Editor's Corner

Dear Editrix,

I’ve noticed that almost everyone says a phrase a bit differently than I learned it. My father would always say, “If you think that, you’ve got another THINK coming.” My interpretation: you better think about that again.

These days, I hear virtually everyone say, “you’ve got another THING coming.” To me, that doesn’t make sense.

Quizzically yours,

Mr. A

Dear Mr. A,

My initial response was to bring up Judas Priest and their song, named “You got another thing comin’.” I wasn’t really a fan, but my familiarity with the phrase came from that time long ago in 1982. I figured “thing” was the right word because that’s what they said so forcefully. As promised, though, here I am to tell you what I found.

First, you are correct! The initial phrase is from Britain, and it is “You have another think coming.” For those of you who aren’t familiar with the phrase, it basically means you are wrong about something. Whatever you might have said, you need to spend some more time thinking about it because you are wrong.

Second, the phrase has been used in Britain longer than the U.S. In Britain, think isn’t just a verb, it is also a noun. Here’s an example from Merriam-Webster:

Take the first week of the Christmas holidays to have a think. If the prospect of returning to university in January is still unattractive or fills you with dread, then maybe it’s time to take stock.

Third, the phrase moved over to the U.S. in the mid-nineteenth century. Some suspect that while it was used with the noun “think,” it also became an eggcorn. People would mishear the phrase “think coming,” run it together as “thinkcoming,” and then finally it became “thing coming.”

Now, a little more from M-W:

Semantically, the noun think is more fitting than thing: you think something and express your thought; then someone thinks you are wrong in your thinking and suggests you think about it again. (Notice the symmetry that think brings.) But the fact is the word thing is much more familiar, and it is trending with millennials…who use the expression. If that trend continues, "another think coming" could well become an archaism.

In summary: Another think coming is the older of the two, dating in use to the mid-19th century, and originated in British English. Another thing coming appears to have come about in American English several decades later, probably as a result of confusion regarding the original phrase. Another thing is the more recent turn of phrase and now is more common, though it is frequently criticized.

Mr. A., I’m so glad you asked the question, and the dictionary’s article definitely proved your point. Judas Priest is a British band. I wonder why they chose the more American phrase?

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

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