don't get someone started
10
8.6
- idiom
- Informal
:
hacer que alguien se ponga a hablar
- Please, don't get him started on this.
- don't even get me started
- please, don't get me started
Examples
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Don't even get me started on dating.
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Oh, no, no, don't get me started, okay?
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Please, don't get me started.
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And don't even get me started with the smell.
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And don't even get me started on the coming winter.
Blog text (9) -
Ugh, don't even get me started.
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Don't even get me started on the national rugby team.
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And don't get me started on the gold standard unless you really want to get a lecture on monetary policy.
Blog text (29) -
And don't get us Europeans started on climate change and the Kyoto Protocol!
Blog text (32) -
Don't get me started.
Synonyms
1
9.5
A warning not to talk about a subject because it may make people angry
Antonyms
How Talkative
Surface Forms
Morphology
The core idea — 'get someone started' = cause a person to begin (speaking or doing something) — is derivable from the constituents 'get' (cause) and 'start' (begin), so a learner who knows the words can infer the basic meaning. However, the conventionally used warning form 'don't get someone started (on X)' carries pragmatic and idiomatic nuance (prolonged, emotional discussion) that is not fully predictable from the parts, making the expression partially but not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Don't get someone started comes from the idea of trying to get a machine started: once it moves it keeps going, like a person who will talk and talk about a topic. So saying 'don't get me started' warns people not to begin that subject.