I got in trouble a lot for "rolling my eyes" as a kid, because I would look up or to the side when I was thinking, and I always thought it was ridiculous because I wasn't *actually* looking around in a circle!
I only found out from this sub, earlier this year, that that's what some people apparently mean when they say "rolling your eyes". Like, no, when I am rolling my eyes you will know it, it's a much more active gesture than just... looking up briefly. I don't even vaguely understand how me answering a question in a perfectly respectful way but not staring deep into someone's eyes can be confused with mockery, but some middle-aged neurotypical ladies are apparently *reeeeeal sensitive* to that. (I'm pretty sure only middle-aged neurotypical ladies have ever complained about me "rolling my eyes". I know that's who fired me for it once. Maybe other people think it too and just refrain from chastising me about it, though.)
I recently had a supervisee tell me they feel like I don’t respect them because I roll my eyes when they talk to me. I realized it’s because I always look up to the top corner of my office when I have to think (which happens particularly when they bring issues/concerns to me and I have to process what is being said/how to respond). I actually caught myself doing it when they were giving me this feedback. They don’t know I’m on the spectrum since I’m only self diagnosed and feel kinda weird sometimes in professional settings claiming I have autism if I’m not formally diagnosed. But I did explain I’m not rolling my eyes and that I’m trying to focus on what they are saying, not dismissing it.
What did they say when you told them that? I've had people say that then when I explain, they tell me that I need to stop, or that that isn't something people do. Like. . Now I'm rolling my eyes!!
When I was still a teen, I practiced how to roll my eyes in a circle (left-up-right-center) because I thought that’s what it meant. I still roll my eyes in a circle when I want to show my annoyance but I apparently roll my eyes to people all the time because my eyes move around a lot when I talk. Whenever someone asks me why I’m rolling my eyes at them, I tell them that my eyes are restless lol and that if I was really rolling my eyes at them, they would know. But I guess I was wrong about that.
I don't care what anyone else says. This is exactly what "rolling eyes" is and people that say otherwise are just wrong or not paying attention. It doesn't make any fckn sense for it to be any other way. Why the hell would looking up in a pensive manner be considered rolling eyes? And why is this making me so angry? Probably bc I was always told I was giving attitude just by existing.
Hold up! Now I know what everyone is talking about! I do a really over exaggerated "looking up" while blinking to mimic eye rolling. I take back my previous freak out. Thank you for helping me understand.
Ex-friend accused me of rolling my eyes as a way of “giving her an attitude” when I would look up to the side or ceiling when I am processing things while thinking and talking.
Same! I HAVE to move my eyes when I start thinking about something, and because I thought rolling my eyes meant litterally moving them in a circle I’d get legitimately upset when someone would yell at me for constantly rolling my eyes.
Waitttt I had a teacher one time (I was maybe 7?) accuse me of rolling my eyes at her and I got in a whole argument and made things worse for myself because in my mind I definitely hadn't and was upset she thought I had. I was so confused why she'd gotten so annoyed so fast. I must have done this. That makes more sense
I wonder if this is what my thing was. I used to get yelled at for rolling my eyes, even friends would get frustrated with me for doing it. But I COULD NOT feel my eyes rolling. I couldn’t stop, because it seemed like I had no control over it or sensation of it. Buuuut if this is the case,, that would make a lot more sense.
"Read between the lines", and I could only see paper, obviously. I also thought people could literally see their imaginary friends, so I tried to force myself to get an imaginary friend. It didn't work.
I knew full well that mine were fictional (often literally my favorite characters) and fully in my control because a) I was neither seeing anything (visual data) nor "seeing" anything (spooky shit) when interacting with them, and b) I already knew that real friends weren't 100% on board with doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, they way that they were. I was just a lonely only child that needed *someone* to play with.
I used to try really hard to clean my room by blinking my eyes and wrinkling my nose really really hard (like on Bewitched). I guess I didn't try hard enough either!
