# Words and phrases you misunderstood as a child **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655 "2014-01-25T00:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![mufatango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@mufatango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mufatango)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/121 "2014-01-30T03:40:04Z")
I was an early reader and a HUGE Hardy Boys fan. I had devoured pretty much the entire series by 2nd grade. Every book would have some background introduction material in the first chapter so new readers could get acquainted with the boys, their “portly” (yet “stout-hearted”) friend Chet, their family, and whatever other details were going to be crucial to the plot. The writers (Franklin W Dixon was a pseudonym!) in their 1920s style prose, always described the Hardy patriarch, Fenton, as a “crack detective.” (Crack = sharp, expert). I had pontificated on this and concluded that there was some sort of elite force in each police department with special abilities, sort of like superheroes. When our teacher announced that we were going to have a field trip to the police station, I was giddy with excitement. I couldn’t wait to impress the detectives with my insider knowledge of the secret workings of the justice system. I waited patiently through the tour and then totally confused the officer leading the Q&A by asking if their station had any crack detectives. This was before the crack epidemic, so my teacher thought I was talking about butt cracks and chastised me for being disrespectful, then told my mother that I had been smarting off to the cops. Total mortification and confusion. Among other confusing things in the Hardy Boys was the way that criminals, especially foreign criminals, were always “swarthy,” which I presumed from the general context to mean evil, like a warty witch. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/122 "2014-01-30T03:43:24Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Through first grade, I thought the Pledge of Allegiance was referring to “widget stands,” though I wasn’t sure what a widget was, or what you’d stand it on. > > (“And to the republic for widget stands…”) I remember the teacher asking if anyone knew what “indivisible” meant, and some kid saying “it means you can’t see it”. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/123 "2014-01-30T08:07:17Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > When I was in second grade, I accidentally popped another kid in the eye while playing during recess, and was awarded a revoked recess period, to be spent, instead, in the “All Purpose Room”. I distinctly recall preparing a speech to the Nun Of Punishment that I believed the room should be called the All Accident Room. When I was a kid in Venice, CA, I misread–I don’t know **how** to this day!–a message painted on the window of a restaurant near the beach. The message read “BANQUET ROOM.” I read it as “TOILET ROOM.” Heck, I was only six years old! :o ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/124 "2014-01-30T11:46:28Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Until I was well into my twenties, I thought that when someone smoked a bowl, the bowl was like the size of a salad bowl or soup bowl. Well, in a perfect world . . . ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/125 "2014-01-30T13:37:04Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > Every day, when my mom walked into my room, she’d say, “Up and at 'em!” > I heard it as, “Up and Adam!” which my me think it had something to do with either Adam and Eve or the company that made my apple juice juice boxes. 😃 Today I learned that the phrase isn’t “up and atom” :smack: Also, when I was little I thought that your “lap” was called your “nap”. Because it’s where you put your napkin. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/126 "2014-01-30T14:27:23Z")
I read Nancy Drew books and they always referred to keeping things in her “pocketbook.” Having never heard this word used to refer to a purse before, I pictured her tucking her lipstick, money, etc. in between the pages of a paperback novel. Which made no sense to me - everything would fall out. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/127 "2014-01-30T15:17:40Z")
There was a poster in our gym at elementary school that showed a picture of what I now know was a marathon. It said something like “Exercise will help you in the long run”. I knew I had heard adults using the phrase “in the long run”. I concluded that there was going to be some kind of race that everyone had to participate in called “The Long Run” and I didn’t think it was fair to make kids run against grown-ups. Later in life I wondered if Stephen King had this same poster in his gym at school. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/128 "2014-01-30T15:42:53Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Until I was well into my twenties, I thought that when someone smoked a bowl, the bowl was like the size of a salad bowl or soup bowl. What is a bowl in this context and how big is it? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/129 "2014-01-30T15:57:12Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > What is a bowl in this context and how big is it? Generally, the [bowl of a pipe](http://www.tobaccopipes.com/product_images/uploaded_images/pipe-parts1.jpg). In this context, the [bowl of a marijuana pipe](http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/229381/229381,1235021956,2/stock-photo-red-pipe-for-smoking-marijuana-25223320.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/130 "2014-01-30T16:09:18Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Generally, the [bowl of a pipe](http://www.tobaccopipes.com/product_images/uploaded_images/pipe-parts1.jpg). In this context, the [bowl of a marijuana pipe](http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/229381/229381,1235021956,2/stock-photo-red-pipe-for-smoking-marijuana-25223320.jpg). [Also available as a six-shooter.](http://jsp.rockin.net/Rnd6shtr.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/131 "2014-01-30T16:35:55Z")
