Q. Authors younger than myself have recently included the following phrase in their writing: “If you think that, you’ve got another thing coming.” I’ve tried to point out the illogic of “another thing,” but I’m met with baffled looks. An informal poll shows me that nearly everyone today believes the expression is “another thing coming.” A rock band seems to have compounded the problem by using this phrase in one of their hit songs. I’ve gotten firm resistance when suggesting that the phrase be rendered “another think coming.” At what point does a mondegreen supersede the original phrase and become the accepted norm? Is it time for me to “stet” and move on?
A. It’s not time yet. Most published books continue to use think (keep an eye on this Ngram). As long as you can google the phrase and read posts saying that think is correct, you’re on firm ground. Eventually, when online articles start using the think version as an example of pedantic nonsense, you’ll know it’s time to cave.