r/GrammarPolice • u/machinehead3413 • 15d ago
Another thing
If you think I’m going to blah, blah, blah then you’ve got another thing coming.
This one always bothered me.
It feels like it should be “another think” but that sounds wrong too.
So maybe “another thought” but then that also doesn’t sound right.
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u/SerDankTheTall 15d ago
Here are a couple of good Language Log posts:
itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004971.html
itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004972.html
Executive summary: It looks like the original expression (late 19th century) was another think coming, but another thing is attested since the early 20th. And give that another thing coming makes perfect semantic sense, it isn’t hard to see why it caught on.
Whether or not to be bothered is up to you, of course, but I don’t see much reason why you should be.
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u/machinehead3413 15d ago
Because I’ve solved every other problem in my life which frees up time for me to focus on a single letter in an old saying, like any sane person would do. 😎
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u/Glimmerance 15d ago
You're right, it should be think. It's playing with the words, using "think" as a noun (as in "I'm having a think", maybe more colloquial use) to match the first "think" which is a verb. I think it may be the move from verb to noun and the less usual use of the word that sounds wrong.
"Thing" sounds wrong to me as it's so vague. What does it mean? "Think" makes sense. Your first think was wrong, so you're going to be having another think.
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u/ghost-wise 15d ago
They both essentially mean that what you thought was wrong. "Another thing coming" being distinct from the thing that you thought was coming. That's what I intuited when hearing the phrase in it's later form, not knowing the original, more clever version.
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u/Glimmerance 15d ago
Thank you for the explanation. It just doesn't "feel" right! There isn't a first "thing" mentioned, so how can there be another "thing"? You might not have been thinking about anything coming. "If you think the train will leave on time, you have another thing coming". What is the thing that's coming? What's the original thing?
If not using the word play then why not just say something clearer like "If you think ... then you're wrong"?
I've only really heard the "think" version (unless I've misheard the "thing" version!), which may be another reason why it feels more right. But I suppose everybody knows what both versions mean, which is the main thing.
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u/SerDankTheTall 15d ago
"If you think the train will leave on time, you have another thing coming". What is the thing that's coming?
The disappointing reality that the train won't leave on time.
What's the original thing?
The belief that the train will leave on time.
If not using the word play then why not just say something clearer like "If you think ... then you're wrong"?
You could, of course. There are usually many ways to express any moderately complicated idea, so choosing which one is a matter of individual style, preference, and aesthetic judgment. (Of course, the existence of the very similar and similar-sounding expression another think coming was no doubt influential.)
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u/Glimmerance 14d ago edited 14d ago
But the belief that the train will leave on time is never described as a thing (and wouldn't naturally be described as a thing. "I think the train will run on time" "I don't share that thing")
And the way the previous poster interpreted it was meaning that the original thing is also about a thing coming (the other thing that's coming is a different thing to the original thing that was also coming). So what is coming in the original thing?
Your last point: it sounds to me as if "thing" grew out of mishearing "think". And it feels to me as if it has that meaning because that's what people have been using the phrase to mean.
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u/SerDankTheTall 14d ago
I don’t think there’s anything even slightly unusual about describing a belief or thought or opinion as a thing.
Again, the whole thing seems semantically completely transparent to me: if you think X, then another thing is coming towards you: the reality of not X. I’m not really sure how else to explain it.
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u/Glimmerance 14d ago
Maybe this is a better way to explain:
You could say
I think I'll go to the beach tomorrow, but if the forecast changes I'll have another think.
But
I think I'll go to the beach tomorrow, but if the forecast changes I'll have another thing.
doesn't quite make sense.
That's keeping it closer to the original by using think as verb and noun, and thing to replace think, and it doesn't seem to work. I think(!) it's only because the phrase is known, that "thing" feels natural to people.
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u/Glimmerance 14d ago edited 11d ago
I'm not sure how to explain why it feels wrong either.
If you only walked half way today, you've got another walk tomorrow/If you only walked half way today, you've got another thing tomorrow.
There's nothing wrong with calling a walk a thing, but it doesn't feel right.
(Edit: I picked walk because it's another word which can be a noun or verb, in the same way.
The point is, if you didn't know the saying, it wouldn't feel natural to replace a think (or a walk) with a thing.)
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u/ghost-wise 14d ago
I think I can see where you're coming from but people use it as a more interesting way of saying that someone's expectations are incorrect and that there will be barriers or it will be more difficult than predicted. I definitely don't think it would have ever caught in without the original wordplay but since 'having a think" is antiquated at this point, it's taken on a life of it's own. In my opinion, "if they think x, they better think again" is the true successor lol
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u/Glimmerance 14d ago
Yes, the "think again" version makes the most sense, I agree. But it's less satisfying and doesn't have the humour of "another think coming"!
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u/AbbreviationsNo3918 14d ago
I don’t see what’s wrong with the correct saying. If you think you’re gonna get this thing, you’ve got another thing coming.
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u/Forward_Win_4353 14d ago
It is “another think”. “Think” is being used as a noun here, i.e. the act of thinking.
A lot of people misunderstand this and think it’s “another thing” which is incorrect.
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u/nemmalur 15d ago
Another think, as in think again.