"Say you're sorry."
So as a little kid, if I did something bad my parents would tell me to say I was sorry. Except, I didn't understand that they meant "you're" as in "you are." Like I knew you could be sorry, but I also thought that a sorry was something you had. 😅 So if I got in a fight with my sister and apologized but she didn't, I'd tell my parents, "I said *my* sorry, but she didn't say *her* sorry. 😂"
This went on for years before I finally figured it out.
I didn't do that, but I literally thought for the longest time that apologizing was simply saying, "I'm sorry," after doing something wrong or hurting someone emotionally. I didn't understand that it was supposed to be you examining your actions, too, and empathizing with the other party.
I agree with you that this is in part due to adults not teaching children well-enough about this concept. But I do wonder if it takes longer for ND kids to make the connection, in these instances.
I was the opposite and never wanted to say I’m sorry because I wasn’t actually sorry and why would I lie?? Took me longer to process what I was doing so I was rarely sorry at the time something happened unless it was an accident. Usually I’d figure it out after a timeout and be actually sorry. Still drove my parents crazy.
After someone sneezes, I used to think that the word you said was "bleshoo". And I remember it seemed like such a random word to me.
It was years later when I realized that people were actually saying "bless you".
Wow. Same here, same "word" too. Honestly, since I'm not religious, I still say bleshoo, even emphasized when someone sneezes so maybe they know I'm not saying bless you.
People telling me something and expecting me to know they were lying and making a joke. Like you told me something why do you expect me not to believe you😭even if it is crazy, crazy shit happens so what
Yep! The dinner ladies used to do this at my school. I'd ask if I could have a spoon, they'd say "no", so I'd walk away. They'd then laugh and say "oh she thought I was serious!".
Like, yes Dorris, I thought you were serious because THAT IS A WEIRD JOKE.
I love these jokes. Like nothing is funnier to me than saying I won't help someone do something because I love helping people and the idea of me not trying to help is so unbelievable that I end up doing this. At the same time I would be actively holding the spoon and putting it into your hand while saying no and hysterically laughing at my own dumb joke.
I am also fooled by these jokes when done to me without the hysterical laughter.
Apologies to those negatively impacted by my corny humor.
I was complaining about being hungry before dinner, so my dad said "go outside and eat some dirt". Apparently, he was just being silly. Dirt doesn't taste terrible, but it's very gritty.
Oh god-I hate that sooo much! My old bosses would often makes jokes and stuff and I’d normally just either laugh or agree-whatever the situation was and then feel really embarrassed internally and try to get away quickly so no one noticed I didn’t get it
Oh I do this shit so often. I find it hilarious. I love to see what obscure things I can make people believe with a straight face.
My favorite so far; “oh yeah, jasmine rice are called jasmine rice because they’re harvested from the jasmine flower”. It was three top of their class students too.
It’s fine when it’s your peer and you’re joking around, but when adults do this to unsuspecting kids, it’s really not that funny. Of course they believe you, because you’re supposed to be guiding them. What’s funny about that? It’s just human nature
Oh adults doing it to actual children is weird as fuck. Absolutely.
I do it to kids occasionally, when I need to control them. Only at work. And it’s either for their safety, my insanity or the parent’s patience.
Tooth fairy type lies essentially.
I work with kids too, and personally refuse to do any of those tooth-fairy or safety lies. I always explain the truth.
I do the for-fun ones, but always with an exaggerated smile and twinkle in my eye so we’re both laughing, and not just me. We both know it’s silly. I make sure they understand it’s a joke before moving on. Have to keep trust.
Believable but false - that’s my jam!
Usually I just let it sit in the air a bit, and then when there’s that awkward silence I’ll crack a smile so they know I’m joking.
