get in gear

Question

Dell sent me a catalog. It read, "GET IN GEAR"  on its cover.1. What does gear mean here?2. What does 'get in gear' mean?Thanks,

Davkett · Accepted Answer

Do you know how gears work? Do you drive a car or ride a 10-speed bike? A gear must be engaged for motion. One has to be in gear to move. The teeth of one gear interlock with the teeth of another gear which is fixed to still some other mechanical part that when rotated sets something else in motion. That's one possible analogy Dell likes, even though there may be very few gears in their computers...maybe the processor fan.

The other reference to 'get in gear' might mean 'to be outfitted', as in hiking gear, hockey gear, skiing gear. Getting in gear could be analagous to getting outfitted for the Information Age.

Meantolearn · Answer

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the explanations on 'gear'. Yes I do drive and I know what a gear looks like. I have to tell you it's hard to find a gear in a computer even inside the cooling fan.

I'm still quite puzzled with its meaning. Your first explanation, to be able to move, you need to get in gear (e.g. driving a car). Dell expect you to purchase their products by analagy with getting in gear when you drive, for the Information Age by analagy with moving forward when you drive. Is that so?

purchasing their products ~ getting in gear -----> ready for the Information Age ~ moving forward

____

I was told getting in gear means getting ready for something. What do you think? In fact, you might give some examples on how to use this verbial phrase.

I found one usage from Longman, but its meaning seems not the same.

get your *** in gear --American English informal used to tell someone to hurry [= move your ***]:

You'd better get your *** in gear - you're late. (Longman)

Thanks for the reply.

_______

There's one more phrase 'gear up'. Do they have similar meaning?

TeacherJoe · Answer

Hi Meantolearn,

I find this very funny because my sister often tells me to get my **** in gear! Sometimes she tells me to get my fat **** in gear! I can almost hear her sweet voice now... "Get your fat **** in gear or we'll be late! Come on, we haven't got all day!" All of the meanings you mention are related - "move", "get ready", "be in a hurry". If I'm in a hurry, I have to finish getting ready quickly, don't I? If I'm in a hurry, I have to move quickly, right? So I have to be like a race car driver and "get myself in gear".

In the original ad you mentioned, Dell wants you to hurry up and move, which to them means "move towards the telephone and order some of our wonderful 'gear'!". "Move" doesn't have to be physical movement. It could be a kind of mental "action". For example, if I just took a difficult test, I might say, "I had trouble with the first few questions, but then I got my **** in gear and I was all right". This means that I struggled with the first few questions, I was "moving" slowly. Then my super "motorized" brain got in gear, and I was all right!

One thing about idioms such as this is that you should be careful in using them. If you use them at the wrong time, you could easily be understood. If, for example, you were to say "Get your fat *** in gear!" to the wrong person, you could find yourself in the middle of a big fight! It's great to understand these kinds of expressions but you don't really need to use them. I don't think I've ever said "get in gear", in any form, in my life. Perhaps someday I'll say it, once, maybe even twice. Or maybe not. It's not really necessary.

MrPedantic · Answer

Welcome to English Forums, Teacher Joe!

I suppose it could also be a pun:

get = purchase

'in' = fashionable

gear = equipment

MrP

Meantolearn · Answer

Hi Joe,

Welcome on board.

Thanks for the details. I appreciate it.

__________

MrP, interesting. Good insights.

__________

What about my question?

Do 'gear up' and 'get in gear' have similar meaning?

Thanks,

Clive · Answer

Hi guys,

get in gear get moving, get going

gear up prepare, get ready, often in the sense of 'get your equipment ready'.(He's 'geared up' is or used to be slang for 'he has a weapon')

Best wishes, Clive

Davkett · Answer

Clive
(He's 'geared up' is or used to be slang for 'he has a weapon')

He's packing heat.

get in gear

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