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what was someone thinking

idiom
Meaning

Used to express disappointment about someone's uncharacteristic or abnormal past actions.


Examples
SIMPLE

What was he thinking when he bought that ugly car?

CONTEXTUAL

When I saw the terrible mess they made of the kitchen, I really wondered what they were thinking.

COMPLEX

Looking back at the disastrous investment that cost them their savings, the partners often asked themselves what they were thinking at the time.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    ain't what it used to was

    Is not what it used to be; (expressing nostalgia).

  2. 02

    as if someone owns the place

    Alternative form of like someone owns the place.

  3. 03

    beat someone round the ears

    To beat (a person) with blows about the head.

  4. 04

    bless someone with

    To give or bestow, as a gift from God.

  5. 05

    blue-sky thinking

    A form of thinking that is not grounded or in touch with the realities of the present, and can thus benefit from creative imagination.

  6. 06

    bring someone to their knees

    To defeat and make submit to orders.

  7. 07

    call someone every name in the book

    To call someone many abusive names.

  8. 08

    call someone everything but a child of God

    To call someone many abusive names.

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