice in Wonderland or some other Lewis story, but not that I can find.

 

[pbuk]

Origin of this phrase: "We shall see what we shall see..."

Röntgen, referring to X-rays: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/14663/14663-h/14663-h.htm#page403

"We shall see what we shall see when we shall see what we shall see."

Probably made up by your wife's mother, or her mother...

 

[kuruman]

"We shall see what we shall see when we shall see what we shall see."

I am not implying that your wife's memory is faulty, but to me it makes much more sense when one deletes "shall" #3 and writes instead,

"We shall see what we shall see when we see what we shall see."

In other words, don't try to predict the future, but wait until it comes to you.

 

[symbolipoint]

I am not implying that your wife's memory is faulty, but to me it makes much more sense when one deletes "shall" #3 and writes instead,

"We shall see what we shall see when we see what we shall see."

In other words, don't try to predict the future, but wait until it comes to you.

That's all we need.

One would guess the question is, how did the saying originate exactly?

 

[BvU]

Strongly reminded me of 'che sera, sera'

$\$

 

[DrClaude]

The adage exists in French, but I can't find its origin (after a quick Google search, I'll have to look at some books).

One source I could find is https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nous verrons ce que nous verrons

 

[DaveC426913]

The adage exists in French, but I can't find its origin (after a quick Google search, I'll have to look at some books).

One source I could find is https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nous verrons ce que nous verrons

Huh! My wife's ancestors on her mother's side are Huguenauts!

 

[DaveC426913]

Strongly reminded me of 'che sera, sera'

Well, technically it's que sera sera, but I like your version better...

 

[renormalize]

Well, technically it's que sera sera, but I like your version better...

View attachment 335334

Doris Che?

 

[BvU]

Witch Guevarra ?

 

[pianoman1]

"we shall see what we shall see and we shall hear what we shall hear"
Puck of Pooks Hill BBC Television C. 1950
John Falloon

 

[Tamulonis]

Cyrano de Bergerac says it toward the end of Act I in the play of his name by Edmund Rostand. "We shall see what we shall see." Even more beautiful and thought provoking in the original French.

 

[Mark44]

Huguenauts!

That would be Huguenots. The "naut" suffix indicates someone who is travelling; e.g., astronaut, aeronaut, cosmonaut, etc.

 

[kuruman]

That would be Huguenots. The "naut" suffix indicates someone who is travelling; e.g., astronaut, aeronaut, cosmonaut, etc.

The suffix is derived from the Greek nautes (ναύτης) which means someone traveling on a naus (ναυς) or ship, i.e. a sailor. Originally it was used to name sailors on specific ships, e.g. the Argonauts or sailors on the Argo. Extending this reasoning to recent times, the sailors on board the HMS Dreadnought could have been called Dreadnoughtnauts.

 

[DaveC426913]

That would be Huguenots. The "naut" suffix indicates someone who is travelling; e.g., astronaut, aeronaut, cosmonaut, etc.

I have no idea where I got that half-right, half-wrong spelling from.

I would have Googled it, to be sure I got the "Hugue" part right, so I don't know how I could have gotten the first half right and the second half wrong.