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Pedants' corner

The OED has this wrong. They’ve got another think coming.

1 reply

BrickBiscuit · 29/07/2025 14:55

https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/nov/18/mind-your-language-another-think

The Guardian says the OED quotes an example misusing 'thing' from Only Fools and Horses (series 1 episode 6 'The Russians'): “If you think I’m staying in a lead-lined Nissen hut with you and Grandad and a chemical bloody khazi you’ve got another thing coming.” However, David Jason as Del Boy employs a subtle yet definite glottal stop and says ‘think coming’ not ‘thing coming’. Scripts online also have 'think coming.' Perhaps the OED's source misinterpreted it, as ‘thing’ can have a ‘k’ or glottal stop as in ‘sumfink’. But even if that is Del Boy’s habit too, it is too much of a stretch to claim the word here is thing not think.

Why does this matter? Well, what if one day the OED quotes 'should of' wrongly and designates it correct English?

Kudos to @soupyspoon for the original thread and @SequinsandSoleros for their post that unearthed this.

If you’ve got ‘another thing coming’, you’ve got another think coming | Mind your language

David Marsh: I don’t want to make a big thing about it, but I do think ‘think’ makes more sense when using this phrase

https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/nov/18/mind-your-language-another-think

OP posts:
Bluevelvetsofa · 29/07/2025 17:13

If you were to say ‘you’d better think again’, it would be clear that ‘you’d better thing again’ makes no sense.

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