As good as it gets

[Bushwhacker]

I know, I know, it's a movie title. But what does it mean, exactly? I see that in English expressions like that are not saying what they are saying, because the sentence seems to make a comparison but it seems a superlative, doesn't it? Does it mean Better, impossible. The most...?

Thanks

 

[riverkid]

I know, I know, it's a movie title. But what does it mean, exactly? I see that in English expressions like that are not saying what they are saying, because the sentence seems to make a comparison but it seems a superlative, doesn't it? Does it mean Better, impossible. The most...?

Thanks

Literally, it means what it says. What is now is as good as what will be in the future.

Wife: When you married me you said that we'd have a big house, new cars, and we'd travel a lot.

Husband: That was before I lost all my money. I'm afraid that what we have now, this old car, this okay house, and the trip to the local park is as good as it gets.

The husband doesn't see things getting better for them financially.

 

[mykwyner]

Sometimes, the expression is literal. If my wife and I are alone in a mountain cabin, with no interruptions or aggravations, stuffed full of good food and drink; I might turn to her and say, "This is as good as it gets." The meaning is that life really doesn't get any better than this.

 

[riverkid]

Sometimes, the expression is literal. If my wife and I are alone in a mountain cabin, with no interruptions or aggravations, stuffed full of good food and drink; I might turn to her and say, "This is as good as it gets." The meaning is that life really doesn't get any better than this.

Oh so true, Mike, on both counts.

Not that I've been with your wife, alone, in a mountain cabin, just the idea ...