"You might as well.."

[CarlaSofia]

Hello everyone!

Could anyone explain to me the different meanings/uses of "You might as well...(go/do...etc)"?????
Thanks in advance!
Carla

[Noego]

Here's my take on it:

"You might as well take the money"
"You should just take the money"

But replacing might as well with should doesn't exactly do the job.

You use "might as well" when you're in a situation where you're not getting what you wanted. It's an expression to encourage someone to make the best out of his situation.

For example,

Suppose you want to go outside for a run but it starts to rain. You could say something along the line of:

"I might as well study for my exam."

In other words, you try to make the most of the outcome of a situation you didn't want in the first place.

I hope this helps.

[CarlaSofia]

Thanks a lot for your help!

Isn't there any other use of it, by the way?

[Noego]

Sure,

Just you the following structure:

"[Subject]+might as well+[bare infinitive]"

Some more examples:

I might as well eat it.
I might as well go for a walk.
He might as well study all day.
We might as well cook for the whole family.

[BobK]

Originally Posted by CarlaSofia

Thanks a lot for your help!

Isn't there any other use of it, by the way?

Yes. It's often used rhetorically to compare a real-life thing with an extreme hypothetical analogy: 'Ocean racing is a mug's game [something done by fools/mugs]: you might as well stand under a cold shower tearing up €50 notes'.

b

[Francois]

Lol, I wish I had come up with that one

[BobK]

Originally Posted by Francois

Lol, I wish I had come up with that one

Well I didn't.

(I mean, it's not original; I just thought it'd make a good example.)

b

[Ouisch]

"Dear God, you're trying to fix up Daphne with men named Brick, Gunther and Sven? You might as well lather her up with baby oil and hurl her over the wall of a prison yard." - Niles Crane

[MrPedantic]

1. I might as well do X.

This can denote morose or resentful resignation: "I'll do X, because there isn't a more attractive alternative", e.g.

2. "Shall we go over and see my mother on Sunday?" "I suppose we might as well. Otherwise, she'll only want to come here; and then we'll never get rid of her."

MrP