Expression: "go one better"

[Haihao]

Hi,

[Azita]

Dear Hihao,
"Went them one better" seems to be a normal usage. Actually the complete expression is "go (someone) one better". The example that dictionary.com which is based on Random House gives for this expression is: The neighbors went us one better by buying two new cars.
Hope this has helped.
Azita

[Alan]

Hi Haihao,

The expression 'go one better' brings to my mind a word coined some years ago -oneupmanship whereby someone tries to outdo someone else particularly with regard to possessions.

As for 'swing/turn on/upon' these both suggest an angry confrontation in terms of behaviour/attitude and obviously can be used literally as when an animal prepares to attack.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Relative Pronoun

[Haihao]

Thank you, Azita, for your interpretation and taking the trouble to look it up with a dictionary. It really helped.

Thank you again, Alan, for your instructions. "Oneupmanship" is really an interesting word, which I got to know for the first time.

Haihao

[Azita]

You're welcome, Hihao. I learned from your question, too. Thank you.
Oneupmanship was new for me as well. Thanks, Alan.

[Haihao]

By the way, Azita, could you shed some light on my 3rd question?

[Jamie (K)]

Haihao --

In your third selection, it's Black who went off on a patriotism binge. A binge is when you do to much or consume too much of something. Once I saw a TV show where a mother was worried about her son eating a lot of bananas. She said, "All I know is that the last time someone in this house got sick, it started with a banana binge!" We could say that her son had gone off on a banana binge.

As for "go someone one better", here are the initial lyrics to an old American hit about drag racing. See if you can understand it:

[Haihao]

Hi Jamie,

Thank you for your paraphrase again and the lyrics, which pictured me a good and old American car life! (only in my imagination)

I suppose 'XKE' and 'Jag' refer to the same car but have no idea what really they are. Is XKE a type and Jag a Jaguar?
Also, does 'you're on buddy' mean 'you got a rival' and 'my mill' = 'my machine/car'?
Just to make sure, does 'come off the line' sound like 'start running from the balkline' = start the drag?

Sorry for all these additional questions.

Thank you!

Haihao

[Jamie (K)]

Yes, Haihao, you're right about those things. An XKE is a really nice model of Jaguar from the 1960s, when the song came out. You can google a photo of one. "You're on, buddy!" means, "I accept your challenge, buddy!" "My mill" means the car, or more specifically probably the engine. "Come off the line" means to start drag racing from the white line where you're supposed to stop for the traffic light.

The song is "Dead Man's Curve" by Jan & Dean, the rest of the lyrics are easy to find online, and you can download the song from iTunes or some other service, if you want.

[Azita]

Very interesting. Thank you, Jamie. And thanks for the questions that taught me so much, Hihao. Sorry I wasn't around when you asked me, but I am sure I never could have put it as beautifully and enlighteningly as Jamie did!