Re: There was me thinking

Helmut Richter wrote:

On Mon, 25 Mar 2024, Janet wrote:

  There was me thinking the bible was written down long before King James could hold a pen.

Am I right to take "There was me thinking ..." as an idiomatic mocking way of saying "I am sure that ..., so you must be wrong." If so, I'll try to remember it. As a non-native speaker, I am always looking for such phrases to remember.

Yes.  It sounds British to me.  I might say, or more likely write, "Here I thought"
or "Here I was thinking".

{If someone is interested: In German you would say
"Und ich dachte immer ..." (lit.: "And I always thought ...")
in such a situation. The "und" marks a contrast, perhaps in English better rendered as "but" or "well,".}

"I always thought" is another possibility, at least in American English.  I'd hear
it as less mocking.
All of those can start with "And".
--
Jerry Friedman