what was someone thinking
84
8.6
- idiom
:
¿en qué estaría pensando?
- - What were you thinking?
- What the hell was someone thinking
- said 'what was someone thinking'
- asked 'what was someone thinking'
Examples
-
"It's no intrusion, if that's what you're thinking," Adam said with a smile.
Fiction book (1991) -
I can't believe he chose that option; what was he thinking?
-
Will I ever be able to understand what this town is thinking?
Fiction book (1993) -
Powell could not believe what he was hearing; what was this woman thinking?
Academic text (2009) -
" The day I talked to you down by the dock, what were you thinking?
Fiction book (1998) -
I don't know what I was thinking.
-
Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
-
- Audrey, what are you thinking?
-
I don't remember what I was thinking, but I was making plans.
Academic text (2009) -
"Ayla, how did you know what I was thinking?" he asked.
Fiction book (1990)
Synonyms
A rude question showing you do not believe someone's idea
To say someone has a very bad idea as if they are not thinking clearly
How Disbelieving
- Offensive
- NSFW
84
8.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
what + be + someone + thinking
The literal composition ('what' + 'was' + 'someone' + 'thinking') transparently yields a question about a person's thoughts, so a B1 learner who knows the words and grammar will get the basic sense. However, its frequent pragmatic use as a rhetorical expression of disbelief or criticism is a conventionalized implicature that goes beyond literal composition and may not be fully predictable without exposure, so the item is only partially transparent.
Etymology
What was someone thinking imagines looking inside a person's head to find the single thought that made them do something strange or wrong. So we use it as a quick question to show 'surprise', 'disbelief', or 'criticism' about their action.