Question of the Day #813

“I would not put it past [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to now view the Arctic as another avenue for conflict, and one that will allow him to flex his muscles,” says Daniel Silverberg

From the 16th paragraph of this article at Time.

  上記の文で、would not put it past [someone]の意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "would not put it past [someone]" mean?

  答えは、コメントに書いてください。
Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

 

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

〔悪い事や不愉快なことを〕（人）ならやりそうだ［やりかねない・やっても不思議ではない］と思う

   

Answer

According to The Free Dictionary:

Based on that person's pattern of behavior, it is not impossible to imagine them engaging in that kind of bad behavior.

 

Examples

• You know what she's like. I wouldn't put it past her to call the police and say I stole them.
• I would not put it past John to take all of those stray cats home.
• Do I think Joe stole the money? Honestly, I wouldn't put it past him. He has no conscience.
• It seems a bit far-fetched that the government is spying on us with our own appliances, but I wouldn't put it past them.
• He wouldn't put it past Caitlin to have stopped work and gone home for the night, even though she knew how important it was.

 

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