Mar 17, 2023 12:00
1 yr ago
46 viewers *
English term

he has the Terminex people out

English Other Poetry & Literature
And no matter how many times he has the Terminex people out, there are still the enormous roaches that come out of the bathroom drains.

Could you please help me with this phrase? What do you understand by "he HAS ... people OUT"?
Thanks in advance!!!
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (2): Chris Says Bye, Yvonne Gallagher

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Discussion

Chris Says Bye Mar 20, 2023:
LOL Just to confuse things
You could also say he has the Terminix people in.

:-)
Daryo Mar 19, 2023:
That would be in fact less confusing.
philgoddard Mar 18, 2023:
Just to confuse things You could also say he has the Terminix people in.
Darius Saczuk Mar 17, 2023:
The Terminex people are the employees of Terminex, a pest control company, who the guy hires to kill off the bugs in his place.

Responses

+7
9 mins
Selected

The Terminex people come out when he calls them

The original sentence is fine as it is.

The Terminex people are obviously insect exterminators. The roaches that infest his bathroom come back after each time the exterminator has been, so he calls them again - has them out to solve the problem.
Peer comment(s):

agree Tony M : It's just another way of saying 'to call them out' — i.e. ask them to attend on customer's premises.
29 mins
Thank you!
agree Daryo
51 mins
Thank you!
agree Darius Saczuk
1 hr
Thank you!
agree philgoddard : But as Mihaela points out, it's Terminix, America's biggest pest control company. Here in Florida, everyone has a termite contract with them.
1 hr
Thank you - I guessed what Termix is, but thanks for the confirmation.
agree Peter Dahm Robertson
2 hrs
Thank you!
agree Anastasia Kalantzi
7 hrs
Thank you!
agree Yvonne Gallagher : With Tony. Nothing complicated about this structure
1 day 12 hrs
Thank you!
neutral Chris Says Bye : As Phil keeps telling everyone, it's Terminix :-)
2 days 23 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Many thanks to everyone!!!"
8 mins

Terminix professionals

I assume it refers to Terminix professionals, pest control

In many cases, professional services are necessary. Terminix professionals know how to get rid of cockroaches and can provide guaranteed long-term cockroach control.
Peer comment(s):

neutral Daryo : that wasn't the question
1 hr
Oh well, i dont quite agree. First he needed to understand what Terminix referred to, and then it would have been obvious that they would be "called out" to exterminate roaches at whatever location.
neutral Chris Says Bye : As Phil keeps telling everyone, it's Terminix :-)
2 days 23 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 hr

a question of viewpoint


To answer the question actually asked:


"he has them [the Terminex people] out"
=
"he has them [the Terminex people] coming to his home on call-outs"
=
"he has them [the Terminex people] getting out of their "base" and come to his home to exterminate pests"

NOT

"chucking them [the Terminex people] out of his home" - another possible meaning that wouldn't make sense in this ST

Also known as a "call out" = getting service people to get "OUT" of their own premises and come to you.

It does sounds a bit strange until you look at it from the right viewpoint: a mechanic getting to you on a "call out" to fix your car in the middle of nowhere is "out" of their own shop. You're not going anywhere, it's for the mechanic that it's "going out".


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Note added at 1 hr (2023-03-17 13:36:04 GMT)
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IOW one more case of apparently nonsensical text being in fact perfectly logical - once you include omitted but implied parts.
Peer comment(s):

neutral philgoddard : It's not "apparently nonsensical", and the question has already been answered.
18 mins
If you take this sentence most literally / just as it is, you would think this homeowner keeps chucking out the Terminex crew // Obviously, this question was not asked because what's obvious to you was also obvious to the Asker?
neutral Chris Says Bye : As Phil keeps telling everyone, it's Terminix :-)
2 days 21 hrs
Yeah, OK ...
Something went wrong...
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