get the picture

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get the picture

To understand the real or overall meaning of a situation, without the need for further explanation. OK, I get the picture. I'll start looking for somewhere else to stay. A: "So first I broke up with him, then we got back together, then he broke up with me, then we got back together, then—" B: "I get the picture." I know it's annoying to make all these copies, but the boss specifically asked me to have you do it—get the picture?

See also: get, picture

get the picture

see under get the message.

See also: get, picture

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

get the picture

INFORMAL

COMMON If you get the picture, you understand what is happening in a situation. Anna was giggling. She was beginning to get the picture. They smoke, they play snooker, they do the pools. You get the picture, I'm sure. Note: This expression is often used in when someone does not understand something immediately.

See also: get, picture

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

get the picture

understand a situation. informal

See also: get, picture

get the ˈpicture

(spoken) understand something: I get the picture — you want me to keep it a secret.

See also: get, picture

Get the picture?

verb

See Get the message?