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My girls are on the wait list for their preschool and it is twice as tough to get in with twins.

Marked phrase kind of puzzled me. I quoted this from a tv-series.

We don't know the second part of the "as adjective as ..." form here. Getting with twins is twice as tough compared to what? I think this is a reduced use of this form.

Mıght this be the full form ?

It is twice as tough to get in with twins as to get in with one kid.

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  • It looks like a mistake or typo to me. I suspect it should be twice as long to get in with twins. Jun 22, 2019 at 21:18
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    I didn't mean that you had transcribed it incorrectly, just that it could be a mistake or typo in the source material or by the author. My take was that the wait list is twice as long. Although, thinking about it again, perhaps though was meant to be tough. That's just an h away. Jun 22, 2019 at 21:30
  • You heard it wrong, unfortunately. It's obviously tough, and I looked it up, and the guy says tough. I'm sorry. Everyone makes mistakes. I suggest you either get better subtitles or just turn them off completely. I know it may be hard, but if you're trying to learn English, it might be the only way (if you're not sure what they said after listening to it, pause the show and consult the (better) subtitles).
    – user3395
    Jun 22, 2019 at 23:28
  • Further, if you listen to the pronunciations of tough and though at ldoceonline.com/dictionary/though, you can hear (and see, if you're familiar with the IPA) that the word tough begins with a /t/ instead of a /ð/, and has an /ʌ/ in the middle as opposed to an /oʊ/.
    – user3395
    Jun 22, 2019 at 23:36
  • Ah yes. So sorry. I wrote it down incorrectly. Jun 23, 2019 at 1:42

1 Answer 1

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Yes, your guess is right.

It is twice as tough to get in with twins as to get in with one kid.

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  • Are this kind of reductions common in everyday speech? Jun 23, 2019 at 7:07
  • @TalhaÖzden - Yes. Jun 23, 2019 at 13:04
  • I suppose this kind of reduction is appropriate when the other part of the comparison is guessable? Jun 23, 2019 at 15:10
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    Very good. Please feel free to make up another example and post it here. Jun 23, 2019 at 18:49

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