[Ads-l] to (have) got this

[Ben Zimmer]

Urban Dictionary entry for "I got this" from 2006:

----
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=I%20got%20this
I got this
An expression that's short for:
1. I got this covered.
2. I got this handled.
3. I got this under control.
WORKER: I can't talk to that guy. He feels I'm all game.
TEAM LEADER: Don't worry. I got this.
----

The only dictionary I see that treats the expression explicitly is the
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, but only with "you" as the subject:

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https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/you-you-ve-got-this
_you/you've got this_
mainly US informal
used to tell someone that you believe they can or will succeed in dealing
with something:
"I know you can lose that weight! You got this!"
----

--bgz


On Wed, Jan 24, 2018 at 7:38 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I began noticing this about ten years ago. FWIW.
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 10:47 PM, Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > A quick glance at Wiktionary, the English Oxford Living Languages and the
> > HDAS doesn’t yield this expression. It means “will handle this
> > challenge/problem right now."
> >
> > With the third person plural and the ass pronouns, I think the ’s of
> > “have” is obligatory, though I’m probably wrong:
> >
> > s/he’s got this
> > my ass/your ass, etc. ’s got this
> >
> > With the other persons, I think “have” is skipped:
> > I/you/we/you guys/they got this
> >
> > The OLL does have, under “get”:
> > Succeed in attaining, achieving, or experiencing; obtain.
> >
> > ‘I need all the sleep I can get’
> > ‘he got a teaching job in California’
> >
> > Both Wiktionary and OLL (the latter cited here) have:
> > Respond to a ring of (a telephone or doorbell)
> >
>

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