would sooner go out with a gun that watch a football match

[joham]

I'd sooner go out with a gun than watch a football match. This sentence comes from COLLINS COBUILD USAGE about the use of 'watch'. But I don't quite understand what exactly the sentence means. Does it mean roughly 'I would rather do anything but watch a football match'? Does 'go out with a gun' mean 'go out with a gun to rob or shoot someone' literally?

 

[MikeNewYork]

I have no idea. The two statements have no connection for me.

I might say "I'd sooner have a root canal than a watch a football match (assuming that means soccer). If it means American football, I take it back. :-D

 

[JMurray]

not a teacher

I'd sooner go out with a gun than watch a football match.

This passage is taken from the book "Akenfield", by Ronald Blythe. Here, "go out with a gun" means to go out shooting pheasants and pigeons etc. So the speaker is saying that he would rather go hunting than watch a football match.

 

[emsr2d2]

I have no idea. The two statements have no connection for me.

I might say "I'd sooner have a root canal than a watch a football match (assuming that means soccer). If it means American football, I take it back. :-D

Just for info, in BrE, we don't say "have a root canal". We say "have root canal work done".