language

I used to watch 60 minutes and other news shows with my grandmother when I was little. I used to think Alzheimer's diease was called "Old Timers" diesease...it mad since because only OLD people got the dieasese!

I used to believe…

When I was young I had heard many times the expression "Naked as a jay bird" and knew what it referred to, but later I heard someone mention something about 'jay walking' and I thought it meant someone was walking around naked.

I used to believe that pinto horses were called that because they had pins in their toes instead of shoes on their feet.

I used to think that booby traps had something to do with actual boobs or bras or something. I think the idea was a combination of it being referred as a "booby" trap and the fact that the first time I heard it was in a movie where these boys were trying to sneak around and they got stuck in a line of bras that were tied together. One of them said, "Oh no! It's a booby trap!" Needless to say, I felt really stupid when I found out it just meant someone had set up a trick or trap for someone else.

I used to believe…

that when someone called someone else a prima donna that they were calling them a pre-madonna



i believed this till i was 16

I used to believe…

When I was in elementary school (I was about 9 or 10) I had the biggest crush on this boy in class. One day while playing in the room while my mom watched Cagney & Lacey, I heard the word "rape". I thought it was something a man did to a woman when he liked her...like kissing her. So a few days later when I was out playing with my girl friends I said, "I wish Matt S. would rape me. That would be so cool"....fortunately I was instantly bored with the word and never used it again.....years later I learned what it really meant and boy was I shocked and embarrassed.

I used to believe…

When I was little I couldn't pronounce tr's and they came out like an f. So when we were moving, I saw the moving truck and was like "look at the big fuck!" My grandmother thought it was hilarious and so every time we saw a truck she would ask me what it was and meaning to say truck, I would say fuck.

I used to believe…

when i was little i used to believe that a tornado was the samw as a tomatoes were the same thing. when my dad told me that a tornado was coming to knock our house down, i imagined a giant tomato punching down our house. i had nightmares about it until my dad finally told me the truth, when i was 9.

I used to believe…

When I was small I believed that there was a secret trick to turn English into any new language, as with Pig Latin. Perhaps a more complex trick with a few new sounds, but a pattern that could be easily learned. Then I began French lessons. The first week we were told about an important "irregular" verb (etre - to be), but that most were regular. So I still expected to learn the secret trick the next week. When I discovered I would have to learn every single french word, I was surprised and immensely disappointed.

I never understood why the dish washing liquid would advertise itself as "useless." It was only when I was better at reading that I realized the package said "use less" because it was the concentrated kind so one didn't need to use as much to get the dishes clean.

I used to believe…

Used to believe that Spanish was just English with random o's and a's tagged to the end of the words (probably because there are many cognates that are formed in just that way).

Also believed that the written forms of languages were merely coded English, and if I could just figure out which letters/symbols stood for which English letters, I could read them.

I used to believe…

when i was little in my town there is an auto repair place and it had the words "new brakes" written on a neon sign outside the letters b and r were out though (so it said ake) for some reason i always thought it said "new cakes" i could never figure out why men who fix cars had a sign for cake outside i thought it said new cakes til i was maybe 9

I used to believe that "testicles" and "intestines" were the same thing. So once when my dad had me pinned down with his leg so he could tickle my feet, I started to scream, "Move your leg you're squishing my testicles!"

Oh ya, I'm female, and yes my parents STILL laugh about that day.

I used to believe suction cups were called sticky pobs. Especially when applied to the tip of a chameleon's tongue.

I used to believe…

When I was little my dad used to travel to Hong Kong a lot for his job, and for the longest time I thought it was pronounced "Honk Honk" because it was a large city with a lot of traffic.

I used to believe…

One time there were fireworks outside, which is what I called them, but my parents said that there were fire crackers outside. I thought they were making crackers over a fire!