I mean

I mean

A segue into an explanation or justification of what one just said. Why don't we just increase taxes on the rich? I mean, there is a budget deficit in the country, but the wealthy are wealthier than ever before.
See also: mean

I mean

(spoken) used to explain or correct what you have just said: I blame the parents. I mean, would you allow a 13-year-old to stay out until 2 o’clock in the morning?
See also: mean
References in classic literature ?
Day and night he is brooding on your wrongs--I should say your rights-- that is to say your wrongs--no, I mean your rights--"("Don't talk no more
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I's above all in this spirit that I've singled out Midday for these remarks: I mean it to be representative of a particular moment in high Modernism, an optimistic and expansive moment that in one sense is still with us--all the artists just mentioned, except of course Louis, continued to be productive--but in another sense seems almost inconceivably remote.
Anthony Caro: Midday
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