Meaning and origin of "te las vas a ver conmigo"

Question

Origen y significado de "te las vas a ver conmigo"

Oí esta frase (en Avenida Brasil) y no supe qué quiere decir en inglés:

Te las vas a ver conmigo

Asi que la busqué y encontré que significa

I'll get even, you'll have to deal with me later

Como está tan lejos del significado literal me pregunto

• ¿Cuál es la origen de esta frase?
• ¿Tiene sentido gramaticalmente?
• ¿Se entiende universalmente?

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Meaning and origin of "te las vas a ver conmigo"

I heard this phrase (on Avenida Brasil) and had no idea what it could mean

te las vas a ver conmigo

So, I looked it up and found that it means

I'll get even, you'll have to deal with me later

Since this is so far from the literal translation I'm wondering

• What is the origin of this phrase?
• Does it make any sense grammatically?
• Is it universally understood?

Answer 1

Es una expresión que viene del español antiguo. En estricto rigor debería ser

"vos te encontraréis conmigo", ergo "te veréis conmigo".

Aludiendo a un duelo futuro.

En un español neutro actual: te las verás conmigo, te la vas a ver conmigo.

La expresión es una amenaza de venganza o revancha futura contra alguien.

Es una construcción entendible por la mayoría de los países hispanoparlantes, con ciertas variaciones en el tiempo verbal, artículo usado y la pluralidad o singularidad de éste.

Answer 2

Speaking of Mexico, it's a very old and used phrase, which is not very common nowadays.

The most common use is as a "polite" way to threaten or to warn somebody about a given situation. It's used a lot in old 50's movies...usually by elderly people and mother roles. My grandparents used to say that a lot as well.

Example: The Mom leaves to the market, while her son, stays at home, doing homework. Just as the mom is leaving, closing the door she says: "Si cuando regrese, no has terminado la tarea, te la vas a ver conmigo!

Grammatically, it does have a little sense, but it definitely does not imply that threatening meaning. It would be like "You're going to see it with myself"...which could be like if you were going to see something with someone's company.

Another such phrase with a similar meaning would be: *"Vas a ver quien soy" Which is like, for example - "If you dare to touch him, You'll see who I am...!" Other: "Si no haces lo que te digo, vas a ver quién soy!" (If you don't do as I say, you'll see who I am!)

About its origin, I really don't have a clue.