# Reference books exist, people! (mild, swear-free) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 11, 2004, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795 "2004-06-11T10:57:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/81 "2004-06-12T06:37:19Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Oooh, Juneau is so pretty. Did you live there? Or did you mean just on the same parallel (is that the right term?) I lived right there in Juneau. I lived in a slumhouse right next to the Governor’s Mansion (Juneau has a severe apartment shortage). It was the “penthouse” of the slum, but the place was still a pit. The area is indeed beautiful and I loved getting off work at 5, going home, eating dinner, watching David Letterman (the cable feed came from Denver, Letterman was on at 8:30), and then going out for a short hike before bed. 22 hours of light (more or less). Winter is a bit claustrophobic–water on one side, mountains on all others, and a grey sky that hangs about two feet over your head. I still miss watching the eagles. But if you think I’d go back there to live, well, you’ve got another \ coming! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/82 "2004-06-12T06:57:18Z")
> [@Kallessa](#): > > I lived right there in Juneau. I lived in a slumhouse right next to the Governor’s Mansion (Juneau has a severe apartment shortage). It was the “penthouse” of the slum, but the place was still a pit. The area is indeed beautiful and I loved getting off work at 5, going home, eating dinner, watching David Letterman (the cable feed came from Denver, Letterman was on at 8:30), and then going out for a short hike before bed. 22 hours of light (more or less). Winter is a bit claustrophobic–water on one side, mountains on all others, and a grey sky that hangs about two feet over your head. I still miss watching the eagles. > > But if you think I’d go back there to live, well, you’ve got another \ coming! 😃 I never lived in Juneau, but worked there often. I loved how it was nestled all in there between the mountains and the sea. But flyng in or out was harrowing experience 😃 And yeah, Alaska’s beautiful, but if anyone thinks I’d live there again…they’ve,well you know…😃 (although, you’re not supposed to ever say never). ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/83 "2004-06-12T07:43:41Z")
> [@jastu](#): > > Another vote for **think** here as I stated in the GQ thread. Before reading **Roland Orzabal** ’s explanation I was a little perplexed as to why people were clinging so steadfastly to their incorrect (and I think it has been proven to be incorrect) use of _another **thing** coming_. Now it makes some sense. I think **Roland Orzabal** has summed things up pretty well too. However, I wonder why you say that “another thing” has been proven to be incorrect. It’s been proven not to be the original form of the expression, but that doesn’t make it incorrect. If it expresses the intended meaning without mangling the definitions of any of the words involved, how is it wrong? If what I mean on the rare occasions when I use the expression “another thing coming” isn’t the same as what people mean when they say “another think coming”, surely it would be incorrect for me to use the latter expression! I can’t imagine wanting to say “another think coming” in any situation because I feel that meaning would be best conveyed by the better-sounding expression “think again”, but that’s a personal stylistic decision. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/84 "2004-06-12T17:18:06Z")
Couple more data points: My mom, who was born and raised in California, claims only to have ever heard thin **g**. My dad, from New York, is adamant that it’s thin **k**. I must have learned it from my dad (or from the obscene amounts of reading I did as a young child – I challenge y’all to show me one novel in which thin **g** is used). ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/85 "2004-06-12T17:40:52Z")
Googling both terms suggests “another thing coming” is far more common. It is not gramatically incorrect, by the way, which the allegedly “correct” phrase is not. There’s a difference between mute/moot and thing/think here, because one is simply a misspelling/misunderstanding, and the result is a meaningless expression – while “another thing coming” may have originated as mishearing another, less likely phrase, it makes perfect sense on its own and is not gramatically incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/86 "2004-06-12T19:42:12Z")
I’ve got to say it one more time: the point of “another think coming” is that it is grammatically incorrect, hence the wordplay. Yes, it is not the type of wordplay that is popular today, but when the term was originated, this lapse in grammar would have been noticable and would have conveyed a sense of jocularity. “Thing coming” signifies not only a mishearing of the phrase “anther think” but also incomprehension of the meaning and intent of the original statement. The two cannot be used interchangeably, they clearly do not mean the same thing. Therefore, if I want to convey a joking suggestion that something won’t happen, I would say, “if you think so, you got another think coming.” If I want to convey a vague threat of unpleasantness or worse, I would say, “if you think so, you’ve got another thing coming.” ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/87 "2004-06-12T20:00:15Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > OK, so recently on these hallowed pages we’ve heard people insisting that “mute point” (for moot point) \ Where was that insisted? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/88 "2004-06-12T20:16:21Z")
