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on eût dit

you would have thought

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phrase Rare #47,294
you would have thought A literary or formal form of “on aurait dit,” used to describe something that seemed or looked a certain way.
FR: On eût dit qu’elle était perdue.
EN: You would have thought she was lost.

On eût dit un immense étang glacé.

It looked like an immense frozen pond.

On eût dit un yacht de course.

It looked like a racing yacht.

On eût dit un champ de bataille couvert de morts.

It looked like a battlefield strewn with the dead.

On eût dit qu'il n'avait pas entendu la question qu'on lui posait.

It was as if he hadn’t heard the question he was being asked.

On eût dit un révérend.

He looked like a reverend.