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I'm watching the TV show Friends and in the second episode heroes discuss the baby's name and here's the dialog:

 - How's about the baby's name?
 - Marlon or Minnie if it's a girl.
 - As in mouse?
 - As in my grandmother.

What do they mean by as in mouse/grandmother? They mean that the baby is named after her grandmother or mouse? I've just looked for the information about it on the Internet and found nothing.

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  • The first speaker asks "Do you mean Minnie like [the character] Minnie Mouse?". The second speaker means "No, I'm suggesting Minnie because it is/was my grandmother's name."
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 17:13
  • Yeah, I see about the character, but what I'm asking about is as in construction. Can I use it if I mean to say that someone is named after someone else? For instance, my baby's name is as in my father. Is it okay?
    – E. Shcherbo
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 17:21
  • 4
    No, it isn't. As in means as in the phrase; it's a way of asking in what sense someone has used a word that has more than one meaning (or, in this case, a name that has different associations for different people). The second speaker is just being humorous when they repeat 'as in' instead of explaining the reason literally.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 17:38
  • You have to mention the name. My baby's name is Donald, as in the duck (not the President).
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 17:40
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    The relatively informal construction X as in Y only normally occurs in "disambiguating" contexts, where it basically means Although X may have various different meanings, the specific one I'm talking about is the one particularly associated with Y.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jan 30, 2020 at 17:44

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as in signals an example of something in English when a statement is ambiguous.

Person 1: What about Marlon?
Person 2: As in Marlon Brando? [For example, Marlon Brando}
Person 3: For example, like my grandfather. [As in my grandfather].

as in or like in are used to clarify a context in conversation, usually though as in can be used in writing also.

It can be used in any context where there is ambiguity.

Person 1: Let's leave it!
Person 2: Leave it as in drop it? [drop a subject or matter]
Person 1: Yes, let's forget it.

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