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...

 

[Natalie27]

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!". :lol:

 

[Taka]

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!". :lol:

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

 

[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!". :lol:

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

sorry, Taka, I have no clue! :lol:

 

[Casiopea]

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!". :lol:

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,

 

[Taka]

Is this necessarily true? I guess not...

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

 

[Natalie27]

Is this necessarily true? I guess not...

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

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]

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.

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??

 

[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.

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??

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....

:lol:

 

[Taka]

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

 

[Casiopea]

Is this necessarily true? I guess not...

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

Not according to the context I provided you with, Taka. It was prefaced, :lol:

When Here we go and Here goes nothing are similar:

All the best,

 

[Tdol]

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

Maybe it's a BE thing, but I don't say 'here goes nothing'. 'Here we go' can be negative or positive in BE. It can be said before an unpleasant event, but it is also sung by football fans. ;-)

 

[Casiopea]

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

Maybe it's a BE thing, but I don't say 'here goes nothing'. 'Here we go' can be negative or positive in BE. It can be said before an unpleasant event, but it is also sung by football fans. ;-)

It can be negative or positive in North American English, too.

Ahem, it was prefaced. :roll:

 

[Taka]

It was prefaced, :lol:

When Here we go and Here goes nothing are similar:

All the best,

Ah, I see. I missed that part. Sorry.

 

[Taka]

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

Maybe it's a BE thing, but I don't say 'here goes nothing'. 'Here we go' can be negative or positive in BE. It can be said before an unpleasant event, but it is also sung by football fans. ;-)

I found it in the dialogue in Star Wars.

By the way, as a British, why do you think C3-PO speaks with a broad British accent?

 

[shane]

By the way, as a British, why do you think C3-PO speaks with a broad British accent?

I think our resident Star Wars nut, I mean fan, Red5, is the best person to ask about that.

 

[Tdol]

It was prefaced, :lol:

When Here we go and Here goes nothing are similar:

All the best,

Ah, I see. I missed that part. Sorry.

And I missed you missing that part.:lol:

 

[Tdol]

By the way, as a British, why do you think C3-PO speaks with a broad British accent?

More of an American's view of one if I remember rightly.;-)

 

[Francois]

More of an American's view of one

Would you have another examples of this construct? "More of xxx of one". I guess I know what it means but I'm not familiar with it.

FRC

 

[Natalie27]

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

It fits perfectly! In the back of my mind I might question my painting skills or I might be just a bit worried about the outcome. Either way, whether I am a good painter or not, I might want to use this phrase and it would mean :"Let's go ahead with the painting and hope for the best!" type of thing. This can go either way.