About
«You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means» is a phrase used to call out someone else’s incorrect use of a word or phrase during online conversations. It is typically iterated as an image macro series featuring the fictional character Inigo Montoya from the 1987 romantic comedy film The Princess Bride.
Origin
The quote “You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means” was said by American actor Mandy Patinkin[2] who portrayed the swordsman Inigo Montoya[3] in the 1987 romantic comedy The Princess Bride.[1] Throughout the movie, Sicilian boss Vizzini (portrayed by Wallace Shawn[4]) repeatedly describes the unfolding events as “inconceivable.” After Vizzini attempts to cut a rope the Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up, he yells out that it was inconceivable that the pirate did not fall. To this, Montoya replied with the quote:
The clip of the scene from Princess Bride was uploaded via YouTube channel Bagheadclips on February 4th, 2007. Since its upload, the video has been used in the comments of Reddit posts as early as since January 2008[20] and has gained more than 644,000 views as of July 2012.
Spread
Though the quote had been used to refute posters on 4chan[17] as early as March 2010, the first advice animal style image macro with the quote over a still photo of Mandy Patinkin as the character was shared on the advice animals subreddit[8] on June 18th, 2011. The caption used the word “decimate” as the example of what was being misused. While the word is defined as “to kill, destroy, or remove a large percentage of”[9], it was originally used in the Roman era[10] to refer to a punishment in which 1 in 10 men were killed. The misuse of the word to mean anything more than ten percent has been blogged about on Listverse[11], personal blog World Wide Words[12] and WikiHow.[13]
More instances of the image macro have appeared on other subreddits including /r/RonPaul[14] and /r/Anarcho_Capitalism.[15] As of July 2012, the Quickmeme[5] page has 640 submissions and the Memegenerator[6]page has more than 1800 submissions. Additional instances are posted on Memebase[18], Reddit[16] and Tumblr[7]with the tag “I do not think it means what you think it means.”
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#1
this is a rule which we learn from the beginning of our english study, that you should not say» I think sth is not…….», instead you should say » I don’t think sth is…..»
I can accept this but I can’t understand why. I know language sometimes is just a habit. but for me, this has been very hard. because in chinese we don’t have this restrain.
I always realize I am wrong again in the middle of my speech when I say sth like: I think i ‘m not going to do sth.
here I wonder if someone can give me a reason for such a structure. And if you hear me say» i think sth is not….», do you think I ‘m an awful english learner or rude in speech or anything?
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#2
It is not rude and yes it is understandable, it just is not colloquial speach, so it does not sound natural. You will have to wait for someone else to explain the rule.
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#3
It is not incorrect in any way. They both mean the same thing, and they are both correct if you say them. If you want to get REALLY technical, you could say they have different meanings:
I don’t think that I am the right guy for the job. This means that you’ve never thought, in your mind, that you were the right guy. In other words, «I don’t think that I am the right guy for the job; I know it.»
I think that I am not the right guy for the job. This specifically means that you’ve actually thought about it, and you think you are not the right guy.
However, I’ve never considered this in any way, and in natural speech I say it both ways (if not leaning toward the way you were taught is incorrect).
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#4
it’s always funny to see native speakers got different opinions on their own language.
but anyway, thanks unknown13 and marcb. your responses are helpful.
you know, if you always watch out not to make any possible mistakes, sometimes you just lose the nerve to open your mouth.
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#5
This is a matter of usage, isn’t it? I don’t think there’s a hard-and-fast rule involved, but I do think that the «I think + negative verb»-form can sound unidiomatic.
X, to me: «I think it’s going to rain tonight.»
Me, looking at sky: «I think it’s not.» «I don’t think it is.»
A is late for an appointment. She should have arrived half-an-hour ago.
B to C: «I think she’s not going to come.» «I don’t think she’s going to come.»
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#6
In these instances, especially when you are responding to someone who says «I think,» it is better to say «I don’t think.» However, this definitely does not mean that «I think something isn’t» doesn’t sound better in some instances. For example, I would say «I think that the government is bad, but the people are not» as opposed to «I don’t think the people are bad, but the government is» in certain cases where I want to emphasize them in that order. There are many other ways to say the same idea, but they may not have the same oratorical effect. However, even in sound shift’s second example, while «I think she’s not going to come» sounds bad, «I think she isn’t going to come» sounds fine. At the same time, «I think it’s not» sounds worse than «I think it isn’t (going to rain).»
IDTIMWYTIM means I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means
This acronym/slang usually belongs to Internet Slang, Chat Texting & Subculture category.
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What is the abbreviation for I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means?
