in for
104
6.3
- idiom
:
estar a punto de
- If this fizzy drink thing works, then we are in for a treat tonight.
- in for criticism
- in for a year
Yeah, I know I'm in for a rude awakening.
- Yeah, I know I'm in for a rude awakening.
- Ladies and gentlemen, you are in for a real treat, real treat this evening.
- I mean, if you lose, lose your phone, you lose your wallet, man, you're in for a bad time.
- And again, not knowing what I was doing, not knowing what I was in for.
Examples
-
You know, if everybody out there in that line gets the same treatment I did, you are in for a long night.
-
And so what's going to happen now is we're in for tough times ahead, much tougher than in the past.
-
Ladies and gentlemen, you are in for a real treat, real treat this evening.
-
- You are in for a long, long journey.
-
You got any idea what we're in for?
-
Otherwise we're going to be in for a bit of a rough show.
-
We definitely agree you're in for a real treat.
-
I mean, if you lose, lose your phone, you lose your wallet, man, you're in for a bad time.
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You're in for a rough year, sir, and you'd better be prepared for it.
-
If you think the movie will be boring, you're really in for a surprise.
Synonyms
11
8.1
About to get into trouble because of something you did
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'about to experience or receive X' is partially recoverable: 'in' can signal being subject to or involved in something and 'for' points to the thing to be received, so learners may infer that someone is about to get/experience X. However, the exact idiomatic use (e.g. 'you're in for a surprise') is not fully predictable from the basic prepositional meanings and often requires exposure, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
In for may come from a simple picture: you are already inside a situation, you are in it and the event is for you. So, if you're in for a surprise or trouble, you are 'about to receive' or 'about to experience' it.