you can never tell
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: you never can tell
Meaning · English
It is impossible to predict what will happen.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “you can never tell” mean?
It is impossible to predict what will happen.
Is “you can never tell” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.