Dictionary of troublesome word. Bill Bryson. 2013.
Had better — Better Bet ter, a.; compar. of Good. [OE. betere, bettre, and as adv. bet, AS. betera, adj., and bet, adv.; akin to Icel. betri, adj., betr, adv., Goth. batiza, adj., OHG. bezziro, adj., baz, adv., G. besser, adj. and adv., bass, adv., E. boot,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Had better — Had Had (h[a^]d), imp. & p. p. of {Have}. [OE. had, hafde, hefde, AS. h[ae]fde.] See {Have}. [1913 Webster] {Had as lief}, {Had rather}, {Had better}, {Had as soon}, etc., with a nominative and followed by the infinitive without to, are well… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
had\ better — • had better • had best informal Should; must. I had better leave now, or I ll be late. If you want to stay out of trouble, you had best not make any mistakes. Jim decided he had better do his homework instead of playing ball … Словарь американских идиом
had better — ► had better would find it wiser to. Main Entry: ↑better … English terms dictionary
had better — phrasal or had best 1. : would be wise to used with the infinitive without to had better try slow walks to start building up his strength 2. : should for one s own welfare had better pay what the court tells him to * * * … Useful english dictionary
had better — or[had best] {informal} Should; must. * /I had better leave now, or I ll be late./ * /If you want to stay out of trouble, you had best not make any mistakes. / * /Jim decided he had better do his homework instead of playing ball./ … Dictionary of American idioms
had better — or[had best] {informal} Should; must. * /I had better leave now, or I ll be late./ * /If you want to stay out of trouble, you had best not make any mistakes. / * /Jim decided he had better do his homework instead of playing ball./ … Dictionary of American idioms
had better — should or must. I thought I had better destroy the list so that no one else would see it. You d better get moving if you want to catch your train. Usage notes: had is sometimes not said: If we have a problem you better hope somebody is there to… … New idioms dictionary
had better, had rather — Had better is widely used in giving advice or issuing a mild threat: We had better get started before midnight. You had better apologize to me for that remark. The phrase had best can be substituted for had better in such expressions. Neither is… … Dictionary of problem words and expressions
better / had better — Had better is the correct form, used when giving advice that hints at an undesirable consequence if not followed: You had better go to the doctor. Don t leave out have … Confused words
