“You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?”
said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff
another penalty for no reason at all. “It’s people they feel sorry
for. See, there’s Potter, who’s got no parents, then there’s the
Weasleys, who’ve got no money — you should be on the team, Longbottom,
you’ve got no brains.”
Neville went bright red but turned in his
seat to face Malfoy.
“I’m worth twelve of you, Malfoy,” he
stammered.
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but
Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, “You tell
him, Neville.”
“Longbottom, if brains were gold you’d be poorer
than Weasley, and that’s saying something.”
Ron’s nerves
were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry.
“I’m warning you, Malfoy — one more word—”“How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?”
“Ah, now, I’m glad
you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between
you and me, that’s saying something. You see, only one who
wanted to find the Stone — find it, but not use it — would be able to
get it, otherwise they’d just see themselves making gold or drinking
Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes… Now, enough
questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bettie
Bott’s Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to
come across a vomit flavored one, and since then I’m afraid I’ve
rather lost my liking for them — but I think I’ll be safe with a nice
toffee, don’t you?”
(Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)Does “that’s saying something” have the same meaning shown on macmillandictionary.com (“used for emphasizing that what you have said is more extreme than it seems”)?
Answer
You’re correct, it does have the same meaning that you describe.
“Longbottom, if brains were gold you’d be poorer than Weasley, and that’s saying something.”
Weasley is very poor, and so if Longbottom’s brains were gold, he would be incredibly poor.
It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that’s saying something.
The speaker has a lot of brilliant ideas, and so for the current idea to be “more brilliant”, it must be extremely brilliant.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Listenever , Answer Author : Dave Moore