Thread: We've got enough problems of our own having you shooting at us

Ford shouted out, "Hey listen! I think we've got enough problems of our own having you shooting at us, so if you could avoid laying your problems on us as well, I think we'd all find it easier to cope!"

(out of The hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy, ch. 32)

I guess 'having you shooting at us' here means 'and we don't want you to shoot at us'.
Well, or 'we've got enough problems of our own and you're shooting at us - that's all we need!'

Am I right?

I would interpret this as: "The fact that you're shooting us is causing us enough problems all by itself [without the additional problem of listening to you complain about your own problems]" or "We've got enough problems of our own, considering that you're shooting us."

Perhaps in Russian translation, "Нам уже хватит проблем, ведь вы стреляете в нас" would get the idea across?

P.S. If Ford had wanted to emphasize "and we don't want you to shoot at us," it would sound more natural to say "we've got enough problems without having you shoot at us."

P.P.S. As a US English speaker, I would probably have phrased Ford's remark as "Hey listen! I think we've got enough problems of our own, what with you shooting at us..." or "...what with having you shoot at us..."

That is, do you mean 'having you shooting at us' is the source of their problems?

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

P.P.S. As a US English speaker, I would probably have phrased Ford's remark as "Hey listen! I think we've got enough problems of our own, what with you shooting at us..." or "...what with having you shoot at us..."

Actually, the sentence

Ford shouted out, "Hey listen! I think we've got enough problems of our own having you shooting at us, so if you could avoid laying your problems on us as well, I think we'd all find it easier to cope!"

sounds a bit odd in British English too. I wonder if there isn't a word missing, or the words got shuffled around a bit.

Not that the meaning isn't clear, but it just sounds a bit off. Throbert's sentence sounds better to me too.

Originally Posted by oldboy

That is, do you mean 'having you shooting at us' is the source of their problems?

Yep, exactly. That is, being shot at is their main problem, and listening to the shooters complain about THEIR problems while they're shooting would just be another problem.

P.S. Is this the scene where the "space cops" have arrived on Magrathea, and they're complaining about how difficult it is to be a police officer, that they don't get proper respect, etc.?

Yea )

Thanks for the explanation.