> [@Aholibah](#): > > Although I was a child at the time, I can still distinctly remember the thrill of comprehension I felt when I first understood that the mysterious threat I’d misheard as “you’ve got another thing coming” was actually “you’ve got another think coming.” I felt like there was an audible _click_ as both the sense and the humor of the saying suddenly fell into place. It baffles me that people who have made it to adulthood mishearing this expression (or accurately hearing people who were misspeaking it), do not leap for joy when they learn the correct (or original, if you insist) expression. That they instead staunchly defend the bastardized phrase as somehow more logical makes we want to weep. Or vomit. Or kick the cat. No, no. The cat has more sense. 😃 Yes, yes, YES! Exactly right, old chum. I understand that different people may have heard different versions of the “think/thing” phrase growing up. What I can’t understand is, people who thought is was “thing” finally hearing the explanation for why it is “think” and not being excited that they finally _ge_t it! It’s like the folks who finally learn that “I could care less” has the exact opposite meaning from what they are trying to say… AND THEN CONTINUE TO SAY IT WRONG ANYWAY AND DEFEND THE INCORRECT USAGE!!! Two wrongs don’t make a right. Three wrongs don’t make a right, even FOUR wrongs still don’t make a right. Certainly, 25,000 wrongs don’t = right either. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/89 "2004-06-12T20:22:15Z")
Eeep. I just posted but I have another comment to make. This debate on think/thing is divisive enough to merit a decision from the Great Judge. I humbly request a short column from Cecil to settle this matter once and for all. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/90 "2004-06-13T01:38:26Z")
Why? Both expressions are clearly broadly in use. Even the Great Master isn’t going to change that. Plus, they have clearly diverged slightly, not in meaning, but in connotation. Another thin **g** coming has a slight connotation of threat, or at least warning. Another thin **k** coming simply connotes that the recipient of the expression needs to reconsider. The _meaning_, on the other hand, is identical for both - hence, if thin **k** is misheard as thin **g** , the point is still well understood. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/91 "2004-06-13T02:15:59Z")
> [@I Love Me](#): > > I understand that different people may have heard different versions of the “think/thing” phrase growing up. What I can’t understand is, people who thought is was “thing” finally hearing the explanation for why it is “think” and not being excited that they finally _get_ it! Because there’s nothing to get. People have not been saying “think” to me all my life, they have been saying “thing”. I did not mistakenly believe they were saying “thing”, that’s what they were really saying. I have always understood what they meant, and what they meant wasn’t merely “you are mistaken and should reconsider this matter”. They meant “your expectations are wrong, and you’re in for a disappointing and possibly unpleasant surprise”. (See also **wolfman** ’s post above.) Why should it excite me that there’s a different version of the same expression that uses a different word to make a weak joke and carries a different connotation? This knowledge is perhaps mildly interesting, but it thrills me rather less than, say, figuring out that a “cheese salad” sandwich in the UK is a sandwich with cheese and lettuce. It apparently does not excite you to hear the explanation for why it is “thing” (for some people, at least), so why should those in the “thing” camp be excited to hear the history of your preferred version? > [@](#): > > - > > It’s like the folks who finally learn that “I could care less” has the exact opposite meaning from what they are trying to say… AND THEN CONTINUE TO SAY IT WRONG ANYWAY AND DEFEND THE INCORRECT USAGE!!! \*Uh, the reason why “I could care less” has the exact opposite meaning from what they are trying to say is that the expression is meant to be _sarcastic_. Many people obviously use it as a stock phrase without putting thought into it, but it must have originated as sarcasm. It’s very much a surly, disaffected teen thing to say. Which is as good a reason as any _not_ to say it, and I always thought it sounded pretty dumb, but as sarcasm there’s nothing really wrong with it. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/92 "2004-06-13T03:33:18Z")
