Another think coming

[cimorene]

Listen, people.

It's not "If you think ___, you've got another thing coming". It's "If you think __, you've got another think coming." Get it? See how that works? The word "think" appears in both places! As if to suggest that the approaching think is going to replace the previous think which was in error! See how it even (gasp!) makes sense that way, whereas a "thing" coming in that context is so meaningless as to be completely baffling? [*]

Comments

[mirabella]

Oh my god that drives me absolutely apeshit. APESHIT. I mean, what.

*froths*

[cimness.livejournal.com]

-_- Yes. Although apparently, since English speakers seem to be almost evenly divided between the two usages even among the experts at the Merriam-Webster offices or whatever, I was wrong to perceive it as illiterate. But it just LOOKS so illiterate - replacing a homonym that doesn't make any sense for the key word in an expression! I suppose if the replacement happened a hundred years ago though, I'd be unreasonable to hold modern speakers accountable for the TOTAL COMPLETE LACK OF SENSE-MAKING when they've never seen it the other way.