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From: Enrico C <enrico.c@spamcop.net>
Newsgroups: alt.languages.english
Subject: Does exactly what it says on the tin [An Idiom A Day #1] (was: On the tin [An Idiom A Day #1])
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 22:17:17 +0100
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Enrico C | alt.languages.english
in <news:tiys1hzvwyvz$.dlg@news.lillathedog.net>
> Well, I couldn't figure out it exactly where that idiom come from. I
Eventually I found it
"Does exactly what it says on the tin." literally means "It does
exactly what is written on the can" :)
That is to say: "It performs as it should, just as promised!".
"Does exactly what it says on the tin." was a slogan in an
advertisement, and it seems to be used and understood mainly in the
UK.
david56, who uses the sentence as tagline, explained its origin on
alt.usage.english
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=MPG.19e8a06454d6fd8989b55%40news.cis.dfn.de&oe=utf-8&output=gplain
Message-ID: <MPG.19e8a06454d6fd8989b55@news.cis.dfn.de>
| t's the slogan of a range of varnishes and other wood finishes. The
| adverts have done away with all but simple facts; they show a man
| (it's always a man) painting a door or fence with the stuff. He
| speaks: "Ronseal quick drying wood stain. Does exactly what it says
| on the tin", and he thrusts the tin towards the camera so that the
| viewer can read the words on the tin: "Ronseal quick drying wood
| seal".
|
| http://www.ronseal.co.uk/index.asp
|
| It is a fantastically clever tag, and has moved into the common
| language to mean that something does what it claims to do. There's
| an implication of straightforwardness. A bit like "WYSIWYG".
|
| I admit I wondered how long it would take for a non-UK person to
| query it.
Then, the idiom is discussed in depth on
http://www1.oup.co.uk/elt/oald/buzz_words/tin.htm
| does (exactly) what it says on the tin (saying)
| used to say that something is as good or effective as it claims to be,
| or that it really does what it claims to do.
| This expression is especially used when you are comparing publicity and
| advertisements with actual products:
| This car is great. It does exactly what it says on the tin, it looks good and
| performs well. It’s comfortable, relatively quiet and does everything we wanted it for.
| I paid £150 for this camera and am more than happy with it.
| It does exactly what it says on the tin!
| This website does what it says on the tin!
| A great site for anyone interested in this period of history.
| The film is entertaining, so it does what it says on the tin, but personally
| I would much prefer to watch something with a bit more depth.
| One of the best action movies of last year, Swordfish, has arrived on DVD,
| and it claims to be bristling with extras. Entertainment Editor Paul Trueman takes
| a look to see if it does what it says on the tin.
|
|
|
| The expression ‘does exactly what it says on the tin’ comes from a British television
| advertisement for woodcare products made by a company called Ronseal Ltd.
| (which is owned by the Sherwin-Williams Company), and they have registered
| it as a trademark for this type of product.
| However, as you can see from the examples it is now used for almost any product.
| As is often the case, this expression is not fixed, and different words can be
| substituted for tin. Here are some common examples:
| This album has to be high on my list of recommendations for lovers of Irish music.
| As the man said, it does exactly what it says on the box.
| Emergency Undelete can recover files on Windows NT systems.
| Basically it does what it says on the can, so it’s definitely something you can
| install and hope you never need.
| What can I say about this bike? It does what it says on the packet really—it goes,
| brakes, changes gear and has excellent steering.
--
Enrico C ~ No native speaker
|
|