Reference books exist, people! (mild, swear-free)

[Hentor_the_Barbarian]

I am blown away by this. I have only ever used the phrase “another thing coming.” I have heard “another think” before, but I assumed it was very much a Winnie- the-Poohesque play on “another thing.” In that way, I can only see “another think” developing later as a play on the original.

“Another thing coming” makes perfect sense in reference to the expected outcome. It means “Get ready for a surprise, because what you expect to happen is not going to happen. Something else is.”

Generally, in my experience, it is used by frustrated parents: “If you’re expecting me to give you $10 at the video arcade, you’ve got another thing coming.”

[Mr.Blue_Sky]

@Hentor the Barbarian

I am blown away by this. I have only ever used the phrase “another thing coming.” I have heard “another think” before, but I assumed it was very much a Winnie- the-Poohesque play on “another thing.” In that way, I can only see “another think” developing later as a play on the original.

Same here except the opposite way.

The first time I heard the “thing” variant was upon seeing the aforementioned Judas Priest video. Even then I thought they were doing a play on words.

[Colophon]

And those last two posts tell you all you need to know about this debate, I think

[tomndebb]

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?

Blame the law students:
Random House Word Maven: Moot
The Word Detective: Moot
World Wide Words: Moot

[easy_e]

It’s a slight hijack, but I saw “toot sweet” on the boards last night.

It’s toute suite!

[bordelond]

@easy e

It’s a slight hijack, but I saw “toot sweet” on the boards last night.

It’s toute suite!

Close … tout de suite.

[easy_e]

Somehow, I knew that was going to get me. I was checking French phrase books but couldn’t find it, so I trusted an online reference.