Question
Updated on
14 Feb 2020
- Japanese
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English (US)
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English (UK)
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Question about English (US)
What is he trying to say in this cartoon?
I mean I don’t get what he meant by “They certainly wouldn’t have paid for me.” and “when reporters ask how I went bad.”
https://twitter.com/calvinn_hobbes/status/12281...
What is he trying to say in this cartoon?
I mean I don’t get what he meant by “They certainly wouldn’t have paid for me.” and “when reporters ask how I went bad.”
https://twitter.com/calvinn_hobbes/status/12281...
I mean I don’t get what he meant by “They certainly wouldn’t have paid for me.” and “when reporters ask how I went bad.”
https://twitter.com/calvinn_hobbes/status/12281...
Answers
14 Feb 2020
Featured answer
- English (US)
@ttmto It could in a sentence like, “I wouldn’t have paid for it, if I’d have known you could get it for free” but the “it” needs to be pre-definited as something they did buy... because you could say the same thing to someone who just told a story about how they were given free gum at the store with the option to buy it & have that money go to supporting the troops / a charity / etc. or a similar story about paying someone for something when you didn’t need to
but in this sentence, it’s more like “the only reason you’re here is because you were a gift, because there’s no way I would have spent money to obtain you [if that were possible] (because you are/were not something anyone in their right mind would buy)”
Does that make sense?
Highly-rated answerer
Read more comments
- English (US)
It’s a pun. “Gifted” can mean smart/talented & a “Gift” = a “present” which is something you are given, not something you pay for.
The second part is Calvin talking about there future where he expects to be famous and to have “gone bad” in some way (which could be anything bad, from crimes to addiction etc) [it’s supposed to reflect how children are often overdramatic about how mean they think their parents are to them, based of what they ‘should’ be doing, & the effects that will have on them (the kids)]
Highly-rated answerer
- English (US)
gifted child means 天才子 plays violin piano. but his mom is saying that someone gifted him to them or gave him to them. maby his a really bad kid (がき) so his not a child anyone whould want (or buy, pay money for)
- Japanese
hmm....I'm a bit confused.
So if he were a gifted child, it would mean someone gifted him to their parents, so their parents wouldn't have paid for him (in reality they did buy him)? But I think this makes no sense as to why he's upset
Did I miss something?
So if he were a gifted child, it would mean someone gifted him to their parents, so their parents wouldn't have paid for him (in reality they did buy him)? But I think this makes no sense as to why he's upset
Did I miss something?
- English (US)
@ttmto Ok, so we only use “gifted child” to mean smart/talented. So he asked his mom if he was a gifted child (basically asking is he if he is special or better than normal) &, instead of answering seriously, his mom joked that he was a gift / he was given to them [this is not true, he is there biologically son, so it’s only a joke], insinuating that he’s not something they would have intentionally chosen to purchase
Highly-rated answerer
- Japanese
Thanks. I think I'm starting to understand, but I'm still confused as to "wouldn't have". I thought it suggested that they did pay for him in reality since it is a conditional.
For example, "I wouldn't have had that accident if I would have left ten minutes earlier." Here, they actually had an accident since they didn't leave ten minutes earlier, right? Or is this usage of "wouldn't have" different from that?
For example, "I wouldn't have had that accident if I would have left ten minutes earlier." Here, they actually had an accident since they didn't leave ten minutes earlier, right? Or is this usage of "wouldn't have" different from that?
- English (US)
@ttmto It could in a sentence like, “I wouldn’t have paid for it, if I’d have known you could get it for free” but the “it” needs to be pre-definited as something they did buy... because you could say the same thing to someone who just told a story about how they were given free gum at the store with the option to buy it & have that money go to supporting the troops / a charity / etc. or a similar story about paying someone for something when you didn’t need to
but in this sentence, it’s more like “the only reason you’re here is because you were a gift, because there’s no way I would have spent money to obtain you [if that were possible] (because you are/were not something anyone in their right mind would buy)”
Does that make sense?
Highly-rated answerer
- Japanese

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