Yes, you read that right.
You’ve got another think coming.
In THE SECRET HISTORY, I had a line that said, “He had another thing coming.”
Sounds right, yes? Wrong.
My wonderful editor gave me a new wrinkle for my brain (is that actually backed up by science?) when she pointed out that the saying is actually “another think.” Apparently the phrase came from the expression, “If that’s what you think, you’ve got another think coming.”
That makes sense to my ear, but “He had another think coming” looks terribly wrong to my eyes. It’s also apparently an Americanism which means it probably shouldn’t be in a book about the Byzantine Empire.
So I changed it, but now I feel a little smarter knowing the “real” phrase.
Yay!
And I learned something new today, too. Thanks for sharing. I'll think about this every time I hear that saying.
Wow, I never knew that, and I'd be pretty surprised if most other people did too. It's cool to change it, but I think the version you had before was just as good. Even if it's a colloquialism, so long as it's understood by you and your readers then it's all good IMHO 🙂
My mom always said the whole phrase you quoted there when we were growing up. I don't know if I've ever heard anyone say 'thing' in that phrase – but I'm Canadian 🙂
Ha! we probably all could use another think from time to time. 😀
Miranda–Yay! Another wrinkle for your brain too!
Mark–No one I've talked to so far knew about the "real" version. I did change the entire line, just so the correct version didn't trip up my readers. And then it gave me a great topic to blog about!
Jemi–Your mom sounds like one smart lady!
Tricia–I know I could use another think! These days I might be able to use a whole new brain!
I never knew that either! Guess I have another think coming?
Ack, it does look weird! Good to know, though!