believe them say

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

the ever-alert laura staum came across the following today (while
looking at complement-taking verbs):

>> Consider the fact that your salesperson might work on commission
>> before you believe them say, "Omigod, your butt looks great in
>> those!"

this looks like "believe them say" was intended to convey 'believe them
when they say'.  i almost failed to notice the oddity, though.

no relevant google web hits on "believe them say" or "believe him say"
or "believe me say".  two possibles for "believe her say":

The Fabulous Six Youth Movement
... then he couldn't believe her say: I think i'm ready to go all the
way. that's
  when we started to smell trouble, cause our man was like in a glass
bubble. ...
  wso.williams.edu/~ganthes/fab6/

carnal_anima's Xanga Site
... swimming at ryan's. yes. thug lovin': i wish that *just once*, i
could ask
  a girl "ya feelin' me?" and be able to truly believe her say "f'sho".
...
  xanga.com/carnal_anima

examples with non-pronominal objects are much harder to search for,
alas.

arnold (zwicky at csli.stanford.edu)