GETTING GET
The Glossary of a Wild Verb
by
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GET SOMETHING (intangible)
[experience]
Though this phrase looks quite plain, its definition is obviously very broad. Right now we are dealing only with an intangible SOMETHING, that is, not a material item. In fact, depending on the specific type of intangible SOMETHING, the phrase embraces a perfect swarm of meanings, all having to do with one or another kind of experience.
Perhaps the very purest example of this is when the SOMETHING is a weather condition: get rain, snow, hail, etc. [experience, have]. Of course you can ‘have’ rain (as a condition) only after you ‘get’ it (after the condition starts).
A great example is when the SOMETHING is a mental process or condition: get an idea, thought, inspiration, feeling, premonition, hunch, etc. [experience mentally, conceive mentally] But the usual verb that really means to [come up with] an idea, etc., is [get]—which means that here ‘get’ is its own best definition!
It’s important to understand that, like with rain, only after you ‘get’ an idea can you ‘have’ an idea. Then later maybe you’ll forget [cease to remember] it. Here we’ve spotted the wild verb hiding inside a whole new word, and the logic of the connection between ‘get’ and ‘forget’ seems evident.
Most frequent in this phrase are SOMETHINGs that deal with a physical condition, usually not very positive: get a headache, cold, broken arm, disease, cramp, etc. [experience physically: contract, come down with, catch, suffer]. (Don’t confuse She got a headache. with the possessive Phrase 1, as in: She’s got a headache.) Of course, such physical conditions are almost infinite in number.
One can also experience some positive things physically, as in: get a boost, buzz, charge, lift, jolt, rush, etc. [be energized]. And our wild verb also can work with emotional conditions: get a feeling, fright, kick, scare, shock, surprise, thrill, etc. [experience emotionally].
Curiously, using that plain old pronoun ‘it’ makes the meaning painfully clear, as in: You're really going to get it now! [be punished, reprimanded]. And ironically, you can also get it good [be punished or reprimanded severely].
Meanwhile, there’s a whole bunch of SOMETHINGs used in frequent expressions, (including occasional tangible items, metaphorically). A haphazard list shows a wide range of experiential meanings:
get the axe, boot, door, old heave-ho
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About the Book
Get ready for an adventure in the deep, dark jungle of language!
In that jungle lurk some mighty strange creatures. Gerunds and adverbs and nouns, oh, my! But few, if any, are as remarkable as the wild verb ‘get.’ In spoken American English, this tiny, three-letter word is the magic key to another enormous language. ‘Get’ is a colloquial code to express an awesome range of actions, attitudes, emotions, intentions, and implications.
Now come along on a most unusual safari into the jungle of how Americans actually talk. You’ll hear the way we talk in casual situations, not that formal stuff for public speaking, business, or writing. You’ll marvel at the agility and expressiveness of ‘get’ and soon start noticing how everybody uses it all the time. And believe you me, it really does take a whole book to define this little bitty word.
Be sure and wear sensible shoes and bring something to eat and drink because it’s going to be quite a hike! Always keep a sharp eye out for treacherous ambiguities and that beastly old context! Do try to keep up with the group and stay on the trail—It’s real easy to get lost!
About the Author
Today Richard Balthazar is widely known around