Spoken English phrase: “That’s the thing..”

Jim smiled at his German friend, and said: “There’s so much to do and see in this town. Why don’t we go to the opera tonight and then have a sherry near the river?”

Stephanie looked at him, and replied:

“Well, that’s the thing. The doctor said I need to rest – and no alcohol either, I’m afraid.”

That’s the thing is a phrase that we use to introduce an opinion which shows disagreement or some kind of counter-argument from what the other speak just said. You’re identifying some kind of issue or problem or reason why something can’t happen or be true.

Here’s another example:

Bill talks to his friend Honza about learning English:

Bill: “Hey why don’t you go to that party tonight. It’ll be fun and you’ll meet lots of people. It’s an international crowd, so you’ll definitely speak some English there.”

Honza: “Well, that’s the thing. I don’t really like big events. I prefer to meet people in small groups..Sorry. Perhaps I should try that new cafe instead..”

You might see these variations of this phrase:

Well, that’s the thing…
See, that’s the thing…
But that’s the thing…
Hmm, that’s the thing…

One more example

Bill: “I’m surprised you didn’t ask Martina out. She’s really hot. Smart too.”

Honza: “Well, that’s the thing. I got her number, but then she said she sees me as a friend. I think it’s a write-off.”

Word bank

Here are a few other phrases from the dialogue above:

There’s so much to do and see in this town – ‘do and see’ go together to mean ‘things to do’ and ‘places to see’
a write-off – this originally comes from accounting. It means that you can forget about it, as the moment is lost.