get something sorted

[GandalfMB]

Hello,
A friend of mine and I were having a conversation and I told her that I had to go to the dentist next week, but I did not want to. I had to have a tooth capped. She said to me "Just go and get it sorted." It makes perfect sense to me but since I am quite uncertain and at times insecure I am going to ask you a very simple question. Can one say "Go and get/have it done. It doesn't hurt at all." Would it be wrong to use "do" rather than "sort"?


Thank you and excuse my dimness

 

[Franco-filly]

No, it's not wrong: "get it done" is fine. Get it done means have the treatment, get it sorted means have the problem resolved (by having the treatment )

 

[Enquiring Mind]

Yes, Franco-filly has got your question sorted.

 

[GandalfMB]

Thank you, but does that mean that if I said "get it done" people would arch their eyebrows? According to what I read "get it done" doesn't add the element of completion. If I said "go and get it done" would that mean that the other person would undergo the treatment, but he would not have his tooth capped? On the other hand, have it resolved by having the treatment .

Thank you

 

[Enquiring Mind]

"Get it done" (or "have it done") definitely does convey the wish to see the action completed.

 

[George French]

Get it done! Definitely an order. And get it done properly. And NOW!
Get it done. An order or a suggestion.

GF..

Do it, and soon!

Now I'm just recording my usages....

 

[PaulQ]

To have/get something done, is simply a proper use of the causative voice, at which nobody will "arch their eyebrows," whereas to sort [something] out, in the sense you give, is relatively recent: OED

11 f. To separate out and resolve the complexities of (a problem); to clear up (a confusion or difficulty); to put to rights, deal with. Also, with a person as object: to solve the problems of (someone), ‘put (him) straight’. Also refl.
1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway v. 128 Will you see if you can get that one sorted out?

I see no real semantic difference between these two:

"Six months ago, I had a problem with my computer, I had it done but now the problem's back again."
and
"Six months ago, I had a problem with my computer, I had it sorted out but now the problem's back again."

 

[GandalfMB]

Thank you, but in those two sentences "sort out" sounds better. I think that "sort" and "sort out" are different, aren't they?

 

[pob14]

I believe that "sorted out" is primarily AE and "sorted" is primarily BE, but wait for others' confirmation.

 

[GandalfMB]

By the way pob, which one of my suggestions sounds more natural to you? I would like to see what an AE speaker thinks.

Thank you

 

[pob14]

By the way pob, which one of my suggestions sounds more natural to you? I would like to see what an AE speaker thinks.

Thank you

Which suggestions for which sentence are you asking about? The topic has drifted a bit.

 

[GandalfMB]

The very first post.

 

[sound shift]

I believe that "sorted out" is primarily AE and "sorted" is primarily BE, but wait for others' confirmation.

I have always used "sorted out". "Sorted" first appeared as an alternative about twenty years ago, as I recall. It still has more of a slang feel than "sorted out" for me.

 

[GandalfMB]

Hello, sound shift. MacMillan dictionary defines it as "informal" too. What do you think of "get something done"? Would you use it in this context?

 

[pob14]

In the first post, I would definitely say "get it done."

 

[sound shift]

Well, yes, I might use "Get it done" in your context, but just "Get it done" sounds a bit brusque; I could say, "I really think you should get it done."

 

[GandalfMB]

Well, yes, I might use "Get it done" in your context, but just "Get it done" sounds a bit brusque; I could say, "I really think you should get it done."

Yes, it does. But what if I said "I am worried about you. Could you please and get it done?" It sounds better, doesn't it?

 

[pob14]

Well, yes, I might use "Get it done" in your context, but just "Get it done" sounds a bit brusque; I could say, "I really think you should get it done."

British politeness vs. American directness again, I think. My version of "brusque" would be, "Oh for Christ's sake, stop being a baby and go get it done."

 

[Sparky Malarky]

I would never say "get it sorted," but it sounds like perfectly natural British English to me. I've read expressions like "I'll come over and sort it for you" or "Come down to the desk and I'll get it sorted" from Br E speakers frequently. It means "get the problem fixed."

Americans do not use "sorted" this way. We will speak of "getting something sorted out" but usually this would refer to some kind of administrative confusion not to something like a dental repair. If there was confusion at my dentist's office about when my appointment was (I thought it was Wednesday but they had me scheduled for Thursday) I would say that I got it sorted out. But when the dentist capped my tooth I would say that I had the work done.

 

[PaulQ]

Thank you, but in those two sentences "sort out" sounds better.

I agree but how do you conclude that? I'm interested.

I think that "sort" and "sort out" are different, aren't they?

"Sort" seems to be a southern expression from Estuary English, whereas "sort out" is more established and not "slangy".

 

[GandalfMB]

I agree but how do you conclude that? I'm interested."Sort" seems to be a southern expression from Estuary English, whereas "sort out" is more established and not "slangy".

Does it really matter what I think, Paul? I am just trying to learn things and see the difference between them, but fine. I think that "sort out" sounds better in your sentences because the person who fixes my computer actually solves my problem. I am NOT saying that the other option is incorrect. If you say it is correct, it is correct. You are the native speaker, not me . I think that in my case it is just a matter of personal preference.

