what you see is what you get en · X
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Originally a humorous allusion to a catchphrase popularized by the comedian Flip Wilson on American TV in the 1960s.
Meanings
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The image corresponds to the reality.
With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get[…]
1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:What you see is what you get. No one's been disappointed yet.
1970, Tim Rice, Jesus Christ Superstar:Sonic: What you see is what you get! Just a guy that loves adventure! I’m Sonic the Hedgehog!
2001 June 23, Sonic Team USA, Sonic Adventure 2, Sega, published 2001:
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(idiomatic) The screen image resembles the printed output.
For:Word, like Wang's editing system, is an early approach to a what-you-see-is-what-you-get word processor.
1983, Byte, volume 8, page 86:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| what-you-see-is-what-you-get | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
do exactly what it says on the tin · dead dove · live up to one's name · Ronseal · I told you so · what did I tell you · by name and by nature
Synonyms
Translations (10)
el ό,τι βλέπεις, παίρνεις ((idiomatic, computing) the screen image resembles the printed output) · fr ce que tu vois est ce que tu obtiens ((idiomatic, computing) the screen image resembles the printed output) · fi WYSIWYG ((idiomatic, computing) the screen image resembles the printed output) · es lo que ves es lo que obtienes ((idiomatic, computing) the screen image resembles the printed output) · ja 見たままが得られる ((idiomatic, computing) the screen image resembles the printed output) · pl WYSIWYG ((idiomatic, computing) the screen image resembles the printed output) · de was du siehst, ist was du bekommst ((idiomatic, computing) the screen image resembles the printed output) · fi näet mitä saat ((idiomatic, computing) the screen image resembles the printed output) · cmn 所見即所得 /所见即所得 ((idiomatic, computing) the screen image resembles the printed output) · ru что ви́дишь, то и полу́чишь ((idiomatic, computing) the screen image resembles the printed output)