I don’t think!

[Theseus]

What is the best Greek phrase or words for this very common English idiom in slang, when added to an ironical statement? Here are a couple of examples:-
-Person A: “She is a woman of low morals.”
-Person B: “You are the paragon of virtue, I don’t think!”
-Person A: "I think I'll use my phone while driving to find the quickest route."
-Person B: "Yeah, great idea, I don't think!"
-Person A: "I'm going to hand in this paper with no name on it."
-Person B: "Wow, brilliant move, I don't think!"

Could you use ναι καλά or αιντε! or σιγά? But these don’t sound appropriate equivalents,

 

[SBE]

Is this like the americanism that was quite common up until recently where they would make a statement and then say "not"?

 

[Theseus]

No SBE. Apparently, it originated in the late 19th century, particularly within British Cockney slang and literature, becoming highly popularized in the late Victorian and early Edwardian.eras It was commonly used in London in the 1880s and 1890s to negate a positive statement that was intentionally exaggerated or sarcastically meant. The use of the irritating slang Americanism you refer to is frequently linked to 1980s Southern Californian teenager slang ("Valspeak"), which was then popularised nationally in 1982 by Saturday Night Live and films like Wayne's World.

 

[anepipsogos]

May be "τι να σου πω, δηλαδή!"

 

[drsiebenmal]

Ενδιαφέρον, μοιάζει με ισοδύναμο του #not στα σημερινά διαδικατυακά chat που χρησιμοποιείται ακόμα και στα ελληνικά π.χ. «Είναι σπουδαίος #not!).

Σε πιο «φροντισμένο» προφορικό ή γραπτό, θα έλεγα ίσως κάτι σε «μπα, δεν νομίζω».

 

[cougr]

Another expression - albeit not perfect (it usually leans more towards meaning "just saying") - which crossed my mind and may work here, is "λέμε τώρα". Like the British expression, if used as a tag to the examples in #1 it can act as a sarcastic negator of the previous clause - it refutes what was previously said. So, in essence, «λέμε τώρα» added as a tag to the examples above, would be like saying "just kidding, you're definitely not a paragon of virtue" and "just kidding, it's definitely not a great idea" etc.

 

[cougr]

From slang.gr

λέμε τώρα
Ουσιαστικά, το λέμε τώρα διαψεύδει τα προηγουμένως λεχθέντα, ή μειώνει την βαρύτητά τους.

λέμε τώρα - SLANG.gr

www.slang.gr

 

[cougr]

@drsiebenmal

Δόκτορα, χαίρομαι τόσο πολύ όταν βλέπω τις αναρτήσεις σου. Δεν σε βλέπουμε αρκετά.

 

[Theseus]

Thanks to all for their contributions! I played around with the uses of σιγά (να) μην but, despite several articles on them, I am still not sure about the correct uses of this idiom, which seem rather complex.

 

[m_a_a_]

Some more (slightly liberal) suggestions…

Person A: “She is a woman of low morals.”
Person B: “Είπε ο γάιδαρος τον πετεινό κεφάλα”

Person A: "I think I'll use my phone while driving to find the quickest route."
Person B: "Τώρα, μάλιστα, τα πιάσαμε τα λεφτά μας"

Person A: "I'm going to hand in this paper with no name on it."
Person B: "Ψσσσς… Εξαιρετική ιδέα, τι να σου πω!"

 

[Theseus]

Thanks very much, m_a_a! Very useful translations. I’ve spent a couple of hours this afternoon doing a whole page of notes on the idiomatic answers given to my thread. I hadn’t come across “τα πιάσαμε τα λεφτά μας", only the positive όλα τα λεφτά. I gather from slang.gr that its a politer version of υ «πήραμε τ' αρχίδια μας κι αυτά με καθυστέρηση» and that it means several things and, used ironically, in this context it means something like ‘Great idea! It’s well worth the money you paid for it!