The saying „Get a life“ – literally translated „Get a life“ – is usually meant critically and can have the following meanings:
- Mind your own business!
- Finally do something with your life!
- Finally start living!
- Finally grow up!
What does „Get a life“ mean? Explanation, meaning, definition
Usually the request „Get a life“ is said to a person who is boring. The phrase „Get a life“ usually still resonates with some frustration that another person is wasting their life on unimportant or boring things.
Get a life = mind your own business!
The phrase „Get a life“ is sometimes directed at people who meddle in the affairs of others without being asked. They are suggested to take care of their own lives instead of dealing with the problems, feelings, motives of others, giving them advice and even prescribing rules of conduct.
Get a life = Finally do something with your life!
„Get a life“ can also be a – usually slightly annoyed – advice to someone who leads a boring, unfulfilling life. You want to shake this person up and encourage them to give their own life more meaning: for example, to develop their own interests, to do more, to get to know other people or to seize a professional opportunity.
Get a life = finally start living!
„Get a life“ is also what workaholics and nerds get to hear who are passionate about their field but don’t make time for other aspects of life and tend to become social misfits. It is meant as a call to build and enjoy a life besides work with friends, family and free time.
Get a life = grow up already!
With the slogan „Get a life“, sometimes eternal nest-stools are eye-rollingly urged to take responsibility for themselves, make their own decisions, move out of the parental home and become financially independent. The young adult thus addressed is supposed to finally build his own life and make his own way in the world under his own steam.
Origin of „Get a life
The exact origin of the phrase „Get a life“ is not known. Evidence of the phrase first appeared in the 1980s.
For example, in 1986, actor William Shatner, who played the role of Captain Kirk in the cult series Star Trek, used it. Shatner appeared in an episode of the U.S. comedy show Saturday Night Live. In a skit, he played himself attending a Star Trek convention and answering questions from enthusiastic Trekkies.
After some very detailed questions from his fans, he shouted into the crowd, „Get a life, you guys want? I mean to shout out loud, it’s just a TV show!“ He then asked one of the fans, „You must be almost 30. Have you ever kissed a girl?“ Finally, he asked the Trekkies to move out of their parents‘ basements. The „Get a life“ skit caused much debate as to whether it was hilarious or offensive to the fans.
Other meanings of „get a life“
The expression „to get a life“ is also used in US judicial language to mean that someone has been given a „life sentence“.
The phrase „get a life“ became popular in January 2023 when Greta Thunberg used it as a quick-witted response to a provocative tweet by Andrew Tate.