Has DH got another think coming or have I got another thing coming???

Ive always said thing!
I'm going to carry on and judge anyone who says different as wrong.
So there.

I agree, there will be a stage where people sound mistaken, then it becomes normal. As happened with "hopefully" and many other things in the past.

Hopefully (meaning "it is to be hoped that") used to be wrong, so wrong, you were an idiot if you used it etc.

I actually hate "pacific" instead of "specific" but it's so common, I think that will go that way too. Now, it sounds terrible to me, Probably in 30 years, it will be normal and in the dictionary.

I know LOADS of people who say and write "Another thing coming" to the extent that I only ever encountered "another THINK coming" in my 30s or something. (I wonder if there are regional differences maybe.)

When I said "surely" I was explaining why I've always thought that but if think came first, it came first. I still think if they are both current, they are both current.

It always used to be think, thing doesn't even make sense.

This is like all those who now say "He should of....", the incorrect usage is becoming the norm.

I just went to talk this over with our roomful of teenagers next door (DS and a couple of mates) they all think it's thing

But after I explained the logic of think (and how it may have got changed to thing) DS did tell his friends "Hey, did you know a newt used to be an ewt and an adder used to be a nadder" so he seems to have taken on board that people can be mistaken and that language can subsequently evolve.

Thanks MNers an excellent entertaining yet educational point of discussion for a Sunday afternoon

I think it's fine to choose which you like and use it, as both are so widely used. Language and phrases do change

This type of 'change' risks making the speaker sound a bit stupid, though. As if they haven't grasped the meaning. It's not an evolution of language; It's a misquote.

Of course it's THINK. Anything else would be ludicrous.

I'm assuming the people who say "thing" also refer to "feint" lines on pregnancy tests (FAINT! Dammit! FAINT!) and nucular bombs (NUCLEAR! Argh!)

"I think it's fine to choose which you like and use it, as both are so widely used. Language and phrases do change"

What?! It's not an option; one is WRONG, so it's not about language "changing." Just because some people say "would of" instead of "would have" does not mean that we can choose it and think it's correct.

either is fine by me, but sure "thing" was there first.

It really wasn't

Starky If you think I've forgotten about that ten quid you owe me, you've got another think coming another thing coming, the thing being, I haven't forgotten and I'm not going to let you forget

Pay careful attention to your inclusion of the word 'another'.

'Another' implies a further item of the same type as one already defined.

If you have one car, you can have another car. If you have one bike, you can't have another car.

How can you have 'another thing' when you haven't yet had 'one thing'?

Get used to strange looks when you do then Green

I'm with clam now people know they are saying it wrongly why would they persist .

Another "think" coming just sounds like slightly bad English which is why I thought it was the mistaken version.

It's jokey.

Think

GreenPotato Your explanation makes no sense, I'm afraid.

And "thing" was not there first!

I think it's fine to choose which you like and use it, as both are so widely used. Language and phrases do change, and there are are plenty of things where there are two (or more) usages.

Think here!

Wow this thread has amazed me. To me it's thing, because I heard/saw that for years and years before I ever heard/saw "think". I assumed "think" was a mistake though it's quite nice and makes sense, so either is fine by me, but sure "thing" was there first.

"You've got another thing coming" i.e. someone is going to react to your reaction, by getting angry or making you buck your ideas up or whatever. You are not going to be able to relax in your assumptions, something else will happen.

Another "think" coming just sounds like slightly bad English which is why I thought it was the mistaken version.

I'll continue to say "another thing coming"

So, if you're someone who's always said "pacific" instead of "specific," and it was pointed out to you that you're wrong, you'd carry on using the term anyway?

Why?

Think is right, thing makes no sense.

"I've always used thing and shall continue to, never occurred to me that it would be think."

Okaaay. So it's been pointed out quite categorically on here that "thing" is incorrect, but you're going to carry on using it anyway? and have people think you're ignorant?

Oh bollocks.

I hate it when I'm wrong

Two more 'think' votes here.

I could have sworn it was thing but have to admit a certain logic from posters defending think
Will catch up now on the rest of the thread having read page one - and see how the jury is falling ....

It's a linguistic phenomenon I've forgotten the name of - because 'coming' starts with the c/k sound it's easy to lose track of the k sound at the end of 'think'.

What's interesting is all the justifications people come up with for it.

Well I find it really weird that you're all saying 'thing' and that its clearly wrong. Very peculiar.