Question
30 Nov 2020
- Japanese
-
English (US)
Question about English (US)
What dose "has a name" in the conversation below mean?
"That’s different. She’s a close friend, not the lady in the cafeteria who cuts the crust off your sandwiches"
"That lady has a name. I don’t know what it is, but one time I accidentally called her mom"
(from 'The Allowance Evaporation' "The Bigbang Theory" Season10 Episode16)
What dose "has a name" in the conversation below mean?
"That’s different. She’s a close friend, not the lady in the cafeteria who cuts the crust off your sandwiches"
"That lady has a name. I don’t know what it is, but one time I accidentally called her mom"
(from 'The Allowance Evaporation' "The Bigbang Theory" Season10 Episode16)
"That’s different. She’s a close friend, not the lady in the cafeteria who cuts the crust off your sandwiches"
"That lady has a name. I don’t know what it is, but one time I accidentally called her mom"
(from 'The Allowance Evaporation' "The Bigbang Theory" Season10 Episode16)
Answers
Read more comments
- English (US)
In this situation, it means “don’t speak rudely about the cafeteria lady.” It’s because we sometimes say “he’s a nobody.” That means he doesn’t matter. So if we say the cafeteria lady has a name, it means she matters
Highly-rated answerer
- English (US)
Saying "That person has a name" is used when someone is implying that the way you referred to that person was rude.
Example:
Person 1: That bald guy is taking up a lot of space
Person 2: That bald guy has a name (meaning you were rude)..... its Ricky.... he is in my yoga class and hes really nice.
- English (US)
@tabeh0udai Thats a good way to explain it! Saying someone "has a name" means that they are important / they are person too who deserves respect like all people do.
- Japanese
@tabeh0udai Thank you!
So is it like "She is a human being just like us. She has a name just like us" ?
So is it like "She is a human being just like us. She has a name just like us" ?
- English (US)
@jete_et_jete yes! You got it. It means she’s important too
Highly-rated answerer
- Japanese
@tabeh0udai Thank you! It bacomes crystal clear to me now!
- Japanese
- Japanese
@tabeh0udai I am sorry for asking you again, but I would like to know whether such kind of "have a name" or "has a name" (meaning that the person is important) is commonly used in ordinary conversations?
- English (US)
@jete_et_jete no, but it is still casual. It always means “that person is somebody. Don’t speak badly about them”
We say that when we want to defend somebody
Highly-rated answerer
- Japanese
@tabeh0udai I think I got it. Well, we might not to have an occation we have to say "one has a name!" so often, I guess.
Thank you for sparing time for me!
Thank you for sparing time for me!
- English (US)
@jete_et_jete yup! Basically, you will hear this in this situation:
First, person A speaks rudely about person C
Then, person B defends person C by saying “person C has a name”
Highly-rated answerer
- English (US)
@tabeh0udai I agree, it is used to defend someone. If someone is talking about a person and is treating them like they are a "background character", then someone might say "they have a name" to mean "they are a person too, don't talk about them like they are nobody".
- Japanese
@tabeh0udai
Wow, that is a helpful explanation! Thank you, again.
Wow, that is a helpful explanation! Thank you, again.

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