# So, when does my thing get here? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 4, 2001, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725 "2001-09-04T19:26:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![InkBlot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5e925/32.png) [@InkBlot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InkBlot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/1 "2001-09-04T19:26:41Z")
Admittedly, this is a very minor rant, but for everyone who reads this and learns from it; everyone who then uses this information in the future to their advantage, I feel validated. The phrase is: “If that’s what they think, they have another **think** coming.” That’s it. No, really. There are no mystical “things” involved here. There are no “thing” faries waiting to give you yours when someone suddenly feels you deserve it. People who are mistaken do not have one “thing” on them and another “thing” on the way. Any sort of “thing” you might or might not have is unaffected by your intellectual prowess. That coworker who expects you to do their work for them? There is no “thing” on it’s way to them. That customer who expects you to read their mind? “Thing”-less. That sister-in-law trying to turn your family against you through blatant lies? Whether she has a “thing” or not, another one is not winging it’s way to her right now. This has been a public service anouncement from InkBlot, and the grammer police. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/2 "2001-09-04T19:39:07Z")
“Think” is not a noun. You are wrong. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/3 "2001-09-04T19:59:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InkBlot \* > This has been a public service anouncement from InkBlot, and the gramm **e** r police. Now where were the spelling police? ---
**Author:** ![Erika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/47e85d/32.png) [@Erika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erika)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/4 "2001-09-04T20:01:00Z")
“Think” is not a noun. However, \*\*InkBlot[\b] is still right about the phrase. So deal. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/5 "2001-09-04T20:02:09Z")
\*\*aaaaand the HTML police… ---
**Author:** ![InkBlot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5e925/32.png) [@InkBlot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InkBlot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/6 "2001-09-04T20:03:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\*“Think” is not a noun. > > You are wrong. > > Get over it. \*\* Merriam-Webster Online > **[Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's most-trusted online dictionary](https://www.merriam-webster.com/)** > > The dictionary by Merriam-Webster is America's most trusted online dictionary for English word definitions, meanings, and pronunciation. #wordsmatter > [@](#): > > Main Entry: Think > Function: noun > Date: 1834 > : an act of thinking \ American Heritage Dictionary [http://www.bartleby.com](http://www.bartleby.com) > [@](#): > > Think NOUN: The act or an instance of deliberate or extended thinking; a meditation Cambridge International Dictionary of English > **[Cambridge Dictionary | English Dictionary, Translations & Thesaurus](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/)** > > The most popular dictionary and thesaurus for learners of English. Meanings and definitions of words with pronunciations and translations. > [@](#): > > Think: noun > To Have a think about something is to consider it for some time. > I’ll need to/I’d better/Let me have a think about it before I decide. > Have a think over the weekend and tell me what you’ve decided. ---
**Author:** ![InkBlot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5e925/32.png) [@InkBlot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InkBlot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/7 "2001-09-04T20:05:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kamandi \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by InkBlot \* > > This has been a public service anouncement from InkBlot, and the gramm **e** r police. > > Now where were the spelling police?\*\* Darn. One thing at a time, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/8 "2001-09-04T20:05:59Z")
‘Think’ is correct. It is idiomatic. ‘Thing’ makes no sense in the context. I’ve heard this phrase used with ‘think’ all my life, and only in the last decade have I ever heard it misspoken with ‘thing’. It is always preceded by “If so-and-so _thinks_ such-and-such”, and the idea is that the person referred to will have to do some more thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/9 "2001-09-04T20:07:14Z")
Dadgum, **friedo** , did you MEAN to look like an idiot, or was it an accident? ---
**Author:** ![Syzygy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Syzygy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syzygy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/10 "2001-09-04T20:30:06Z")
This whole debate intrigues me. For you see, I have always heard the word “thing” when hearing this phrase. Whether that is the fault of those I have heard say it the wrong way, or my own strange interpretation of the correct usage, I have no idea. Given the juxtaposition of the “g” in “thing” with the “c” in “coming”, the two phrases sound similar. The phrase “he’s got another thing coming” made sense to me, since the person about which the comment is made expects one “thing” and will receive “another thing”, different from what he expected. Thus, it was a phrase used to illustrate an error in assumptions, and the knowledge that the person in error will find out just how wrong he is. Also, although I am aware that the word “think” can be used as a noun, it is a usage that is seldom found in modern speech (thus, **Friedo** ’s incorrect assertion). Having only ever come into contact with this phrase in spoken form, I most likely chose to hear the more common “thing”, and rationalized the meaning of the phrase as stated above. And I will continue to use this phrase this way, along with all the other mondegreens (or “disinterred metaphors”, if you will) with which I have become infected. ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/11 "2001-09-04T20:38:20Z")
Wow. So the Judas Priest song is wrong? I’m fucking devastated. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/12 "2001-09-04T20:40:24Z")
The ultimate authority … "If you think I’ll sit around as the world goes by You’re thinkin’ like a fool ‘cause it’s a case of do or die. Out there is a fortune waitin’ to be had If you think I’ll let it go you’re mad You’ve got another think comin’. " - Judas Priest. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/13 "2001-09-04T20:41:36Z")
Damn it!! I’m like the friggin’ crown prince of simulposts! ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/14 "2001-09-05T01:11:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sauron \* > \*\*Dadgum, **friedo** , did you MEAN to look like an idiot, or was it an accident? \*\* It was an accident. An all too common one, unfortunately. Anyway, it still sounds fucking stupid as a noun, so I’ll just avoid the phrase, which I never use anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/15 "2001-09-05T11:31:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InkBlot \* > \*\*The phrase is: “If that’s what they think, they have another **think** coming.” > > That’s it. > > This has been a public service anouncement from InkBlot, and the grammer police. \*\* And if that’s what you think, you have another thing coming. [sub]well someone had to say it[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/16 "2001-09-05T13:05:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \* > \*\*The ultimate authority … > > "If you think I’ll sit around as the world goes by > You’re thinkin’ like a fool ‘cause it’s a case of do or die. > Out there is a fortune waitin’ to be had > If you think I’ll let it go you’re mad > You’ve got another think comin’. " > > - Judas Priest. \*\* Ooo, Jack. I hate to do this to you but: > [@](#): > > _From [amazon.com](http://amazon.com)’s listing for ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ by **THE FREAKIN’ PRIEST, DUDE!** _ > > 1. The Hellion > 2. Electric Eye > 3. Riding The Wind > 4. Bloodstone > 5. Chains > 6. Pain & Pleasure > 7. Screaming For Vengeance > 8. Another Thing Coming > 9. Fever > 10. Devil’s Child > 11. Prisoner Of Your Eyes > 12. Devil’s Child (live) Note track 8. And FTR, I’ve always heard that phrase as ‘another thing coming’ in the same sort of context that **Scott** spelled out. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/17 "2001-09-06T10:19:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InkBlot \* > One thing at a time, I guess. \*\* One **think** at a time, you mean. 🙂 [sub]“The builderth have almost finithshed the upthairth barthroom, marthter, but they thay we have another think coming on Tuethday…”[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/18 "2001-09-06T11:24:54Z")
This think has got out of hand… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/19 "2001-09-06T11:26:57Z")
Interesting. I’ve heard it both ways. I never cared enough to find out whether it was originally “think” (used humorously in place of “thought” or “thing”) or “thing” (which _does_ make logical sense, and is grammatically correct). If it’s not one Thing, it’s another. ---
**Author:** ![Nocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725/20 "2001-09-06T17:58:59Z")
I thing you guys are making this too big of an issue. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-does-my-thing-get-here/79725.md?page=2)