I had thought this was a mainly US phrase that meant only ‘you do the calculation’ but I heard it on a US TV program in a different context suggesting ‘do the work’ without any numerical implication.
So what does it mean to you? A similar phrase I heard today was ‘go figure it’. Same questions.
I think it’s more than mere numerical calculation. There’s an undercurrent of analysis implicit in the phrase, and often the result is a foregone conclusion.
"What are our chances of getting out of here alive?" "We’re outnumbered five to one, with ammo running low. You do the math."
[quote author=brynbaker link=board=omni;num=1037225930;start=0#0 date=11/13/02 at 17:18:50]So what does it mean to you? A similar phrase I heard today was ‘go figure it’. Same questions.
To me it means "you figure it out." When noting that something is the way it is, this term is often used to avoid explaining "why." (Usually implying that the details are to complex to get into within the context of the conversation, but also used to imply that the answer is unknown as in "go figure".)
[quote author=Stargzer link=board=omni;num=1037225930;start=0#1 date=11/13/02 at 23:09:30]
"What are our chances of getting out of here alive?" "We’re outnumbered five to one, with ammo running low. You do the math."
Ah, yes. that usage is current where I am also. Give all the relevant information so that the conclusion is beyond obvious and then throw it in their face. (Sort of like "if you can’t figure it out based on this, then I’m at a loss.")
Yes, I recognise the implication that the result is a no-brainer given the input data or situation, especially in the numerical example [quote author=Stargzer link=board=omni;num=1037225930;start=0#1 date=11/13/02 at 23:09:30]
"What are our chances of getting out of here alive?" "We’re outnumbered five to one, with ammo running low. You do the math."
I’m not familiar with the "do the work" meaning.
The phrase that threw me was ‘my feet itch: you (the cat) have a sandpaper tongue, do the math". I was channel hopping, honest, not actually watching the teenage witch, and her unpleasant relative used it.
[quote author=brynbaker link=board=omni;num=1037225930;start=0#4 date=11/15/02 at 07:51:07]The phrase that threw me was ‘my feet itch: you (the cat) have a sandpaper tongue, do the math". I was channel hopping, honest, not actually watching the teenage witch, and her unpleasant relative used it.
Wait, are you still not understanding the phrase in this context or are you clarified? (I couldn’t tell from the context of the post.)
(I would say that the translation for this idiom in this context is "you know what I’m getting at" which would mean that in noting the convenience of the rough tounge and itchy feet, a request/command for licked feet has been implied.)
[quote author=brynbaker link=board=omni;num=1037225930;start=0#4 date=11/15/02 at 07:51:07]Yes, I recognise the implication that the result is a no-brainer given the input data or situation, especially in the numerical example
The phrase that threw me was ‘my feet itch: you (the cat) have a sandpaper tongue, do the math". I was channel hopping, honest, not actually watching the teenage witch, and her unpleasant relative used it.
Bryn
Yeah, I think that falls within the realm of that saying. It this case it would be like telling the cat to "put two and two together," i. e., "You (cat): solve the problem of my itchy feet; given that you have a sandpaper tongue, the answer should be obvious!" If I were the cat, the answer would be obvious: use my claws to ensure that itching would be the least of his worries.
Speaking of cats . . . what’s the difference between a cat and a comma? A cat has claws at the end of its paw, the comma has a pause at the end of its clause.
[quote author=Stargzer link=board=omni;num=1037225930;start=0#6 date=11/15/02 at 14:53:49]
It this case it would be like telling the cat to "put two and two together…
Hence, "you do the math" (of putting two and two together)?
[quote author=tamisaac link=board=omni;num=1037225930;start=0#7 date=11/16/02 at 21:19:55]
on Nov 15th, 2002, 2:53pm, Stargzer wrote:
It this case it would be like telling the cat to "put two and two together…
Hence, "you do the math" (of putting two and two together)?
I’ll take credit for wordplay . . . even if I don’t remember doing it on purpose.
[quote author=tamisaac link=board=omni;num=1037225930;start=0#7 date=11/16/02 at 21:19:55]
Hence, "you do the math" (of putting two and two together)?
[quote author=Stargzer link=board=omni;num=1037225930;start=0#8 date=11/19/02 at 18:49:46]
I’ll take credit for wordplay . . . even if I don’t remember doing it on purpose.
[quote author=tcward link=board=omni;num=1037225930;start=0#9 date=11/20/02 at 16:06:15]Weird! It never occurred to me, but I bet that’s what that expression originated from.
"Put 2 and 2 together" has been around a long, long time, I bet… Someone eventually had to get creative and say it a new way.
Putting 2 and 2 together can either be used to arrive at 4 (i.e. no-brainer, obvious answer, no skill required) or 5 (wrong, can’t even do a simple task).
I suspect there are two distinct usages here and I expect one was a re-cycling of the other. But which came first?
"Hoist with his own petard" is a Shakespearean reference it’s only fair I leave for Stargzer to explain.
But petard is a word I can’t resist expounding on briefly. It’s originally French, pétard, meaning a small bomb used to blow open a door or knock in a wall - from the verb péter, to break wind (I told you it was a small bomb).
This reminds us that it’s vitally important, when we want a French person to repeat something we didn’t quite catch, that we should say répéter s’il vous plaît ("please repeat"), and not repéter s’il vous plaît ("please break wind again").
[quote author=granthutchison link=board=omni;num=1037225930;start=0#14 date=11/25/02 at 19:46:27]This reminds us that it’s vitally important, when we want a French person to repeat something we didn’t quite catch, that we should say répéter s’il vous plaît ("please repeat"), and not repéter s’il vous plaît ("please break wind again").
Well, it depends on what you think of what they’ve said.
.