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What does have at it mean?
What does the verb 'to have' mean?
Is 'have at it' slang?
What does at mean in English?
To engage something in a vigorous, enthusiastic, or aggressive way: Here's the work you need to do, so have at it! The dog really had at the bones that were left in the garbage. The teacher took me aside and had at me for my bad behavior.
In modern usage, to have at is to attempt, to go ahead, or to attack physically. I suspect it comes from a shortening of the phrase have a go (at) , which is used in the very same situations. Have at it means try (to do) it , have at thee! announces an attack in Shakespearian English, and he had at her with a knife means he attacked her with it.
- In modern usage, to have at is to attempt , to go ahead , or to attack physically . I suspect it comes from a shortening of the phrase have a...
- Straitdope's forum suggests The phrase "have at avail" means to have at an advantage and the earliest citation is to Malory (Le Morte D'Arthur) in...
- The OED dates "have at" to the 14th century: V 27 b. intransitive. With at. To go at, esp. aggressively or forcefully; to tackle or attack; (also...
have at it. from inspiring English sources. "have at it" is a correct and usable phrase in written English. It typically means to go ahead and try something, or to do something enthusiastically. For example: "I have a project that needs to be finished by tomorrow. Have at it!". Readers, have at it!
Jan 31, 2007 · I bumped into the phrase ‘have at it’ yesterday for the first time as the following two idiom teaching conversations in a book showed up: A. I’m really hungry. Here’s a sandwich for you. Have at it. B. I wish I had a computer like this. No one’s using this one now, so have at it.
1. To strike or attack someone or something. The two boys had at each other until the teacher arrived to break up the fight. 2. To attempt or try to do something. Now that finals are over, I need to have at cleaning up my room. 3. To do something with energy and enthusiasm. It didn't take long for the kids to have at the cupcakes I'd set out.
Oct 5, 2011 · I believe that your analysis is mistaken: to have in this expression is intransitive. Of course the verb have is normally transitive, which is why you assume that it must be transitive here. But I would argue that the to have at is a phrasal verb, whose object is syntactically the object of the preposition at .
Oct 5, 2020 · "Have at it" does mean "go ahead with it" in this sentence. It does not mean opposition. The usage is similar to idioms like "be my guest". For each, the tone matters: in some cases, it might indicate true welcoming. In others, it is said with a bit of sarcasm. I infer the sarcastic meaning here.
