what you see is what you get
1
4.8
- idiom
:
lo que ves es lo que hay
- So what you see is what you get as far as these shades translating to their swatches and looking just like the palette.
Examples
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At least with Bill, what you see is what you get.
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We either already know (what you see is what you get) or we don't know, for reasons we also do not yet know.
Blog text (28) -
Or could it possibly be that What You See is What You Get?
Blog text (28) -
With Charlie, what you see is what you get.
Fiction book (1990) -
What you see is what you get, Mac.
Fiction book (1990) -
This isn't quite a what you see is what you get color right here, I'm building it.
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That's why what you see is what you get at that moment when I was giving my speech and I thank my uncle for being there and I got to my mom.
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He's he's exactly what you see is what you get if you've read his books.
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Now as far as I can see, what you see is what you get, and that's why I prefer a hand-count of the actual ballots to a recount of anything.
Blog text (28) -
In her straightforward style, she said, "With me, what you see is what you get."
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
what + you + see + be + what + you + get
The meaning 'someone or something is exactly as they appear' is directly and literally derived from the constituent words and the copular clause structure ('what you see' = 'what you get'), so no idiomatic shift is required. This compositional pattern is transparent and found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the words and basic grammar can readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
What you see is what you get creates a simple picture: the what you see is exactly the what you get, so there are no hidden parts or surprises. That's why it means 'someone or something is exactly as they appear'.