93498
> どこの馬の骨とも知らない男

I am aware that「どこの馬の骨とも知らない」is an idiomatic phrase meaning "unknown" but what
does it literally mean? "Not knowing whatever horse's bone"? What is the role
of と before も? Is も connected to どこ?
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2022-02-22T00:54:16.130
93496
2022-02-22T02:10:03.063
41067
question
grammar
とも in どこの馬の骨とも知らない
知る actually can take と as a particle. For the difference between ～を知る and
～と知る, see this answer:

[How do you use 〜と知る?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/5236/30454)

I don't fully agree with the answer though. I feel like the differentiation
seems more complicated than presented in that answer, but the suggested
test—try swapping in 分かる—is a good rule of thumb to go by. And I believe it's
also common to hear 「どこの馬の骨とも分からないやつ」

This も just means "even", as in 「猿 **も** 木から落ちる」 ("Even monkeys fall from
trees")

> どこの馬の骨とも知らない男  
>  a man whom we know nothing about, a total stranger, someone whose basic
> background we don't _even_ know
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2022-02-22T02:10:03.063
93498
2022-02-22T02:10:03.063
30454
93496
answer