The mess in your room reflects on you.
Is this sentence idiomatic? (The intended meaning is "the mess=your status of mind or situation")
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4It's "okay", but I'm guessing most native speakers would include a negative / critical adverb in such contexts: The mess in your room reflects badly on you, His polite reply reflected well on him. The relevant definition from the full OED being 11b. (intransitive.) To throw (indirect) light on a person or thing; to be revealing about; (also with modifying adverb) to reveal in a particular light; to create a (good, bad, etc.) impression.– FumbleFingersMay 24, 2021 at 11:55
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@FumbleFingers, I couldn't quite understand the meaning. Does "The mess in your room reflects badly on you" mean: 1-You are an disorganized person, so is your room. (no surprise) 2-Your room is untidy, so people will think you are a disorganized person, too (although you are not.)– yunusMar 7 at 20:32
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@yunus: It means your interpretation #2 - excluding the "although you are not" caveat (that depends entirely on the people involved; the words themselves carry no such implication). By which I mean that to a first approximation, This reflects badly on you specifically and only means in the perception of other people (effectively, it implies little or nothing about what the speaker himself thinks).– FumbleFingersMar 8 at 2:34
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Actually, I suppose that since the speaker is physically present, if he refers to reflections / appearances / superficial impressions. we can assume he's contrasting them with something more true that he sees (because he's there). But I certainly wouldn't want to say This reflects well on him implies that I don't endorse him.– FumbleFingersMar 8 at 2:49
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1 Answer
The OP's example is completely understandable but, as @FumbleFingers in the comments suggested, it really needs the adverb badly
- The mess in your room reflects on you.
- The mess in your room reflects badly on you. (idiomatic)
However, in this type of expression, the speaker is often expressing disappointment and is warning the listener that he or she is making a bad impression.
Instead, if the speaker's intention is to say that the room is an accurate reflection of the listener's personality or lack of organisational skills then I'd suggest the following:
- The mess in your room is the epitome of your disorganisation
From Wikipedia
An epitome (/ɪˈpɪtəmiː/; Greek: ἐπιτομή, from ἐπιτέμνειν epitemnein meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment.
Or
- The mess in your room speaks volumes about you. [i.e your untidiness]
If something speaks volumes, it makes an opinion, characteristic, or situation very clear without the use of words. • She said very little but her face spoke volumes.
answered May 24, 2021 at 12:58
