What do you mean?

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Today, I'd like to talk about three ways in which the word "mean" can be used. The first way is to talk about the meaning of a particular word. For example, if you are reading a book and you find an English word that your don't understand, you might point to the word and ask, "What does this word mean?" I strongly recommend that you ask questions like this about words that you don't understand. It's a great way to learn.

The other two ways both come up in The Wizard of OZ several times. Here's a conversation between Miss Gulch and Uncle Henry that is an example of the second way in which the word "mean" can be used:

Gulch: I want to see you and your wife right away about Dorothy.
Henry: Dorothy? Well, what has Dorothy done?
Gulch: What's she done? I'm all but lame from the bite on my leg!
Henry: You mean she bit you?
Gulch: No, her dog!
Henry: Oh, she bit her dog, eh?
Gulch: No!

It is clear from what Miss Gulch said that she has been bitten on her leg but she did not say who or what has bitten her. Since Miss Gulch began by saying that she came to talk about Dorothy, Uncle Henry asks if Miss Gulch is trying to say that Dorothy bit her. It's difficult to hear all of the words but he is saying "You mean she bit you?"

This is the second way in which the word "mean" can be used -- to talk about what someone is trying to say or talk about.

Here's a another example from the movie of this way of using the word "mean." Dorothy is talking with Professor Marvel:

Dorothy: Oh, please, Professor, why can't we go with you and see all the Crowned Heads of Europe?
Professor: Do you know any? Oh, you mean the thing . . . Yes, well, I -- I never do anything without consulting my crystal first.

Dorothy asks about going to see the "Crowned Heads of Europe" (that is, kings and queens in Europe) because she saw the sign on Professor Marvel's wagon. For a moment, Professor Marvel does not know what Dorothy is talking about but then he remembers his sign and says "Oh, you mean the thing" written on my wagon. So, in this case "Oh, you mean the thing" means "Oh, you are talking about the sign."

Finally, here's an example of the third way in which the word "mean" can be used:

Please, Aunt Em, Toto didn't mean to. He didn't know he was doing anything wrong.

Dorothy is telling Aunt Em that Toto didn't intend to doing anything wrong to Miss Gulch. Here's another example:

Witch: Who killed my sister? Who killed the Witch of the East? Was it you?
Dorothy: No, no. It was an accident! I didn't mean to kill anybody!

Dorothy uses the word "mean" in the same way after she kills the Wicked Witch of the West:

Guard: She's dead. You've killed her.
Dorothy: I didn't mean to kill her, really I didn't. It's just that he was on fire!

Here, too, Dorothy is saying that she didn't intend to kill anyone.

To review, the first way in which the word "mean" can be used is to talk about the meaning of a particular word, as in the sentence, "What does this word mean?" The second way is to talk about about what someone is trying to say or talk about, as in the sentence, "Do you mean that Dorothy bit you?" Finally, the third way is to use the word "mean" to talk about what someone did or did not intend to do, as in, "I didn't mean to do it. It was an accident."