# You have got another "thing" or "think" coming? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931 "2012-11-14T00:26:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/81 "2012-11-14T14:09:41Z")
> [@furdmort](#): > > Bugs Bunny sarcastically called Elmer Fudd a nimrod because Elemer was the absolute antithesis of the mighty hunter. Fudd couldn’t shoot a rabbit with a shotgun at point blank range. I’m confused regarding this response, since it seems to more or less say exactly the same thing as Gracer’s post, which I was responding to. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/82 "2012-11-14T14:20:52Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Thing, and it makes perfect sense. The usage is short for saying something like, “You thought you were going to get that? Well, guess what? You’ve got another thing coming.” > > It’s “think” that doesn’t make sense. ‘Think’ is a verb, not a noun. You can’t have another ‘think’ coming, because there’s no such thing as a ‘think’ in the first place. This has been done several times before on the SDMB. I had never heard “another thing coming”, only the “think” version, the first time it came up, and was amazed that anybody could think “thing” was correct. It soon became clear that those who grew up with “thing” were equally convinced that the “thinkers” were brain-damaged. It seems to divide people in a way that it was previously believed only toilet-tissue orientation could manage. Whatever anyone’s opinion, it is undeniable that the phrase was originally “another think coming”, which is a play on words that is totally lost in the “thing” version. If you _think_ X, then you’ve got another _think_\* coming. As said to me many times by my mother, with more than a hint of implied threat that said new thinking will be impressed into my skull with what I later came to know as a “clue by four”. \*\* To which the “thing” brigade (see above) say “but think isn’t a noun”! Well, they might just want to have a think about that in their own time.\* 😉 In the US, at least, it seems to have mutated into “another thing coming”, which is a shame as it loses the whole point of the idiom, but the battle seems to have been lost. In the UK, “another think coming” is still the common phrase. (Similar to how Americans say “could care less” and Brits say “couldn’t care less”.) It still bugs me, but I have to accept that once an idiom becomes established, people stop noticing whether the individual words make sense, sort of like “head over heels”. Edit: **gracer** , I have tried in past threads to [explain](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=260982&page=2) the humour in the original phrase, but it just doesn’t sink in… ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/83 "2012-11-14T14:21:17Z")
> [@furdmort](#): > > Think. Thing sounds stupid and thus is stupid. > > As mentioned above by various other people, the whole phrase is “If you think X, then you’ve got another think coming.” In that sentence, thing is just non-sensical. I an very serious when I say I don’t understand how it could be nonsense. A “think” is still a thing! You might not like it, but that doesn’t change the fact that it stands as a meaningful (if vague) phrase. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/84 "2012-11-14T14:26:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Consider, for example, the idiom being used in response to someone who thought that Ron Paul would be elected President: They weren’t expecting to get a thing, and didn’t get a thing, but they were thinking something, and ended up having to think something else. Yes, they were expecting to get a thing. The thing they wanted was Ron Paul. The thing they got was Barack Obama. “If you thought that Ron Paul (thing 1) was going to be president, you’ve got another thing (Obama, thing 2) coming.” ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/85 "2012-11-14T14:37:43Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Yes, they were expecting to get a thing. The thing they wanted was Ron Paul. The thing they got was Barack Obama. > > “If you thought that Ron Paul (thing 1) was going to be president, you’ve got another thing (Obama, thing 2) coming.” But the phrase doesn’t even have to be about a thing, and the “another thing” version of the phrase just feels clunky because it shifts the emphasis away from the “think” which is stressed in the first part of the phrase (the set-up, if you like). In fact the original phrase wouldn’t really be used as in the example you gave. You wouldn’t use it about an event that has already been decided. The phrase means (as stated verbatim in my dictionary) “you are mistaken and will soon have to alter your opinion”. It’s not that are going to be given something you didn’t want, it’s that it will soon dawn on you how wrong you were to hold that opinion in the first place. For example, my mother might have said “If you think I’m going to sit here and listen to that, you’ve got another think coming”. What would be the other “thing” in this case? It just doesn’t work. > [@Speaker for the Dead](#): > > I an very serious when I say I don’t understand how it could be nonsense. A “think” is still a thing! You might not like it, but that doesn’t change the fact that it stands as a meaningful (if vague) phrase. By that logic, just about any phrase could be replaced by “Thing a thing thing” and still make sense. When we’ve hashed this out before I’ve expressed the same amazement that people can’t see how much more elegant the original phrase is than the corrupted version. You’d think a lightbulb would click on above their head, but no, they just keep arguing for the other version, the clunky “non-idiom” as I called it in the previous thread. Still, if you think I’m going to let it spoil my day… ---
**Author:** ![furdmort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@furdmort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furdmort)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/86 "2012-11-14T14:44:12Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Yes, they were expecting to get a thing. The thing they wanted was Ron Paul. The thing they got was Barack Obama. > > “If you thought that Ron Paul (thing 1) was going to be president, you’ve got another thing (Obama, thing 2) coming.” No, that would be “a different thing coming.” You haven’t gotten either thing yet, so you can’t get another one. You can only get another one when you’ve already got one. “You’ve already got a knot on your head, would you like another?” as opposed to “Would you like a knot on your head?” when you don’t already have a knot on your head. In the original expression, you’ve already had a thought (an incorrect one) and you’re going to have another one when reality sets in. In your example: “If you thought that Ron Paul (thing 1 that you haven’t got) was going to be president, you’ve got another thing (Obama, thing 2 that you haven’t gotten yet so it can’t be another but that you will get) coming.” Utterly stupid. Or: “If you thought (thought one, that you’ve already got) that Ron Paul was going to be president, you’ve got another think (thought two, the new thought you’re going to have when you face reality) coming.” Makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/87 "2012-11-14T14:52:05Z")
Look, in the “think” camp, we have my mother, and her mother before her. They owned dictionaries, read books and spoke English like natives. In the “thing” camp, we have [these guys](http://www.metalsucks.