half a mind
5
7.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
tener medio ánimo
- You know, I have half a mind to call the police.
- got half a mind
- half a mind to go
- said I had half a mind
Examples
-
"I have half a mind to return their money to them.
Fiction book (1992) -
Hell, I have half a mind to move there myself.
-
You know, I have half a mind to report him.
-
I got half a mind to make you walk home.
-
I have half a mind to do exactly that, now come down here.
-
And I have half a mind to call the cops to come pick him up.
-
So I have half a mind to ban you.
Blog text (4) -
I have half a mind to cancel your Spring Fling dance!
-
You know, I got half a mind to just jump on the bus to Europe and say goodbye to your ugly mug forever.
Fiction book (1994) -
You know, I have half a mind to call the police.
Synonyms
Almost willing to do something because you really want to
Antonyms
How Inclined
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'inclined but not fully committed' is directly derivable from 'half' (partially) modifying 'mind' (intention), with the article 'a' serving a grammatical role. This compositional reading follows normal English noun-modifier semantics (a partial intention) and is cross-linguistically accessible, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should understand it.
Etymology
Half a mind comes from the simple image of a mind split in two, where one part wants to act and the other does not. So, when someone says they 'have half a mind to' do something, they mean they are 'tempted' but not fully decided.