I heard a native speaker say
I built an eight-figure company going on nine and I don't neccesarily think I've ever worked hard.
What does "going on nine" mean?
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KillingTime
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1You haven't heard The Sound of Music? ("I am sixteen going on seventeen; you are seventeen going on eighteen") – Andrew Leach Feb 14 '22 at 10:14
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Oh, got it. I knew "go on" is used in that sense sometimes. But just failed to think of that. By the way, do native speakers use "go on" in that sense very commnonly? Thanks. – brianmail Feb 14 '22 at 10:29
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2Does this answer your question? What does “22 going on 16” mean? The basic expression, as well as the clever tweaks, is addressed. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 14 '22 at 15:52
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Thanks, Edwin Ashworth. I think my question has basically been answered. – brianmail Feb 14 '22 at 17:03
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The collocation 'going on' is a set phrase for 'nearly'. It is not productive, ie 'go on' or 'goes on' does not share this meaning at all. It's just 'going on'. – Mitch Feb 14 '22 at 17:05
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Thanks, Mitch. I've got further undertanding about "going on" through your comment. – brianmail Feb 14 '22 at 17:13
1 Answers
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Non-native speakers may not find this easily, thinking it is based on verbal "going". However:
going on: adverb, preposition
informal (UK also going on for): nearly or almost (a particular number, age, time, or amount):
It was going on midnight when we left the party.
There were going on 200 people at their wedding.
The use of 8 in relation to "figure" directs the reader to the idea of value rather than age. Had age been the topic of interest, it would have read "... 8 years going on 9".
So 8 going on 9 means that the present worth of the company is tens of millions (8 digits; e.g. $85,000,00), but it is nearly hundreds of millions (9 digits; e.g. $120,000,000).
Anton
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Thanks for more explanation. I wonder what if one wants to express the meaning that the company is going soon to be nine years old, can "going on" be used anyway? – brianmail Feb 14 '22 at 12:20
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I wonder why can't "going on nine" in my question interpreted as the company going to be nine years old. Could anybody please help me out? – brianmail Feb 14 '22 at 14:54
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I am eight going on nine implies age. But once I say eight-figure, I refer to valuation alone. So eight-figure company going on nine refers to figures. – Yosef Baskin Feb 14 '22 at 16:00
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I have edited the answer to deal with the (unlikely) possibility of years of age rather than value. – Anton Feb 14 '22 at 16:45
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Welcome to the site. The question was closed because it led to a duplication in a previous answer. Like many such closures, there was an aspect (in this case quite small - the years/value ambiguity) that was not dealt with by the duplicate answer. However, do not be discouraged by this; it is just one of the quirks of the site. Come again. – Anton Feb 14 '22 at 17:48