“Let that sink in” — What it means when someone says it

It’s most likely that you would have heard “Let that sink in”.

Someone must have either say to you or you must have said it to someone.

Either way!

The question is, what does it mean?

Or what do you think it means.

This piece is for you to see if your understanding of the phrase, “Let that sink in” matches what it actually means.

Let us unravel this together.

The phrase “let that sink in” is generally considered to be a way of telling someone or a group of people to allow what they have been told or learned to stay in an understandable jurisdiction of their reasoning faculty.

It just means understanding that and keeping it within that frame of “I understand it”.

It is an old way of saying make sure you understand it.

It will often follow instructions or a lesson.

The phrase in itself is an idiomatic expression.

Of course, we all know one of the uses of idiomatic expression is the effect it gives the statement aiding the meaning and understanding the statement.

In this case, it would mean that an instruction has been passed across or a topic has been taught to a person or group.

So, to give the instruction or the lesson taught important attention by the recipient, the phrase “let that sink in” is used.

It may as well be used so that the listener may take the topic of discussion or instruction very seriously.

We must also consider the fact that words change meaning depending on how they are said.

This may also affect the effect it carries as a phrase or word.

The phrase “let that sink in” is not an exception in this matter.

If you hear this from an angry partner in a discussion on a certain matter, the meaning is quite different from when you hear it from a teacher teaching you a subject.

The former may mean that you have to take the decision like that, I am not changing it while the latter may simply mean try to understand it.

The tone with which it was said may add some effect making it authoritative rather than just an admonition.

The phrase “let that sink in” may also be interpreted or understood as “think about that”.

From this perspective, it comes with a slightly different meaning.

In that, it is not an instruction, it is more of advice to try to get the message or instruction in by giving it a thought.

So, when you hear that phrase, it may mean giving the matter thought for comprehensive understanding.

If you have read through this piece, you will understand that the phrase “let that sink in” centers and focuses on understanding an instruction or a lesson.

Irrespective of where it is used and how.

It is mainly to let the hearer know that the instruction or lesson must be allowed to be well planted in the reasoning faculty to enhance comprehension.

This may be to achieve the necessary actions.

Got confused?

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