A few weeks ago, the topic of my column was one of my mom’s favorite expressions: “Don’t make a scene!” In that essay, I also mentioned another expression she often said: “You’ve got another think coming!”
After that essay appeared in the newspaper, a reader sent me an email explaining that the correct expression is, “You’ve got another thing coming.”
Another THING? Excuse me, but that is wrong. The correct word is THINK. Here’s an example of how it was used when I was a kid: I’m 10 years old, and right after dinner on a school night, I announce, “I think I’ll stay up and watch the Red Sox game on TV.”
In reply, my mom raises an eyebrow and says, “That’s what you think, huh? Well, you’ve got another think coming!” That was a far more colorful way of saying, “Bedtime on a school night is 8:30. Tomorrow morning we’ll tell you who won.”
Imagine if she replied, “You’ve got another thing coming.”
That would have made no sense. Another thing? What kind of thing? A second dessert? A Carl Yastrzemski baseball card? A new shirt? Saying that I’ve got another THING coming would have put me in Christmas mode, even though it was baseball season. Everybody wants things, and if my mom said I had another thing coming, well, that would just make my imagination run wild with the possibilities.
The word “thing” makes sense in very few situations. One, for example, is when the UPS guy delivers a couple of packages and says, “Looks like your order got split up. You’ve got another thing coming. Probably tomorrow.”
You see? It’s very bland and matter-of-fact.
However, when someone employs the “You’ve got another think coming” expression, the gloves are off on a serious power struggle. The person who makes that statement is not simply saying, “You are mistaken.” He or she is saying, “You’re not only wrong, you are so wrong that you have to change your whole way of THINKING about this topic.” Often there is a large dose of sarcasm and incredulity included.
In reply, my mom raises an eyebrow and says, “That’s what you think, huh? Well, you’ve got another think coming!” That was a far more colorful way of saying, “Bedtime on a school night is 8:30. Tomorrow morning we’ll tell you who won.”
Imagine if she replied, “You’ve got another thing coming.”
That would have made no sense. Another thing? What kind of thing? A second dessert? A Carl Yastrzemski baseball card? A new shirt? Saying that I’ve got another THING coming would have put me in Christmas mode, even though it was baseball season. Everybody wants things, and if my mom said I had another thing coming, well, that would just make my imagination run wild with the possibilities.
The word “thing” makes sense in very few situations. One, for example, is when the UPS guy delivers a couple of packages and says, “Looks like your order got split up. You’ve got another thing coming. Probably tomorrow.”
You see? It’s very bland and matter-of-fact.
However, when someone employs the “You’ve got another think coming” expression, the gloves are off on a serious power struggle. The person who makes that statement is not simply saying, “You are mistaken.” He or she is saying, “You’re not only wrong, you are so wrong that you have to change your whole way of THINKING about this topic.” Often there is a large dose of sarcasm and incredulity included.
If you are 10 years old and your mom hits you with “another think coming,” you definitely do not start speculating about an extra dessert or some unexpected gift. You immediately know you’re sunk. You may think to yourself, “I don’t wanna go to bed at 8:30,” but you also know exactly where you will be when the little hand is between the 8 and the 9, and the big hand is on the 6: under the covers with the lights out.
Just out of curiosity, I did a Google search about this, and I was flabbergasted to discover that many people insist that, “You’ve got another THING coming,” is a perfectly acceptable way of saying the other person is wrong. If these people think using THING is fine, they’ve got another think coming.
Just out of curiosity, I did a Google search about this, and I was flabbergasted to discover that many people insist that, “You’ve got another THING coming,” is a perfectly acceptable way of saying the other person is wrong. If these people think using THING is fine, they’ve got another think coming.
(By the way, I just noticed that every time I type the word “think,” the word processing software on my computer puts a squiggly blue line under it. When I click on it, it asks me if I meant to type “thing”? Sheesh! Even the computers get it wrong.)
When I first started typing about a half hour ago, I didn’t expect to write an entire column on this subject. I was planning to mention the “think/thing” thing, and then move on to something else. But now that I’m almost out of space, I’m concerned that when I send this essay in, the editor is going to reply, “Bill, if you think this mindless babbling qualifies as an official newspaper column, you’ve got another think coming!”
And if he says “thing,” I’ll just cry.
When I first started typing about a half hour ago, I didn’t expect to write an entire column on this subject. I was planning to mention the “think/thing” thing, and then move on to something else. But now that I’m almost out of space, I’m concerned that when I send this essay in, the editor is going to reply, “Bill, if you think this mindless babbling qualifies as an official newspaper column, you’ve got another think coming!”
And if he says “thing,” I’ll just cry.
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