2021-04-20 ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด – A – all set

Revision A

2021-04-20

ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด – A – all set

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Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Usage Notes

'All Set': A Phrase Beyond "Ready"

A simple phrasewith a number of possible meanings

What to Know

While all set commonly means "ready,"

it has developed a set of idiomatic uses

that could confuse non-native speakers.

For example,

"are you all set?" is often used to mean "are you finished?"

"The bill is all set" means that the bill has been taken care of.

And perhaps at a store you might hear

"do you need help or are you all set?"

implying that"all set" means one needs no help.

The common meaningof the phrase all set is "completely ready"

or "wholly prepared,"

or—to put it another way

—"in the proper state for somepurpose, use, or activity."

Some familiar examplesare

"Dinner is all set,"

"Your hotel room is all set,"

"Are you all set for school?,"

"Are we all set to leave?"

(The all, by the way, can be dropped without loss of meaning,

only with loss of the stress of completeness,

since adjectival set issynonymous with ready and prepared.)

'All Set' as an Idiom

Besides denoting being ready or prepared,

all set has developed idiomatic senses.

They can be considered idiomatic

because they are not derived from any combination

of the ordinary meaningsof all and set;

their development is peculiar,

as well as is their acceptance into the English language,

considering the lack of semantic connection between the words.

The accepted meanings include:

entirely finished, completed, or done

not wanting or needing assistance or anything more

thoroughly dealt with

When all set is used in one of these senses,

the phrase is often readily understood

—and by a wide range of English speakers from all areas of the country.

However, like many idioms before it,

the phrase's meanings are not equal to the sum of its parts.

As those encountering it for the first time might be (justifiably) confused,

we will here provide an introduction

to the idiomatic usesof all set

in hope that you will be all set upon your next encounter.

All Set: = Finished

There are countless instances

in which all set is used with the meaning

of "entirely finished, completed, or done."

A brokenheartedfriend might resolve that

they are "all set with relationships,"

or the person standing next to you at the bus stop

on another below-zero day might chatter that

they are "all set with winter."

A particularly common occasion

is at a restaurant, pub, coffee shop, or

wherever you might be served food and drink.

WAITER: Are you all set?

DINER: Yes, I'm all set.

To those familiar withthis curt question-response,

there are two ways to interpret it.

The waitercould be asking the diner

whether they are finished with their meal (impatient to clear the table);

the dinerthen confirms that they are finished

(and are most likely either ready for dessert or the bill).

This same exchange might also occur

shortly after being seated at a table

in which case the waiter

is inquiring whether the dineris ready to order,

which they just so happen to be.

Without additional information

—as that provided by a modifying prepositional phrase,

as in "Are you all set with your meal?,"

or by context

—it is impossible to interpret

what exactly is meant in this two-line exchange.

But we digress.

The point is all set can be used

to say that you are finished, completed, or done

with something or that you are ready to do something.

All Set: = I Don't Need Assistance

Considering another scenario,

a store employee might notice a shopper looking around

as if in search of something specific and ask "Are you all set?"

This all set means "not wanting or needing assistance or anythingmore."

Basically,the employee is asking the shopper

if they need assistance in finding something.

The shopper might respond with "I'm good/fine/OK"

or with an equivalent"I'm all set"—that is, if they don't need assistance.

Another exampleof this use is

when a birthday party guest declines a fourth piece of cake with "all set," which indicates that he doesn't want more.

All Set: = Taken Care Of

Lastly,

all set can communicate that something has been

"thoroughly dealt with."

The computer tech who debugged your computer

might apply the phrase in this sense to inform you that

the bugs have been terminated,

or the car mechanic might say,

while handing you your keys, "All set—andready to go. Here's the bill."

Context usually helps determine the meaning of

these idiomaticuses of all set

that don't jibe with those of the word set.

But sometimes decipheringhow the phrase is being used can be tricky.

FRIEND: Are you ready to watch another episode?

YOU: I'm all set.

Are you ready to watch or not?

The response is ambiguous.

However, if an affirmative "yes" or negative "no"

were included in your response,

your friend would have a better understanding of what your answer is.

"Yes, I'm all set"means "Yes, I'm ready";

no in "No, I'm all set"

emphasizesthatyou are done watching the series for now.

In sum, there is the standard meaning

of all set referring to being ready or prepared,

and then there are idiomatic uses to be set for. (Hopefully, you are now.)

For thosewho frequently use all set idiomatically,

please consider adding a "yes" or "no"

or a prepositional phrase to your "I'm all set" statement

to better communicate your questionor response.

We think we are now all set (with all set), and we hope you are set.