my heart had half a mind to jump out of my chest

[natalia.kyrch]

In a book, is it legitimate to say 'my heart had half a mind to jump out of my chest' (i.e., I was extremely anxious)?

 

[Ostap]

No. Your heart was ready/about to jump out. Or it almost/nearly/all but jumped out. But it doesn't have a mind. I did a Google search for your phrase using "had" and "has", and there was only one return: Half of my heart has half a mind to tell you that. Half of my heart just won't do. But here, the "heart" refers to the person's feelings.

I AM NOT TEACHER NOR A NATIVE SPEAKER.

 

[probus]

@Ostap The forum rules state that anyone may answer a question provided they state that they are neither a teacher nor a native speaker. I have edited your post to add the required disclaimer. Don't fail to make it in future.

 

[probus]

Yes, Natalia, it's perfectly legitimate to say that. "To have half a mind to ...' is a common idiom. It indicates that the speaker is strongly inclined or tempted to do something, although the inclination may not actually be carried out.

 

[Ostap]

@Ostap The forum rules state that anyone may answer a question provided they state that they are neither a teacher nor a native speaker. I have edited your post to add the required disclaimer. Don't fail to make it in future.

But I have it in my signature. I was advised earlier by a moderator to use this statement in a signature (like other non-native speakers do here), to avoid stating it every time in posts.

There's already two reminders in every my post that I'm not a native speaker and teacher:

Wouldn't the third one above be redundant?

Yes, Natalia, it's perfectly legitimate to say that. "To have half a mind to ...' is a common idiom. It indicates that the speaker is strongly inclined or tempted to do something, although the inclination may not actually be carried out.

Yes, but in the OP it's a body part -- the heart.

 

[probus]

Sorry @Ostap. I can't see signatures on my phone. I'm not sure whether @Red5 is still trying to fix that or whether it's just something we have to live with.

Nevertheless, I stand by what I said. It's an idiom and the fact that the heart is a body part is irrelevant. The passage quoted in the OP is perfectly correct and natural.

 

[Ostap]

Sorry @Ostap. I can't see signatures on my phone. I'm not sure whether @Red5 is still trying to fix that or whether it's just something we have to live with.

Nevertheless, I stand by what I said. It's an idiom and the fact that the heart is a body part is irrelevant. The passage quoted in the OP is perfectly correct and natural.

I just checked -- in my case the signatures are visible both via PC and phone if I'm logged in, and not if I'm logged out.

 

[Red5]

I checked and there have been cases where signatures were not visible to mobiles. I've found a fix which I hope will resolve this now, and everyone should be able to see them. @probus Can you confirm if you can see them now please?

Sorry for the inconvenience @Ostap

in my case the signatures are visible both via PC and phone if I'm logged in, and not if I'm logged out.

Edited to add: It's policy that sigs are only visible to logged in users, so I'm not sure how the above quote is possible

 

[probus]

Thank you @Red5. I can now see @Ostap's signature at the foot of his posts.

 

[Ostap]

Edited to add: It's policy that sigs are only visible to logged in users, so I'm not sure how the above quote is possible

My quote states the same, namely that the signatures are visible when I'm logged in and not visible when I'm logged out. Perhaps I didn't formulate it clear.

 

[Red5]

Sorry that's my fault. I seem to have mis-read the quoted text. Apologies.