# Stuff that took you too long to realize
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [August 5, 2012, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506 "2012-08-05T09:37:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)
#### Post date: [August 5, 2012, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/1 "2012-08-05T09:37:48Z")
Nancy stories is a local idiom, it means bullshit. Like telling people the check is in the mail, or that you know I had your money but I got abducted by a UFO and they stole my money! Stuff like that, I’ve even used the phrase without thinking about it.
One day for whatever reason I was like who the hell is Nancy anyway in my head…oh.
:smack:
> **[Anansi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anansi)**
>
> Anansi (/əˈnɑːnsi/ ə-NAHN-see; literally translates to spider) is an Akan folktale character and the god of stories, wisdom, knowledge, and trickery, most commonly depicted as a spider, in Akan religion. Taking the role of a trickster, he is also one of the most important characters of West African, African American and West Indian folklore. Originating in Ghana, these spider tales were transmitted to the Caribbean by way of the transatlantic slave trade. Anansi is best known for his abilit Spi...
I felt really dumb.
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [August 5, 2012, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/2 "2012-08-05T10:49:21Z")
The meaning of the word “blouse”. I’d gotten the impression as a kid that it was a synonym for “dress”, probably since it’s most often a term used for female clothing. And I never really thought about it until it must have been some time in my 30s, when I read a military sci-fi novel that used a phrase like “he pulled on his uniform blouse” and noticed what I was reading. My eyes had probably skimmed over similar phrases dozens of times over the years before I finally noticed.
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### Author:  [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)
#### Post date: [August 5, 2012, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/3 "2012-08-05T11:11:28Z")
It took me something on the order of 18-20 years of my life to figure out that the verb “gyp” was not an innocuous, ethnicity-neutral word spelled “jip.”
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### Author:  [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/4 "2012-08-07T05:16:49Z")
I just recently got the Genesis references in the film Wall-E.
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/5 "2012-08-07T05:21:27Z")
The title of “Hairspray” plays on “Grease.” Duh.
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### Author:  [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/6 "2012-08-07T05:24:49Z")
No matter how badly I want to grab somebody’s head, look into their ear and see if the hamster is still on the wheel - don’t. People tend not to appreciate it.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/7 "2012-08-07T06:01:04Z")
Chiropractic is a scam.
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### Author:  [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/8 "2012-08-07T06:04:33Z")
It’s better to be kind than to be right. Spent most of my early adult life thinking the latter. \* embarrassed\*
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### Author:  [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/9 "2012-08-07T07:13:10Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#):
>
> It’s better to be kind than to be right. Spent most of my early adult life thinking the latter. \* embarrassed\*
You’re not alone! I was a fearless atheist crusader, and it took losing a bunch of friends before I learned how to tone that shit down.
It took me far too long to realize that it doesn’t matter how well you did in high school, because everyone else at college did almost as well in high school as you did (if not better), and they probably also have better study skills than you.
It took me far too long to understand that, no matter how large the tribulation seemed to me, other people really don’t care about my life. Except my mom. 🙂
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### Author:  [@benbo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benbo1)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/10 "2012-08-07T10:30:11Z")
Life is short, can change really fast - and some1 should spend more time enjoying the moment rather than planning (and worrying so much about) the future. I’d trade 1/2 of my accumulated savings for a more adventurous & fun youth. Forgoing vacations, always working, and not having fun trips & adventures with your friends while you’re young will haunt you later in life. A hard life lesson learned late is that we’re rarely sorry for the chances we took - it’s the ones we were \*\*afraid \*\*to take that cause restless nights.
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### Author:  [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/11 "2012-08-07T12:50:56Z")
Dogs are called “Fido” because they are so faithful. "Dumbbells’ are bells that can’t speak.
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### Author:  [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/12 "2012-08-07T13:02:05Z")
Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. (Directions for screws, lightbulbs, etc.) I think I was in college when I had that revelation.
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### Author:  [@Rich\_G7subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_G7subs)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/13 "2012-08-07T13:06:07Z")
In a marriage you can be “Right” OR you can be “Happy”. Never the twain shall meet. Took me 18 years to figure this out.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/14 "2012-08-07T14:12:32Z")
> [@benbo1](#):
>
> I’d trade 1/2 of my accumulated savings for a more adventurous & fun youth. Forgoing vacations, always working, and not having fun trips & adventures with your friends while you’re young will haunt you later in life.
While that has an element of truth, I would trade at least a couple of my overseas trips that I spent all my money on in my twenties for a nice pot of savings right now. 😛
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### Author:  [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/15 "2012-08-07T14:51:59Z")
> [@MandaJo](#):
>
> Dogs are called “Fido” because they are so faithful. "Dumbbells’ are bells that can’t speak.
How does “Fido” translate into “faithful”?
My thing- I’ve been hearing commercials for years for Wells Fargo, and their tagline, “together, we’ll go far”. I just thought they were saying “use our bank, and stick with us over the long haul”. Just a couple months ago I realized the “we’ll go far” was a play on “Wells Fargo”.
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### Author:  [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/16 "2012-08-07T14:56:34Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#):
>
> It took me far too long to understand that, no matter how large the tribulation seemed to me, other people really don’t care about my life. Except my mom. 🙂
Me too.
I also just realized that my co-workers are not my “friends” and have adjusted my attitude accordingly.
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### Author:  [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/17 "2012-08-07T15:00:06Z")
If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything. - Marilyn Monroe.
I think the most important quality I can find in a person is someone who makes me laugh. - Audrey Hepburn.
What women want, right in front of my face and it didn’t get through until about a week or two ago.
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### Author:  [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/18 "2012-08-07T15:03:06Z")
> [@corkboard](#):
>
> How does “Fido” translate into “faithful”?
“Fido” derives from the Latin _fidelis_. Meaning “faithful.”
Semper Fi
fidelity
Fido
etc.
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### Author:  [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/19 "2012-08-07T15:05:20Z")
My head-smacking moment was not all that long ago when I figured out that signs saying “no standing” referred to cars. I had always assumed they were telling people they could not stand there. Like loitering on a street-corner. It never occurred to me that a car could “stand.”
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### Author:  [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-took-you-too-long-to-realize/630506/20 "2012-08-07T15:24:01Z")
> [@divemaster](#):
>
> “Fido” derives from the Latin _fidelis_. Meaning “faithful.”
>
> Semper Fi
> fidelity
> Fido
>
> etc.
:smack:
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