I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means can be abbreviated as IDTIMWYTIM
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Most popular questions people look for before coming to this page
| Q: A: |
What does IDTIMWYTIM stand for? IDTIMWYTIM stands for «I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means». |
| Q: A: |
How to abbreviate «I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means»? «I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means» can be abbreviated as IDTIMWYTIM. |
| Q: A: |
What is the meaning of IDTIMWYTIM abbreviation? The meaning of IDTIMWYTIM abbreviation is «I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means». |
| Q: A: |
What is IDTIMWYTIM abbreviation? One of the definitions of IDTIMWYTIM is «I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means». |
| Q: A: |
What does IDTIMWYTIM mean? IDTIMWYTIM as abbreviation means «I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means». |
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What is shorthand of I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means? The most common shorthand of «I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means» is IDTIMWYTIM. |
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Abbreviations or Slang with similar meaning
- IDCWYT — I Don’t Care What You Think
- IKWYABWAI — I Know What You Are But What Am I?
- INWYKIWYK — It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know
- WYTYSIWYTYG — What You Think You See Is What You Think You Get
- WYGIWYGAINGW — What You Get Is What You’re Given and It’s No Good Whining
- WYGIWYGAINUC — What You Get Is What You’re Given and It’s No Use Complaining
- WYNWIN — What You Need, What I Need
- WYSBYGI — What You See Before You Get It
- WYSIWITYS — What You See Is What I Think You See
- WYTIWYG — What You Think Is What You Get
- WYSIWYP — What You See Is What You Print / What You See Is What You Pay (wizzy-whip)
- Ikybyuwytisbinsyrtwyhinwim — I Know You Believe You Understand What You Think I Said, But I’m Not Sure You Realize That What You Heard Is Not What I Meant
- dlibu — Dont let it bother you
- yctwuw — you can think what you want
- Ave a go, ya mug! — Means to try harder, not to act foolishly. It is what you would yell at a lazy footballer etc!Or you would yell it at some poor bastard trying to push start his car while you drive by!
- WYGIWYD — What You Get Is What You Deserve. A maxim for life and personal responsibility: you get out what you put in — you reap what you sow. WYGIWYD is also a great reminder that people are more likely to perform to their fullest potential when they are given fai
- WYSIWYG — What you see it what you get
- WYSIWYM — What You See I What You Mean
- idttu — I dont talk to you
- WYSINEWYGBIC — What You See Is Not Exactly What You Get But It’s Close
“I do not think it means what you think it means.” This is a line from a famous American film from the 1980’s called Princess Bride. This line is spoken in the following conversation between two characters, Vizzini and Inigo Montoya.
Vizzini: He didn’t fall? INCONCEIVABLE*.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
I love this movie, like many people I know, and I was thinking about this line the other day. It started me thinking about different phrases people say in English that don’t mean what people think they mean. So, I started looking for examples of these common phrases in everyday English and here is a list of some of what I found. I’ve include the phrase, what people often think the phrase means, the actual meaning, and then an example of how to use the phrase correctly in a sentence or two.
“I could care less”
What people think this means: “I couldn’t care less.”
What this actually means: You actually do care.
Example: I told Marisa that her ex-boyfriend Tommy has a new girlfriend and she told me “I could care less”, but she used this phrase wrong because I know she does care.
“that begs the question”
Would people think this means: To ask or raise a question.
What this actually means: To use an argument that assumes as proof the very thing one is trying to prove.
Example: Paul said that exercise is healthful because it makes you healthy. That begs the question. That is saying the same thing. He needs to make a better argument.
“let’s table this”
What people think this means: To discuss something later.
What this actually means: In the United States, this means what American’s think it means. But it means the opposite, “let’s discuss this right now”, in most of the rest of the English-speaking world.
Example (America): I think we have talked about this enough let’s table this until tomorrow.
Example (elsewhere): This is a very important decision let’s tablet it. We’ll meet in the conference room to discuss this in 5 minutes.
“to do a 360”
What people think this means: One completely changing one’s opinion.
What this actually means: One’s opinion changed, but then changed back to the original opinion.
Example: After talking to my dad about the presidential candidates I changed my mind for who I would vote for, but then I talked to my mom and I did a 360.
“PIN number”
What people think this means: This is a way to refer to ones personal identification number.
What this actually means: This is redundant phrase because PIN stands for personal identification number. When a person says PIN number that are really saying “personal identification number number.”
Example: Don’t ever tell anyone your PIN. It should be kept a secret.
“the lion’s share”
What people think this means: The greatest of all the possible shares.
What this actually means: This phrase originally comes from an Aesop’s Fable in which the lion took all, not the largest, of the shares. Over time this phrase has come to mean both ‘the greatest of all possible shares’ and ‘all the shares’ or all there is to take.
Example: I left cookies on the table in the morning and by the end of the day my teenage son had taken the lion’s share of what was there and left none for the rest of us.
* inconceivable = unbelievable
If you want to learn what more phrases and words in English actually mean you should check out the resources to learn English at Transparent Language.
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