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Venom Snake Posted 6 years ago
Grammar

Have a gum "for" a brain

Hi. Someone says "He has a gum for a brain, how the hell can you trust him?" , I can guess what it means, it's just that I'm not familiar with this sort of use of "for" , or I've heard someone say "He has a ball for a head!" . It seems that "for" is kind of similar to "instead" in these sort of contexts right? Share what you know please.

  

Top answer

I tried every dictionary I have access to, including the full OED , and I can't say any of them had this exact meaning for "for". " Nevertheless, it is perfectly ordinary. " It means "instead of" or "in place of".

— Anonymous

  • I tried every dictionary I have access to, including the full OED , and I can't say any of them had this exact meaning for "for".
  • " Nevertheless, it is perfectly ordinary.
  • " It means "instead of" or "in place of".
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3 Answers
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I tried every dictionary I have access to, including the full OED, and I can't say any of them had this exact meaning for "for". They say "in place of", but then they give an example that is more like "on behalf of", like "He washed the dishes for his mother." Nevertheless, it is perfectly ordinary. "The pirate had a hook for a hand." It means "instead of" or "in place of".

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Venom Snake "He has a ball for a head!"

For more clarification, I have to say that this bit is from Rick And Morty.

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Venom Snakeuse of "for" ... similar to "instead"

Yes, or "that serves as", "that replaces".

When your protagonist has a chainsaw for an arm, you know you're in for a treat.
In law it is often said that a person who represents himself has a fool for a client.
A town in California has a dog for a mayor and y

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