5 ms·

Where I grew up in England it was the polite version of "well you can just shove it up your arse". Maybe the meaning has moved on because "smoke" as meaning con

Where I grew up in England it was the polite version of "well you can just shove it up your arse". Maybe the meaning has moved on because "smoke" as meaning consider has been lost, or perhaps it was a local variation. Just checked with my partner, they're from half the country away from where I'm from and they agree.

OJFord 5y ago
(From the South West) I agree it can be like that, but I also think the quoted bit is fair - to me it doesn't have to be adversarial 'ha, take that!' it can be more 'eesh, I'm on your side but ugh, what a blow'.
GordonS 5y ago
Scotland checking in! I've always understood it the same way. Checked with my partner from half this country away, and she agrees too.
mxxx 5y ago
Yep same in Australia
rorykoehler 5y ago
I’m from Ireland and always thought it meant “tough luck, deal with it”
- emmelaich 5y ago
  'deal' itself seems to have a different meaning depending on the country In the USA it seems to mean 'cope' or put up with. In Australia / UK it means do something about it.
  - stordoff 5y ago
    I'm not sure that's the regional split. I'm in the UK, and hear it being using in both senses: "You should deal with it / I'll deal with it" - do something to solve the problem "Yeah, deal with it!" - dismissively, put up with it I don't know if the latter came from the American usage, but I certainly hear it used.
    - j4yav 5y ago
      The US also has these exact same two usages.
  - mattkrause 5y ago
    It's even weirder than that. With an unspecified subject "deal with it", it does mean "put up with" or abide. However, if your boss told you that "We haven't been paid yet; deal with it!", odds are good that you're expected to be on the phone or otherwise chasing down the tardy clients.
    - thaumasiotes 5y ago
      What's weird about it? This is true of essentially all words.
      - mattkrause 5y ago
        Could you share some other examples? The only thing that came to mind is "bite/eat it" (i.e., fall), and there "it" is presumably the dirt/snow/pavement/etc that the person fell onto. The "it" in "hit it" and "cool it" seems to refer to the on-going action/attitude too, even if it's not precisely specified.
        thaumasiotes 5y ago
        What are you thinking of? Your original comment just illustrates that "deal" has multiple senses. This followup suggests you think there's something special about the "it", which I agree with in the case of "bite it", but not in the case of "deal with it". If you're curious about dummy objects, there is a short list of examples on wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dummy_pronoun#Dummy_objects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dummy_pronoun#Dummy_objects ), such as make it [achieve success].
        mattkrause 5y ago
        Deal is the only verb I can think of where an expletive object flips the meaning 180 degrees vs. a concrete one. Taking more examples from your link: - "I don't get it" == "I don't understand [something]", in the same way that "I don't get math" == "I don't understand math." - "He made it" == "He succeeded [generally]", but you can drop in several concrete goals: "He made the team/grade/partner" == "He was successful at ..." - "Deal with the problem" == "Take some action to solve the problem", but "Deal with it" == "Abide the current situation because it will not change".
  - rorykoehler 5y ago
    In Ireland and UK it also means cope depending on the context. "Can you deal with this please?" And "Tough shit! Deal with it!" for example.
  - thaumasiotes 5y ago
    > 'deal' itself seems to have a different meaning depending on the country As other comments have pointed out, there is no difference in meaning by country. Both meanings exist, and which one is being used is determined by context.
  - mmmBacon 5y ago
    In the US, it can take either meaning depending on context/inflection/delivery.
  - Garvey 5y ago
    "I told you to take care of him, not to take care of him!"
IggleSniggle 5y ago
Over in Midwest USA, it always meant, usually (but not always) adversarially, “so you can ponder THAT all night, and no matter how much you think about it, will change neither the facts nor the conclusion.” The only local color I have to add is that it was also somewhat normal to hear “put that in your peace pipe and smoke it” and also “so you can shove that in your peace pipe, and smoke it,” both being references to the custom among some Native North American nations to share a “peace pipe” as a kind of diplomatic gesture, but turned on its head. This had the effect of me always believing and perceiving it as (usually) especially sarcastic, but largely deriving from the exact meaning that it originates from, even if the cultural reasons were obfuscated.
thaumasiotes 5y ago
> Where I grew up in England it was the polite version of "well you can just shove it up your arse". Maybe the meaning has moved on That's the meaning I'm familiar with in the US. Jonathan Coulton's song Not About You [also American] makes it quite explicit that those two phrases in particular are synonymous. https://www.jonathancoulton.com/store/ https://www.jonathancoulton.com/store/

OJFord 5y ago

(From the South West) I agree it can be like that, but I also think the quoted bit is fair - to me it doesn't have to be adversarial 'ha, take that!' it can be more 'eesh, I'm on your side but ugh, what a blow'.

