speaking

When I was little and I heard that someone was "on the wagon," that they were actually sitting on a wagon somewhere. The reason people would "fall off the wagon" is because it either got too crowded, or they got into a fist fight and were pushed. It made a lot more sense when I learned it was a euphamism for quitting drinking.

darcyn77

When I was a kid, my Dad used to say "this room looks like a bombsitit" when our bedroom was untidy. I never knew what a bombsitit was & if Dad was angry - it wasn't a good time to ask! It wasn't until I was about twelve, that I realised he was saying "this room looks like a bomb has hit it"! (We live in South London, England - which explains Dad's accent)

James

I used to think English was a forgein language. I would ask my parents over and over how to say words in English and get so frustrated when they would say the same word back to me.

Heather

When I was in 5th grade, I mixed up the words 'facility' and 'faculty'. Faculty meant bathroom, of course, since thats what the faculty bathroom was labeled, and for some reason I knew that it was a bathroom. Our music department held a 'Faculty Concert' and my teacher was going to be in it, so, even though I was confused, I went. On the way there I expressed my confusion to my mom about why it was called a bathroom concert.

Anon

I got my definitons mixed up. When I was in high school I thought fornicator was another word for liar. So when my friends and I would joke and they'd lie about something I would yell out FORNICATOR, YOU FORNICATOR! Everyone would look ofcourse to see who'd fornicate in public.

I suppose the word I was looking for was fabricator.

Anon

I used to think an Orgasm and Organism were the same thing. Imagine my embarrassent in biology lessons.

Anon

For years I convinced myself that I had invented the word "stereotypical" and was really pleased at how much it had caught on. A little part of me still believes this. I haven't had proof it was around before 1975...

Toria

When I was a child, I heard the term Blackmail. So I ask my mother. She told me it was a letter that was in a black envelope. Ok, not going to argue. It came back to haunt me when my child asked me the same thing, and of course, I gave him the same answer my mother gave me.

MrsBull

When I was about 3 or 4, my mom and I were both wearing leotards. My mom asked if I was comfortable in my leotards. I said "Yes. Are you comfortable in your 'momma-tards?"

Leah

"Mickey & the Beanstalk" was a picture book and record version of the fable (done by Disney) that was very popular in my kindergarten class in the mid 1950s. An invisible narrator recounted the drama of Mickeys plight and the dim witted giant to an invisible pair of kids -- little girl and little boy. The record beeped when you were to turn the page. Gripped with fear for Mickey's safety, I listened as the narrator whispered and the picture showed Mickey climbing up the sleeping giant's shirt to filch the key to free the harp-woman. Suddenly the little girl breaks the tension describing some NEW character that Mickey should, "leave alone!"

Who was Well Enough and how did he get in the story?!

Mo

I used to think that when people say "bless you" after you sneeze they were saying "bleshoo". I believed this for a very long time and I had no idea what it meant but I always said it when someone sneezed just to be polite. :-)

Jem, UK

i used to believe that the "foggy" was pronounced "froggy". so everytime it was "froggy" in the morning I wondered where all the frogs were

anon

I used to believe that "digest" meant "dissect". I once asked a guy, "Have you ever digested a frog?". He replied, "You try doing it!"

em'ly

My father always used to say "save your breath" if we talked too much, and as a result I grew up thinking we had a limited amount of breath and that once used up it was curtains !

Anon

When we were little, one of my dad's favorite comebacks was "You & what army?"; he used it any time one of us would threaten to beat him up, or take something from him, that kind of thing.

My youngest brother just confessed to me a couple of years ago (in his early 20s) that he always thought Dad was saying "You, and what, are me?"; the poor kid could never, ever make sense of that question! It was all too deep & philosophical for his little-kid brain.

Ever since he confessed that, every time I mail him anything, I put "You + what = me" on the envelope flap.

heidi

when i was young i used to believe that the 'carry-over champion' on game shows was in fact a 'karaoke' champion. It wasnt until i was 17 and asked my boyfriend what on earth a 'karaoke' champion was, that i learnt the truth.

Sarah. F.

I used to confuse "snack" and "smack." That was never too good at daycare.

katie

When my husband was very little and heard the phrase "Throw caution to the wind", he thought the person was saying "Throw cush into the wind". He told me that for years, he didn't know what "cush" was, and was too embarassed to ask anyone!

Kierstin

When I was 9 I overheard my mother talking to a guy friend. Well I was across the room but I swore I had heard him say he was a lesbian. This confused me greatly because I knew lesbians were women and this was clearly a man. I didn't know what to make of it so I put in the back of my mind for a while. A while later he came back to visit and as he was leaving my brother pulled in the driveway and when he came in the door he asked who it was that was leaving our house. My mother replied "Oh that was Mark. Cynthia's husband" and I eagerly added "Yeah and he's a lesbian!" with much enthusiasm. My mom looked at me bewildered and asked where I had gotten that idea. I told her from the visit before, he had said he was a lesbian. She still looked confused a few seconds when it dawned on her and she started cracking up laughing. "He said he was a thespian not lesbian, you silly girl!". Apparently when across the room and listening to the t.v. the word thespian can sound a lot like lesbian to a child.

Gillian