English Language Learners Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for speakers of other languages learning English. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I read the thread about "might as well have" on a website. But I still don't understand the last sentence in the following text. Would you please tell me what the last sentence means? Thanks!
Rachel: I know, but y’know condoms only work like 97% of the time. Ross: What? What? What?!! Well they should put that on the box!!! Ross: Well they should put it in huge black letters!!!! Rachel: Okay Ross come on let’s just forget about the condoms. Ross: Oh well I may as well have!
It's a joke. (You may decide for yourself how funny this joke is.) The joke is based on two different interpretations of the phrase "the condoms".
Rachel says, "OK, Ross, just forget about the condoms [i.e. the incident involving condoms]".
Ross replies, "Oh, I might as well have [simply not used condoms at all]".
Ross is saying that if condoms have chance of failure as high as 3%, he might as well not have bothered using one at all.
The humour derives from Rachel using "the condoms" synechdochally to refer to an entire incident involving condoms, and Ross interpreting it as referring precisely to condoms in specific.
