Learn English – Is this sentence in an online dictionary correct, “They ain’t got nothing to say”

grammar

When I typed ain't meaning in the search bar at Google, a result from the New Oxford American Dictionary appeared with the following example:

They ain't got nothing to say.

I have my doubts as to whether the use of the word nothing is correct or not.

Af far as my knowledge concerns, the sentence should be something like this: They ain't got anything / something to say.

Am I right? The word nothing is negative, and the word ain't is negative, too. We should not use two negatives, at least in this example, can we?

When they say: They ain't got nothing to say, it sounds like they have something to say!!

Best Answer

This blew my mind for a while. Indeed, a very good question. This is the example of a negative concord.

They ain't got nothing to say means They don't have anything to say.

I think it is more idiomatic than grammatical.

Along with OxfordDictionaries, such phrase is also found on some authentic sources including Google Book Result (Behind Ghetto Walls).