GordonS 5y ago

Scotland checking in! I've always understood it the same way. Checked with my partner from half this country away, and she agrees too.

mxxx 5y ago

Yep same in Australia

rorykoehler 5y ago

I’m from Ireland and always thought it meant “tough luck, deal with it”

emmelaich 5y ago
'deal' itself seems to have a different meaning depending on the country In the USA it seems to mean 'cope' or put up with. In Australia / UK it means do something about it.
- stordoff 5y ago
  I'm not sure that's the regional split. I'm in the UK, and hear it being using in both senses: "You should deal with it / I'll deal with it" - do something to solve the problem "Yeah, deal with it!" - dismissively, put up with it I don't know if the latter came from the American usage, but I certainly hear it used.
  - j4yav 5y ago
    The US also has these exact same two usages.
- mattkrause 5y ago
  It's even weirder than that. With an unspecified subject "deal with it", it does mean "put up with" or abide. However, if your boss told you that "We haven't been paid yet; deal with it!", odds are good that you're expected to be on the phone or otherwise chasing down the tardy clients.
  - thaumasiotes 5y ago
    What's weird about it? This is true of essentially all words.
    - mattkrause 5y ago
      Could you share some other examples? The only thing that came to mind is "bite/eat it" (i.e., fall), and there "it" is presumably the dirt/snow/pavement/etc that the person fell onto. The "it" in "hit it" and "cool it" seems to refer to the on-going action/attitude too, even if it's not precisely specified.
      - thaumasiotes 5y ago
        What are you thinking of? Your original comment just illustrates that "deal" has multiple senses. This followup suggests you think there's something special about the "it", which I agree with in the case of "bite it", but not in the case of "deal with it". If you're curious about dummy objects, there is a short list of examples on wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dummy_pronoun#Dummy_objects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dummy_pronoun#Dummy_objects ), such as make it [achieve success].
        mattkrause 5y ago
        Deal is the only verb I can think of where an expletive object flips the meaning 180 degrees vs. a concrete one. Taking more examples from your link: - "I don't get it" == "I don't understand [something]", in the same way that "I don't get math" == "I don't understand math." - "He made it" == "He succeeded [generally]", but you can drop in several concrete goals: "He made the team/grade/partner" == "He was successful at ..." - "Deal with the problem" == "Take some action to solve the problem", but "Deal with it" == "Abide the current situation because it will not change".
- rorykoehler 5y ago
  In Ireland and UK it also means cope depending on the context. "Can you deal with this please?" And "Tough shit! Deal with it!" for example.
- thaumasiotes 5y ago
  > 'deal' itself seems to have a different meaning depending on the country As other comments have pointed out, there is no difference in meaning by country. Both meanings exist, and which one is being used is determined by context.
- mmmBacon 5y ago
  In the US, it can take either meaning depending on context/inflection/delivery.
- Garvey 5y ago
  "I told you to take care of him, not to take care of him!"

IggleSniggle 5y ago

Over in Midwest USA, it always meant, usually (but not always) adversarially, “so you can ponder THAT all night, and no matter how much you think about it, will change neither the facts nor the conclusion.” The only local color I have to add is that it was also somewhat normal to hear “put that in your peace pipe and smoke it” and also “so you can shove that in your peace pipe, and smoke it,” both being references to the custom among some Native North American nations to share a “peace pipe” as a kind of diplomatic gesture, but turned on its head. This had the effect of me always believing and perceiving it as (usually) especially sarcastic, but largely deriving from the exact meaning that it originates from, even if the cultural reasons were obfuscated.

thaumasiotes 5y ago

> Where I grew up in England it was the polite version of "well you can just shove it up your arse". Maybe the meaning has moved on That's the meaning I'm familiar with in the US. Jonathan Coulton's song Not About You [also American] makes it quite explicit that those two phrases in particular are synonymous. https://www.jonathancoulton.com/store/ https://www.jonathancoulton.com/store/