> [@Gadarene](#): > > Couple more data points: My mom, who was born and raised in California, claims only to have ever heard thin **g**. My dad, from New York, is adamant that it’s thin **k**. I must have learned it from my dad (or from the obscene amounts of reading I did as a young child – I challenge y’all to show me one novel in which thin **g** is used). Well, I haven’t found any novels yet, but I have found several song lyrics. Judas Priest’s “You’ve got another thing coming”. Song 'The Trainwreck". ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/93 "2004-06-13T03:43:56Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s like the folks who finally learn that “I could care less” has the exact opposite meaning from what they are trying to say… AND THEN CONTINUE TO SAY IT WRONG ANYWAY AND DEFEND THE INCORRECT USAGE!!!. But this is NOT such a case! However it evolved as it’s own saying, it CURRENTLY has a logical meaning. Unlike “could care less”. Again, as several of us have described. We have heard the phrase where "thing replaces think, in a logical and grammatical way. Where thing = consequences for what you might THINK was going to happen. While “could care less” is meaningless (unless one wants to convey that one cares some, or a LOT), “another thing coming” is NOT meaningless. It has logical meaning. And as a “think” side person said themselves, (paraphrased) the so-called humor and wordplay of the original think/think phrase, is NOT funny, nor on a par with today’s word humor. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/94 "2004-06-13T07:01:04Z")
> [@](#): > > the so-called humor and wordplay of the original think/think phrase, is NOT funny, nor on a par with today’s word humor. Oh, piffle. Not on a par with “today’s” word humor? It was never intended as brilliant repartee, but it is certainly as clever as “in_duh_vidual.” It is one thing to not find “think” particularly funny. It is silly to attempt to set up some sort of inter-generational ranking of the quality of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tyrrell_mcallister/32/16772_2.png) [@Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyrrell_McAllister)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/95 "2004-06-13T08:22:47Z")
> [@Gadarene](#): > > I challenge y’all to show me one novel in which thin **g** is used). Searching for the phrase “another thing coming” at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) brings up 121 results. Some of these results are novels which appear via the “Search Inside the Book” feature. One example is [Babyville](http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0767912233/002-0145190-0324812?v=search-inside&keywords=%22another%20thing%20coming%22), by Jane Green. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/96 "2004-06-13T10:56:35Z")
“Could care less” makes sense, though I prefer “couldn’t care less”. “I could care less” says that you _could_ care less about about something, but it would take some effort to imagine something that you would care less about. It’s like seeing a very short person and saying “well, you’re not the _shortest_ person in the world”. The unspoken finish to the line is, “but your fucking close”. Likewise, “I _could_ care less”, unspoken, “but it’d be a real stretch”. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/97 "2004-06-13T13:03:18Z")
> [@Gadarene](#): > > I must have learned it from my dad (or from the obscene amounts of reading I did as a young child – I challenge y’all to show me one novel in which thin **g** is used). If I had the time, this would be an easy challenge – I’ve read only “another thing coming” all my life … and I am also a voracious reader. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/98 "2004-06-13T15:16:15Z")
I’d also like to point out that while “another thing coming” could possibly be a real or implied threat, it is not necessarily so. It could also be a warning of disappointment, or even a blessing in disguise. “If you think you’re going to win the lottery,” etc. “If you think I’m not going to screw your brains out tonight,” etc. In the latter example, the “another thing” is clearly something rather pleasant. Provided, of course, that you want the speaker to screw your brains out. If not, then we’re back to threat. In other news, I have a question about “Moot point.” Moot, in this case, means meaningless or irrelevant. However, for centuries before it aquired this meaning, it was a noun which meant a meeting in which villagers decided on various courses of action for the community. A town hall meeting today could be considered a moot. Hall moot, shire moot, hundred moot, Ent moot. Do these words have the same root? When and why did the meaning change? Lastly, if a point is made at a meeting in a community of the deaf, and it is an irrelevant point about a cow, what do you call it? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/99 "2004-06-13T15:32:58Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Lastly, if a point is made at a meeting in a community of the deaf, and it is an irrelevant point about a cow, what do you call it? A mute moot moo point, presumably? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795/100 "2004-06-13T15:47:05Z")
> [@I Love Me](#): > > Eeep. I just posted but I have another comment to make. > > This debate on think/thing is divisive enough to merit a decision from the Great Judge. > > I humbly request a short column from Cecil to settle this matter once and for all. Hah! If you think Cecil is going to waste his valuable time and considerable brainpower on such a silly little issue as this, then you’ve got another thi… Ouch! Okay, who threw that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-books-exist-people-mild-swear-free/249795.md?page=6)