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the thing is

Idioms  
  1. The issue, main point, or problem is, as in The thing is, we haven't enough money for the tickets. [Colloquial; late 1800s]


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As he put it in Australia: "I have 100% faith that Honda will fix the problems because they did it already in the past. The thing is probably the time that is required, and it's not matching with my time in my career. That's something that remains to be seen."

From BBC

The thing is, it started gently enough.

From Literature

The thing is this: The NPT allows signatories to enrich uranium for “peaceful” purposes, such as electricity or medical research.

From Slate

“Ooh, yes! Wonderful! But the thing is . . . the most excellent thing . . . the thing that I must tell you, so you will be absolutely amazed is . . . it is just me!”

From Literature

"The thing is that no one can argue or question" the ministry officials, the barber said.

From Barron's