here goes nothing

[Taka]

Why does "Here goes nothing" have almost the same meaning as "Here we go"? I mean, it's "nothing"...you know...

Originally Posted by Taka

Why does "Here goes nothing" have almost the same meaning as "Here we go"? I mean, it's "nothing"...you know...

yes, it is the same thing and it's an exclamatory phrase used on starting to do something.

say you have a pile of paint cans set up for painting your house and you are all ready for the big job. You'd say: "Here goes nothing!"..."it's now or never", let's give it a shot, let's go for it or "here we go!".

[Taka]

Originally Posted by Natalie27

say you have a pile of paint cans set up for painting your house and you are all ready for the big job. You'd say: "Here goes nothing!"..."it's now or never", let's give it a shot, let's go for it or "here we go!".

I know, Natalie. But my question is, why is it "Here goes nothing"?

Originally Posted by Taka

I know, Natalie. But my question is, why is it "Here goes nothing"?

sorry, Taka, I have no clue!

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Taka

I know, Natalie. But my question is, why is it "Here goes nothing"?

When Here we go and Here goes nothing are similar:

Here goes nothing means, a positive result is not expected. :wink:

Pat: I'm going to call Linda and ask her for date.
Sam: She is going to turn you down! She turns everybody down.
Pat: Oh, well. Here's goes nothing, then. (Pat dials Linda's phone number)

Here we go means, a negative result is expected to happen.

Pat: (On the phone) Hello, Linda?
Linda: Yes?
Pat: This is Pat, from school.
Sam: (Whispers) Oh, no. Here we go.
Pat: If you're free this week or next, would you like to go out with me?
Linda: That's nice of you to ask, but I'm really too busy to go out.
(Pat's face turns sour)
Pat: OK, I understand. You're busy. Maybe next time. Good-bye.

All the best, :D

[Taka]

Is this necessarily true? I guess not...

Originally Posted by Casiopea

Here we go means, a negative result is expected to happen.

Originally Posted by Taka

Is this necessarily true? I guess not...

I thought, Taka, you were looking for the etymology of this phrase and if that's the case, I couldn't find an answer for you.

Now, to ME, the difference between "Here we go" and "here goes nothing" lies in the fact that we don't know WHICH way it's going to go.

Going back to my "painting" example, if we look closer at the phrase, it means: here I go, I am ready to paint but deep inside I really don't know how it will look. I am almost questioning the result. It can go either way: the house will look great or I can screw it all up royally and my paint job will be a real disaster.

so the difference between those two lies in the predictability - it can go either way.

are we getting closer on that one, Taka, or are you looking for the etymology of that particular phrase?

[Taka]

Originally Posted by Natalie27

I thought, Taka, you were looking for the etymology of this phrase and if that's the case, I couldn't find an answer for you.

That's right, Natalie. It is the etymology that I'm looking for.

My question about the meaning is something additional.

Originally Posted by Natalie27

I am ready to paint but deep inside I really don't know how it will look. I am almost questioning the result.

For that case, doesn't "Here goes nothing" fit better??

Originally Posted by Taka

That's right, Natalie. It is the etymology that I'm looking for.

My question about the meaning is something additional.

For that case, doesn't "Here goes nothing" fit better??

Well, I will poke around some more but so far I have had no luck finding anything. There are some online etymological dictionaries but I am really questioning their usefulness. I have gone through a few of them and nothing significant showed up. I will keep looking....

[Taka]

What about the fitness of "Here goes nothing" for your example?