Episode summary
Summer heat, unmet expectations, and a phrase almost everyone says slightly wrong. If you think one small word can't change an expression's whole meaning, well, you've got another thing coming.
T.E.A. Time is hosted by English teacher Tayvin Bayless. Read the full transcript.
Hello, hello, and welcome to T.E.A. Time with Tayvin Bayless. How are you doing today? Work treating you alright?
It’s summertime here in America and, depending on the context, that could mean more than one thing. I could be referring to the season, or I could be referring to summer break from school. The season of summer officially starts in June, but summer vacation usually begins in May. So depending on when you’re asking, it can technically be “summer” while it’s still spring. Funny how that works.
How do you feel about the heat? Me, I’m not a big fan. But whether it’s the heat or a difficult conversation, sometimes life just doesn’t meet your expectations. And that’s exactly what today’s episode is about.
Before I get into today’s story, I want to share something interesting about the phrase we’re going to look at today. The expression is: another thing coming. As in, you’ve got another thing coming. You’ve probably heard it said that way. But here’s something most people don’t know: the original expression wasn’t “another thing coming.” It was “another think coming.” Think, as in: what are you thinking about? So the original meaning was: you need to think again. You’ve got that wrong. A different conclusion is on its way to you.
Over time, people started saying thing instead of think. That’s because it’s more natural to end on a voiced velar nasal (that’s the NG sound you hear in words like running or singing) rather than following it with the hard K at the end of think. In other words, it’s just easier to say. In America today, you’ll mostly hear another thing coming. But knowing the original gives you a much richer understanding of what it really means.
So, if you believe something strongly, but you’re mistaken, someone might say, you’ve got another thing coming. In other words, think again. That conclusion you’ve landed on? It’s not going to hold up.
Here’s a quick example: if you think you can become fluent in English just by reading a grammar textbook and memorizing vocabulary lists, well, you’ve got another thing coming.
Have you ever had a conversation go in an unexpected direction? Something you thought would be simple turned out to be really complicated. A discussion you were excited about turned negative. The person you were talking to became offended at something you never meant to be offensive. How do you react when that happens? For me, my instinctive reaction is to get frustrated, and even a little upset, when things don’t go according to plan.
In just a few minutes, my wife and I will be packing up the car to leave Indiana and head back to Texas. As I mentioned in the last episode, we took this trip to get a feel for the area and decide whether we’d like to move here next year. And at the same time that Emma and I are navigating this big life decision, my mom is dealing with a move of her own.
About fifteen years ago, my mom bought her home in Utah. It’s a beautiful house, with an unobstructed view of Utah Lake and the mountains. I have fond memories of sitting out on the porch on a cloudy day. Rain falling over part of the lake, while beams of sunlight break through the clouds to create the most stunning rainbows I’ve ever seen. Well, time passes, circumstances change, and my mom is now in the process of selling that wonderful house.
A few weeks ago I was doing some research into her options for after the sale. I got excited. I’d found some really useful information about the housing market in another part of the Utah Valley area, so I called my mom to share what I’d learned. As you can probably guess, the conversation didn’t go the way I expected. I thought she’d be thrilled. I thought she’d be grateful. Boy oh boy, did I have another thing coming.
She was hurt. The way I approached sharing that information came across to her as though I was trying to dictate how she should live her life. In my enthusiasm, I had dismissed her own plans in favor of my ideas for what she should do. It took a multi-hour conversation to resolve the argument that followed.
I’ve been thinking about that conversation a lot this week. It turns out Indiana had a few things to teach me about the same lesson. Over and over again, I’ve been presented with a picture of what life might actually look like for us here, and it didn’t always match the picture I’d built up in my research. The reality isn’t bad. It’s just different. And as I’ve made an effort to stay mentally flexible, meaning open to changing my thinking, to pause and have another think when confronted with the unexpected, I’ve been able to see the beauty that’s actually there, instead of only seeing what’s missing.
Alright, let’s take a closer look at today’s expression: another thing coming.
Now, I want to go back to something I mentioned in the warm-up, because I think it’s worth sitting with. You will usually hear people say another thing coming, and that version works. That’s mostly how I’ve been pronouncing it because that’s the modern American standard. It still communicates the idea. But the original phrase was another think coming. Think, not thing. And that one small difference changes the whole flavor of the expression.
“Thing coming” suggests something is headed your way, some consequence, some reality. And that’s true. But “think coming” puts the focus on the mental process. You need to think again. Your current conclusion is wrong, and a better one is available if you’re willing to reach for it.
That’s what happened with my mom. I thought I had it figured out. I thought I was being helpful. But I hadn’t fully thought it through. I hadn’t considered how it might feel from her side. I needed another think. And the argument that followed was, in a way, that think arriving.
And that’s what this week in Indiana has been, too. A long, slow, sometimes uncomfortable think. Reality pushing back against my assumptions, and asking me to look again.
So here’s your challenge before the next episode: the next time you catch yourself absolutely certain about something, pause. Ask yourself if you might have another think coming. You don’t have to change your mind. Just make sure you’ve actually thought about it.
And now I’ve shared my thoughts for the day. There are many ways to react to the unexpected. I’m learning that taking a breath, and being willing to think about a situation differently, can bring more peace into the moment, and help me see things for what they actually are, rather than what I expected them to be.
What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Either way, it might be worth thinking about again.
And with that, my cup is empty. Thanks for joining me for T.E.A. Time. Until the next pot.
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72 expressions from both seasons, with the story behind each one.