Idiom and pun meaning: ”Let that sink in!”

“Let that sink in”

The idiom “let that sink in” is used to encourage someone to take the time to think about and understand something that has been said. The idea is that by thinking about a fact more deeply, the thought or idea sinks into someone’s mind (enters slowly) and hopefully stays.

Examples

You might say to your football teammates, “We’ve lost the last six games. If we continue like this, we’ll be in the bottom league next season. Let that sink in!”

Or, you might say to a colleague who has just made a serious mistake, “If the boss finds out about this, we’ll all have to look for a new job. Let that sink in!”

A kitchen or bathroom sink (the pun)

Sink, of course, has a second meaning: the bowl in the kitchen or bathroom for washing your hands or the dishes. Because of this second meaning, the phrase “let that sink in” can be used as a pun. When someone says “let that sink in,” and they’re intending a pun, they’re telling you to open the door and allow a sink to enter the room.

a nice bathroom sink

There’s a sink waiting at the door. Let it in!

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, used the pun “let that sink in” when he started his first day as boss of Twitter. He tweeted a picture of himself carrying a sink into the Twitter office, with the caption “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!”

Musk’s tweet was funny because it played on both the literal and figurative meanings of the phrase “let that sink in”.

Make ’em think or make ’em laugh

Used figuratively, the phrase “let that sink in” is a great way to encourage someone to think carefully about something. It can be used to convey important information or to make a point, but it can also be used to simply get a laugh . . .

Here’s Elon and his sink:

Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in! pic.twitter.com/D68z4K2wq7

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2022