# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [January 29, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157 "2026-01-29T18:21:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 132
### Author:  [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2621 "2026-08-09T01:39:04Z")
“Think” has been used as a noun since at least 1834 (quotes from the OED):
1834: We lie lown yonder..and have time for our ain think.
1870: Ruth did talk..when she came out of one of her thinks.
1891: Let’s have a cigar and a quiet think.
1950: I had a good think about it that night.
The first is from a Scottish source, but do the others really sound unnatural to you?
BTW, this is what the OED says about “to have another thing coming”:
> [arising from misapprehension of _[to have another think coming](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/think_n?tab=meaning_and_use#18548154)_[at **think** _n._ 1c](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/think_n?tab=meaning_and_use#18548154)] = _[to have another think coming](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/think_n?tab=meaning_and_use#18548154)_.
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### Author:  [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2622 "2026-08-09T01:45:20Z")
Yup, I grew up with “thing” (reinforced by the Judas Priest MTV video circa 1983), but later realized it had originally been “think,” which made more sense when coupled with the phrase that should precede it (“If you think…” any of many things, e.g. "…I’m gonna just keep putting up with you…). That it is a nouned verb never bothered me; it vaguely resembled many a phrase in, say, _Huckleberry Finn_.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2623 "2026-08-09T01:53:43Z")
“Think” is undoubtedly historically correct. That affects my preference for “thing” not at all.
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### Author:  [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2624 "2026-08-09T06:04:54Z")
I assumed the smart people of the Dope would surely know that “Think” is undoubtedly the correct answer, and am fully gobsmacked that “Thing” is currently leading the poll.
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### Author:  [@SailorHG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SailorHG)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2625 "2026-08-09T07:34:45Z")
I personally regard Judas Priest as the authority for many things in life, as well as this “think” vs “thing” debate. Which reminds me, it’s time for another Screaming for Vengeance session today!
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2626 "2026-08-09T11:41:20Z")
> [@markn\_1](#):
>
> [Google Ngram Viewer: another think coming,another thing coming](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=another+think+coming%2Canother+thing+coming&year_start=1880&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3&case_insensitive=false)
This ngram overstates the relevance of ‘another thing coming’, because that series of words operates in multiple circumstances, e.g. ‘there’s yet another thing coming’ or ‘there’s another thing coming out’. Opening the ngram query pulls, I see a lot of such uses, but no corresponding inapplicable uses for ‘think’.
All that said, it’s ‘thing’ for me.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2627 "2026-08-09T12:02:24Z")
> [@markn\_1](#):
>
> The first is from a Scottish source, but do the others really sound unnatural to you?
I can accept it as an archaic use of the word. None of them sound like anything I’ve ever heard a live person say in real life. 🤷♀️
I’m persuaded that it might have originally been "think’, but i think the weirdness of the phrasing in modern English (and that think c… sounds so much like thing c…) doomed it.
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### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2628 "2026-08-09T12:42:46Z")
If you think you’re going to change my mind and make me believe “think” is correct and “thing” is not, you’ve got another whatchamacallit coming.
mmm
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### Author:  [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2629 "2026-08-09T13:55:25Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#):
>
> “Think” is undoubtedly historically correct. That affects my preference for “thing” not at all.
This, pretty much. If you’re asking, point blank, about “correctness,” it’s “think.”
But “thing” is out there in everyday use, it sounds pretty much the same when spoken in front of “coming,” and either way, there’s no danger of ambiguity or confusion.
Language evolves. People will complain about the use of “literally” as an intensifier, but for those folks, the battle is lost.
ETA: On second thought, I suppose “literally” isn’t a good example. But you get the idea. I hope.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2630 "2026-08-09T14:06:39Z")
The only place I ever notice “think” used is in print. In conversation it is always “thing”. Ngram largely overlooks oral preferences.
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### Author:  [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2631 "2026-08-09T15:02:47Z")
I have to go with Rob Halford on this one. Who am I to argue with a man who convinced an entire generation of metalheads to adopt the Gay Leather Aesthetic.
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### Author:  [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2632 "2026-08-09T15:43:05Z")
> [@dirtball](#):
>
> If you’re asking, point blank, about “correctness,” it’s “think.”
Sort of. I hesitated because of the word “correct.” Linguists don’t use this word. Prescriptive grammarians advising on socially acceptable usages do – but in this case, that isn’t even the issue: “thing” is just fine, and much more common now.
It would have been clearer to ask which was the _earlier_ form. In the end, I only went with “think” as “correct” because it’s more _logical_ and _interesting_ when paired with the lead-in phrase…but I could just as well choose “thing,” because language evolves in illogical ways all the time, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Anyway, I could care less. 😉
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### Author:  [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2633 "2026-08-09T16:04:53Z")
My mom used to say that phrase a lot, and as a kid, I was sure she said “thing”, but as I grew older, I heard “think”. I very much doubt she changed what she was saying. I’m sure I was hearing it wrong for years.
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### Author:  [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2634 "2026-08-09T16:15:25Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#):
>
> Sort of. I hesitated because of the word “correct.” Linguists don’t use this word. Prescriptive grammarians advising on socially acceptable usages do – but in this case, that isn’t even the issue: “thing” is just fine, and much more common now.
Sure. I used “correct” (or a variation thereof) because the poll question does. Or, to be more precise, the question says “more correct,” which I would assume is meant as “Which of these choices is preferable to the other?”
But then again, if I’m reading a novel and a character says, “You’ve got another thing coming,” I’m not going to care unless the character is someone who would more likely say “think.”
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2635 "2026-08-09T16:17:15Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
>
> In conversation it is always “thing”.
In conversation, can you always tell for sure which it is? I’d imagine there would be a certain amount of hearing what you expect to hear.
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### Author:  [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2636 "2026-08-09T16:18:00Z")
> [@dirtball](#):
>
> I used “correct” (or a variation thereof) because the poll question does
Right. I was gently critiquing the use of “correct” in the poll, not in your comment. Sorry if I wasn’t clear.
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### Author:  [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2637 "2026-08-09T16:30:25Z")
Understood. 🙂
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2638 "2026-08-09T16:36:58Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> In conversation, can you always tell for sure which it is? I’d imagine there would be a certain amount of hearing what you expect to hear.
Yes, I’m not convinced they are even district in spoken English. So maybe most of the people I’ve heard say that were actually saying “think”, and that just never occurred to me because my brain doesn’t classify “think” as a noun.
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### Author:  [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2639 "2026-08-09T21:30:31Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#):
>
> I can accept it as an archaic use of the word.
I’m fond of that archaic song _Time Warp_ :
> I was walking down the street just a havin’ a think
> When a snake of a guy gave me an evil wink.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2640 "2026-08-09T21:40:18Z")
“Have a think” is idiomatic and current. Other usesof the noun, less so.
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