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Glite Dictionary
to have another think coming

to have another think coming

1 9.8
To be wrong about something and later be forced to change your mind
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : estás equivocado
  • But if they thought they could change Moe Bernstein, they had another think coming.

Examples

  • "If you think I'm going to pick up after you, you have another think coming," she went on.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Anybody who thinks I'll do that has another think coming!

    Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

  • If you think you are going to steal my kill, you have another think coming.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Anybody who thinks Romney is going to inspire centrists or liberals has another think coming.

    Blog text (1)

  • If you think I will let you leave without paying, you have another think coming.

  • Anyone who believes they can succeed without hard work has another think coming.

  • If you believe you can take shortcuts to achieve your goals, you have another think coming.

Synonyms

another think coming
vsto have another think coming
  • Informal
9.9

A warning that someone is wrong and will soon find out

has the same meaning but appears as a fuller verb phrase

How Wrong

to have another think coming
  • Informal
1 9.8
mistaken
266 3.4

Surface Forms

have another think coming infinitive
had another think coming past
had another think coming past participle
having another think coming present participle
has another think coming third person singular

Morphology

have + another + think + coming

The parts ('have', 'another', 'think', 'coming') provide hints — 'have a think' can be interpreted as 'give something further thought' and 'coming' as forthcoming — so a learner could infer that someone will be made to reconsider. However, the fixed colloquial phrasing and pragmatic force (i.e., 'you are wrong and will be proven so') are idiomatic and not fully predictable from the words alone, so full understanding without exposure is uncertain.

Etymology

The idiom have another think coming gives a simple picture: you believe something, but then another think comes and forces you to 'think again'. That's why it means 'to be mistaken and be forced to reconsider'.