those shoes have my name written all over them

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hereinchina
Posts: 119
Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 1:47 pm

those shoes have my name written all over them

Post by hereinchina » Sat Oct 09, 2010 2:00 pm

Hello,
I'm not sure if I understand the meaning of the expression " (something) has my name written all over it " correctly. I think that if "(something) has your name written all over it" you want it very much, you really want to have it, you strongly desire it. For example ,"Those shoes have my name written all over them" ( I really wanted to buy them, ).

fluffyhamster
Posts: 3031
Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2004 6:57 pm
Location: UK > China > Japan > UK again

Post by fluffyhamster » Sat Oct 09, 2010 10:33 pm

It doesn't seem to be in any of the dictionaries I've consulted, but I guess it's a bit like a fusion of the following two idioms (but note that I've bracketed the 'else' in the second's definition, because the speaker is potentially talking about their own rather than another's tastes and wants):

"something has somebody's name on it" mean that that something seems to be appropriate for, or deserved by, or should be or have been intended for or reserved for a particular person

"have _____ written all over it" means that something clearly shows or has clear signs of the influence or characteristics of sb or sthg (else)

I based the above on entries in the paper Oxford Idioms Dictionary (for Learners of English), and the online LDOCE (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English).

hereinchina
Posts: 119
Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 1:47 pm

thanks for the answer

Post by hereinchina » Sun Oct 10, 2010 3:24 pm

Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
Best wishes

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