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/judas-priest-at-tct-fri.gif). They are from Birmingham and wear dog collars in public. That’s really all the evidence we need, okay? Mum was right. And Grandma too. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/88 "2012-11-14T14:55:01Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > When we’ve hashed this out before I’ve expressed the same amazement that people can’t see how much more elegant the original phrase is than the corrupted version. You’d think a lightbulb would click on above their head, but no, they just keep arguing for the other version, the clunky “non-idiom” as I called it in the previous thread. Even if we assume that think is more elegant, it’s like putting lipstick on a pig and saying the lipsticked pig is more elegant. Sure, but it’s still a pig. Neither phrase is all that graceful. Anyway, you know who calls thoughts thinks? 3 year-olds and Dr. Suess. Are you a three year-old or Dr. Suess? Then say thing. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/89 "2012-11-14T15:08:05Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > For example, my mother might have said “If you think I’m going to sit here and listen to that, you’ve got another think coming”. What would be the other “thing” in this case? It just doesn’t work. Of course it works. In that case the other thing is her NOT sitting there and listening to that. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/90 "2012-11-14T15:09:58Z")
> [@furdmort](#): > > No, that would be “a different thing coming.” You haven’t gotten either thing yet, so you can’t get another one. But “another thing” can mean “a different thing” rather than “a second thing”, if that’s the argument you’re making. “Other”/“different” mean much the same. As I said, I’m on the “think” side. I just don’t buy this particular argument. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/91 "2012-11-14T15:12:05Z")
> [@furdmort](#): > > No, that would be “a different thing coming.” You haven’t gotten either thing yet, so you can’t get another one. You can only get another one when you’ve already got one. “You’ve already got a knot on your head, would you like another?” as opposed to “Would you like a knot on your head?” when you don’t already have a knot on your head. OK, that makes sense. It should be a different thing, not another thing. But by that logic, shouldn’t it also be a different think rather than another think? If you think that Ron Paul will be president (first think) Then you’ve got another think (still Ron Paul) coming. Obama would be a different think. ---
**Author:** ![furdmort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@furdmort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furdmort)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/92 "2012-11-14T15:14:51Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > OK, that makes sense. It should be a different thing, not another thing. > > But by that logic, shouldn’t it also be a different think rather than another think? > > If you think that Ron Paul will be president (first think) > Then you’ve got another think (still Ron Paul) coming. > Obama would be a different think. Nope. Like I said, you’ve already got the thougtht that Ron Paul will be president. When reality sets in, you’ll have another one and realize that Obama is president. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/93 "2012-11-14T15:25:45Z")
Also, sometimes the thing is my fist and it’s coming for your face. As in, “If you think you can sit here and chat up my girl, you’ve got another thing coming.” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/94 "2012-11-14T15:28:13Z")
> [@furdmort](#): > > Nope. Like I said, you’ve already got the thougtht that Ron Paul will be president. When reality sets in, you’ll have another one and realize that Obama is president. Nope. Obama is a _different_ think. That knife cuts both ways. If Paul is one think and Obama is another think, then Paul is one thing and Obama is nother thing. Unless your saying that another think is different but another thing is repeating the first thing. You’ll have to explain that one to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/95 "2012-11-14T15:32:06Z")
It’s not usually idiomatic to _think_ something when you can patently see it in action. You then _know_ it. So, you may think one thing, but after you prove sorely mistaken, you _don’t_ have another think coming, because you don’t have to _think_ anything, you KNOW you were wrong. ---
**Author:** ![furdmort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@furdmort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furdmort)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/96 "2012-11-14T15:32:49Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Nope. Obama is a _different_ think. That knife cuts both ways. > > If Paul is one think and Obama is another think, then Paul is one thing and Obama is nother thing. > > Unless your saying that another think is different but another thing is repeating the first thing. You’ll have to explain that one to me. Yes, Obama is a different think. It also another think since you’ve already got the one about Ron Paul. Using the phrase as the “thingers” would have it, you’ve already got the thought of Ron Paul and expect to get the thing Ron Paul. Since you haven’t got Ron Paul yet, when you get Obama then you have gotten a different thing than you expected - but you haven’t gotten another thing because you never had the other thing. You can only have another thing when you already have a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/97 "2012-11-14T15:36:26Z")
A cursory stroll thru Google News Archives shows “think” giving way to “thing” most noticeably starting in the 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/98 "2012-11-14T15:42:59Z")
> [@furdmort](#): > > You can only have another thing when you already have a thing. “My sister has a Ford Explorer. I have another Ford model.” That does not imply that I have or have had more than one Ford. “Another thing coming” seems a perfectly reasonable way of saying “a different outcome to that which you were anticipating”. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/99 "2012-11-14T16:23:20Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > A cursory stroll thru Google News Archives shows “think” giving way to “thing” most noticeably starting in the 1980s. Fucking Judas [Priest](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You've_Got_Another_Thing_Comin') again. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931/100 "2012-11-14T16:25:57Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > “Another thing coming” seems a perfectly reasonable way of saying “a different outcome to that which you were anticipating”. Yes it does, but when prefaced with “If you think X”, which is the phrase we’re talking about, then it comes across as a non-sequitur. It’s a set-up/punchline turn of phrase that suddenly derails and skids to a halt without delivering. It’s unsatisfying. It’s catchphrasus interruptus. It is the Diet Coke of idiom. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-got-another-thing-or-think-coming/640931.md?page=6)