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How would you translate 'what have you come as?' I've never heard this expression

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  • Come is a very trigger-no-metric word. May 18, 2015 at 9:14
  • The Halloween meaning refers to a masquerade. Does this meaning seem to fit? You didn't give enough context in your question for us to be sure that's the meaning. May 18, 2015 at 9:48
  • "come as" is a phrasal verb that is used as an idiom. See Dog Lover's answer. May 18, 2015 at 9:52
  • It is either literally or figuratively referring to a sort of masquerade party, where you "come as" some character. It might be used in the figurative sense when asking someone if, for example, they have come to a meeting in their official capacity as The Not So Big Kahuna, or, perhaps, as just another programmer on the team.
    – Hot Licks
    May 18, 2015 at 12:46
  • Thanks all for your replies. I want to tell you more about the context: the question is made by a girl who meets at a party another girl who is dressed up.
    – Sara
    May 25, 2015 at 14:57

2 Answers 2

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"What have you come as" can be used in party contexts, such as Halloween.

'What are you going to come as for Halloween?'

'I'm going to dress up as Homer Simpson.'

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You probably won't come across too many instances of "What have you come as?" in AmE.

Dog Lover's "What are you going to come as?" is plausible, but unnecessarily complex - "What are you going as?" would serve.

"What have you come as?" is more commonly expressed as, "What/Who are you supposed to be?".

It's more common in the past tense, third person: "They came as the ghosts of George and Martha Washington." (US)

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