I was, er, possibly into my thirties before I realised that if you do something “painstakingly” then you’re _taking pains_ over it. I never could figure out how you stake pain. ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/132 "2014-01-30T16:45:05Z")
When I was a kid , I watched part of a TV documentary on Hitler’s" _ **persecution** _ of the Jews," and saw some of those horrid images of the skin and bone survivors of the concentration camps. I asked my older brother about the word persecution and he filled me in on the basics of genocide. The next Saturday I went to the town dump with my father, and saw a warning sign that said “No Food Products in the Trash, Violators will be **Prosecuted**.” I read “prosecuted” as “persecuted” and thought the punishment was a little harsh for mixing in garbage with the trash. As a young man, I dated a young woman attending Art School. Once I suggested a dinner date, and she replied it would have to be a late dinner, since she had a Figure Painting class. I heard it as “Finger” Painting, and told her I really enjoyed finger painting as a kid. She’s still laughing about it. When we used to go to the beach, my mother always warned me about the Under-tow. I heard it as under-toe and thought it meant to watch out for the bottoms of my feet. I had to laugh when, years later, I read **The World According to Garp** , and how young Garp heard it as “under-toad.” ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/133 "2014-01-30T17:39:26Z")
> [@mufatango](#): > > … > I had pontificated on this and concluded that there was some sort of elite force in each police department with special abilities, sort of like superheroes. > … Apropos to this thread, just what do you think “pontificated” means? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/134 "2014-01-30T20:58:26Z")
While reading the thread I was reminded of elementary school and the teacher asking what “unanimous” meant and my cousin Jerry answered that it meant everyone agreed. So I stuck up my hand and asked how you would know everyone agreed if you didn’t know who they were. My teacher eventually stopped laughing and explained the difference between unanimous and anonymous. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/135 "2014-01-31T00:03:39Z")
At around age 6 I somehow got the notion that the idea of being sick or ill included anything you might have to go to a hospital for, like major injuries. So, for example, someone recovering from a broken leg was sick in the sense of suffering from a disease of some kind. As is typical with young children, most diseases I knew about were contagious, so I wondered if I could catch something by being in the same room with anyone wearing a cast. I didn’t think I could catch a broken leg as much as some other kind of malady like the flu or a cold. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/136 "2014-01-31T00:22:15Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I wondered if I could catch something by being in the same room with anyone wearing a cast. I didn’t think I could catch a broken leg as much as some other kind of malady like the flu or a cold. How about [appendicitis](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWDNKJ6JC_o)? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/137 "2014-01-31T01:43:03Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > When I was a kid , I watched part of a TV documentary on Hitler’s" _ **persecution** _ of the Jews," and saw some of those horrid images of the skin and bone survivors of the concentration camps. I asked my older brother about the word persecution and he filled me in on the basics of genocide. Speaking of, as a kid I pictured “Concentration Camps” as places where prisoners were forced to think really really hard. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/138 "2014-01-31T07:50:22Z")
If it could only have been so… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/139 "2014-01-31T09:17:14Z")
My kindergarten teacher’s name was Miss Milman. So of course I had to ask her one day if her husband was a mailman. Also, when my older brother went in for a tonsillectomy, I asked my mother what exactly “tonsils” are. She told me that they are small pieces of tissue in the back of the throat. So for years, I imagined tonsils as being little wads of Kleenex. During summer afternoons in the early Sixties, my parents would often ask one another what or how the Dodgers did that day. This led to my long-held belief that “Dodger” and “baseball player” were synonymous and interchangeable terms. In fact, I’m giving serious consideration to going back to that viewpoint. That way, the Dodgers win the World Series EVERY YEAR! ---
**Author:** ![mufatango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@mufatango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mufatango)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655/140 "2014-01-31T15:18:32Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Apropos to this thread, just what do you think “pontificated” means? I have **absolutely** no idea why I wrote that instead of “ruminated.” 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-you-misunderstood-as-a-child/679655.md?page=8)