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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary

"but so help someone if ..."

Hi,

"The ponies have eaten trees, stomped flower beds, and pooped wherever the heck strikes their fancy. I don't mind any of it, really, but so help them if they mess with my vegetable garden."

What does this "so help them" mean?

I sounds like saying "they need to be careful" or "I don't know what I'd do to them," but those interpretations don't seem to match the term "help." Is this a kind of idiom?

Thanks,
Rino
  

Top answer

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— Philip

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5 Answers
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so help them = *** (or anyone) help them from my fury (They'll need help!)
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Thank you, Philip!

Now I understand.

By the way, is this related to the phrase "so help me (***)," which people use to say "I swear," in any way?

Rino
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It's likely that it's related, yes. But the usage is completely different. [ By the way, it's used to say. Don't feel bad: many, many native speakers misspell it. ]
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Thank you, Philip, for your reply and the correction.
PhilipBy the way, it's used to say.
So, "which people use to say 'I swear'" should have been "which is used to say 'I swear.'"
Is it unnatural/strange to say "people use the phrase to say 'I swear'"?

Regards,
Rino
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Some confusion here. I used to play golf on Saturdays is one thing. It is completely different from A club is used to play golf. The first sentence is habitual action represented with used to; the second sentences tells what is used in order to lay golf.
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