He says what he means and means what he says

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

Please explain “says what he means and means what he says” for me. I don’t understand it well.

Thank you.

Justin

2

Hi Justin_Huang,
I understand it that a gentleman (who is expected to posess the quality) should speak directly and be sincere in his speaking (Meaning= sincerity. Saying= directness.)

3

Hi Eugene,

Thank you for your help!

Justin

4

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Mr. Huang:

You may find this quotation of some use:

There are occasions when an honest “no” is better than an insincere “yes.”

– Kathryn Renner

Some people SAY “yes” when they MEAN “no.” Such people do NOT mean what they say.

James

5

Mostly, cunning politicians would say that way, James.

6

Oh, my, Anglophile! There’s that word “mostly” again! Someone who teaches English on the Web admitted that she is not really sure what “mostly” modifies in “My friends are mostly non-smokers.”

By the by, Anglophile, knowing how much you are interested in perfect English, would I be nitpicking if I were to respectfully suggest that an “it” should follow “say”? (I guess that you could also say “say that that way,” but those two "that"s might sound infelicitous.)

James

7

It’s not nitpicking at all. I do admit that the word ‘it’ is necessary, and it’s preferable to ‘that’. Thanks, James. By the way, ‘by the by’ is very rarely heard these days. Is that phrase still common now? We were even taught not to use ‘by the by’ when we wanted a digression. I’d like to know the present position and its acceptability.

8

Hello, Anglophile:

Being 76 years old, I am in no position to tell you its present acceptability.

I am guessing that it is a bit too precious for people today.

James

9

Hello James,

Thank you for your explanation. But I don’t understand why you suggested that “it” should follow “say” in Anglophile’s sentence.
Can’t we regard “say” as an intransitive verb?

  • Mostly, cunning politicians would say (in) that way.

Justin

10

The original is not correct, as James pointed out and Anglophile agrees.

These are possible:

  • Mostly, cunning politicians would say it that way.
  • Mostly, cunning politicians would say it in that way.

However, I would suggest that even when it is corrected, it’s not the best means of following the original statement.

I would suggest:

  • Some people SAY “yes” when they MEAN “no.” Such people do NOT mean what they say.
  • It is often cunning politicians who would answer questions in that way. / It is often cunning politicians who would answer questions like that.
11

Thanks, James.