I agree with you. It probably is a southern expression. My girlfriend is from Essex and she uses it quite often. Is it slangy or not, I can't tell .

Thank you, Paul

 

[Myridon]

The IT guy at work once asked me if my problem was fixed, and, in a rather "British mood", I said "It's sorted." Not an Anglophile himself, he thought I was insolently complaining "It is - sort of." Unpleasantness followed.

 

[GandalfMB]

Where was he from?

 

[PaulQ]

Does it really matter what I think, Paul?

Well, as a matter of fact, it probably does. It seems that you are in the process of learning Essex English. That's fine, as everyone in Essex will tell you (and many others besides.) However, you must know by now that Essex English differs from standard English in a few respects.

WRF will give guidance on standard BE and/or AE.

 

[GandalfMB]

I don't think I am learning Essex English, Paul. I am not sticking to this particular accent for I have friends from other English speaking countries. I have noticed one thing, though. Each time I asked them question regarding the subject of English, they would become rather upset. I assume it is not polite enough .

 

[MrRise]

Hello! I met something like solved watching Sherlock, could you explain me the meaming? (Or I probably will explain it for myself)
John Watson's friend: What about you? Just staing in town (I think he means London) 'till you get yourself sorted?

So..maybe until he will find a job, or.. a place to live in like flat? It is what he will be doing in in few minutes of watcing.

 

[Enquiring Mind]

Hello MrRise, I think you've got the meaning here. The wider context (why is he staying in town, what is he doing there, what other living arrangements is he planning?) would help, but even so "till ('til or until) you get yourself sorted" can be understood as meaning until you have made more permanent arrangements of some kind - maybe bought a house, found a permanent job, recovered from some kind of upheaval, etc. That's very much the sense expressed in the Reverso translations here. (Be careful, this is the English-only forum, so no "foreign" please.)

Some people might prefer "sorted out": the meaning would be the same. Earlier posts in this thread suggest that "sorted" is somehow sub-standard "Estuary" English, and indeed it can be, but people in Dr Watson's circle of friends are probably reasonably well educated. "Sorted" is certainly more colloquial than "sorted out".

The Google Ngram Viewer here shows that "sorted" is actually used marginally more often (in books) than "sorted out", and the expression has really only gained popularity in the last 40 years or so.

 

[sound shift]

The term "sorted" is sometimes said to have originated in drug culture. As I recall, it appeared just as we were becoming aware of ecstasy tablets and similar illegal delights. I therefore think that the first advertisers to use the term were aiming for an edgy, "naughty" image - and then the public copied them. Nowadays it sounds hackneyed as well as relatively colloquial.

 

[MrRise]

Hello MrRise, I think you've got the meaning here. The wider context (why is he staying in town, what is he doing there, what other living arrangements is he planning?) would help, but even so "till ('til or until) you get yourself sorted" can be understood as meaning until you have made more permanent arrangements of some kind - maybe bought a house, found a permanent job, recovered from some kind of upheaval, etc. That's very much the sense expressed in the Reverso translations here. (Be careful, this is the English-only forum, so no "foreign" please.)

Some people might prefer "sorted out": the meaning would be the same. Earlier posts in this thread suggest that "sorted" is somehow sub-standard "Estuary" English, and indeed it can be, but people in Dr Watson's circle of friends are probably reasonably well educated. "Sorted" is certainly more colloquial than "sorted out".

The Google Ngram Viewer here shows that "sorted" is actually used marginally more often (in books) than "sorted out", and the expression has really only gained popularity in the last 40 years or so.

You mean, as Watson said, sorted more infrormal, than sorted out? Sorted out is formal to say somebody has all under control, and just sorted the same, but infrormal?

I'm just confused a little, you said that people like Watson and his frineds are well educated, however they use infromal phrases?

 

[Enquiring Mind]

"Get yourself sorted" means the same as "get yourself sorted out", except that today it is perceived as more colloquial then "sorted out". However, you're talking about a conversation - spoken language. People, no matter how educated they are, can speak informally when the situation is informal. Watson, a doctor, and a friend of Holmes, is a typical Victorian-era gentleman and is educated. A detective such as Holmes also held considerable social status at the time.

It may also be the case that over 100 years ago - the period in which the stories were set - "get yourself sorted" was not felt to be colloquial. Some people use certain phrases as part of their own idiolect - the way they speak. There is nothing unusual in the phrase. In your context it could mean "are you are staying in London (= lodging in someone's house in London) until you get yourself sorted (manage to make more permanent living arrangements)?"

 

[velisarius]

I think probably the question is about something heard in the TV series, Sherlock, and they are speaking modern English. "Get yourself sorted" sounds like a modern colloquialism to me:

"Sherlock depicts 'consulting detective' Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) solving various mysteries in modern-day London."
Sherlock (TV series) - Wikipedia

 

[MrRise]

I met another phrase, seems like get it sorted, but: You had it sorted, and the situation you can see on this picture:https://pp.vk.me/c636728/v636728786/28ef8/gkFoZkuO52s.jpg

I was sent here to ask, so I ask: Is it something like: "I know, you had it (sorted = under control)"? Because Peter (whom to Edmund speaks on the last picture) could give his blood to her (cold queen), but he was just staying, and looking at her. So Edmund saved him, but to not lose his honour he said like that.