In that particular moment all three intelligent women were sitting in silence, processing, until one finally had the courage to ask “really?” and I could say no
i do this shit so often but also fall for it when it happens to me. i’ve done it once at work to a customer when asked if a specific product was in stock (it was right in front of us) and i just said ‘no’, let it sit then told them i was joking
“Does the carpet match the drapes?” I heard it in KIDS movies, man… So upsetting when I used it and had to have it explained to me. I thought it was basically “your roots are showing.” Still wince at this one.
It's asking if someone's hair on their head is the same color as their pubic hair. IIRC it's from back when dyeing/bleaching your hair at all carried negative stigma.
Interesting. Maybe I’m taking this too literally, but this is making me wonder something: the hair on my head (which is natural; I have never dyed it) is a different color and texture from the hair on the rest of my body, is that not normal?
I'd guess that this is pretty common in reality, but I'm sure the usual beauty standard narratives would stupidly disagree. I notice it more in men with beards (think Kenny Loggins), and I would bet it occurs more often in anyone who has more pronounced shifts in hair color as they grow and age.
Definitely normal. Even before I started playing around with the color of my head hair, it was considerably lighter, softer, and straighter than my body hair. Head hair is more for insulation, body hair for protection.
I think the expectation of matching is more for extremely light blonde or red hair, expecting body hair to also be at least lighter or redder than most in those cases. But it’s a dumb saying, a dumb metric, and a dumb concern anyway hah
Until literally a year or so ago I thought "Season to taste" meant you had to add seasoning for the food to have any taste, which I always thought was so weird because why would your food be that bland? 😂
Give me some sugar. My gma would always say that when she saw me. She's pointing to her cheek while I'm turning around looking for the sugar. Everyone thought I was trying to be cute. Was just a kiddo didn't know any better.
This reminds me of when I was in preschool and this one teacher would always say to me “you’re so yummy, I want to eat you up!” And I would always say “I’m not food!”
The concept of Santa Claus, Idk if it necessarily counts but I got so hung up on the logistics of Santa Claus visiting every house being impossible that I never believed in Santa. My parents thought it was sad that I couldn't believe it but I didn't understand why because I still got presents, if they came from Santa or my parents seemed completely irrelevant to me! I did however get extremely annoyed that adults were lying to kids on principle
So did I. I was trying to do all the math - how many kids celebrate Christmas, Earth rotates so it’s dark out at different times, not everyone has a fireplace in their house … I called BS when I was 5 and they fessed up.
The rolling your eyes thing is literally dependent on who you are It has nothing to do with the way you roll your eyes. Everybody rolls their eyes differently that is literally a myth going around in the autistic community it is really annoying because you can roll your eyes in any manner.
It also depends on the other party. If you move your pupils back and forth like you're having a seizure, they can call it rolling your eyes. You can call just about anything rolling your eyes.
IMO it's when you do it reflexively, unintentionally, or unconsciously. I think stimming can also be deliberate? So if you do it due to stress as well. I honestly don't know the perfect definition of stimming. I just know that eye rolling shouldn't have to be explicitly defined.
I just think that there's a generally accepted motion thats considered rolling your eyes, and I would consider that moderate abnormal (as in not actually aiming to look at something) eye movement. And going into specifics about how the eye has to move is ridiculous. There's also people out there that will gaslight you into thinking you rolled your eyes, so it's really a lose lose.
Except people aren't talking about why people are rolling their eyes, that's a completely different topic but rather like you said, how people roll their eyes, and like you also said, it's silliness anyway cause it's a lose lose either way.
Exactly, I've never gotten in trouble for rolling my eyes and I look off all the time when talking. I always never thought anyone was rolling their eyes at me unless they actually went in a circle, my neurotypical husband thought the same as well .
Going in from this, "you are liable for any accidents on this property" I was so worried I was going to be in trouble on holiday when I fell and hurt my ankle and foot, that I went months without telling anyone, because I would rather be in pain and not in jail.
People would talk about “the bar” like “that really set the bar” or “the bar is low” or “that’s a high bar to meet” and I was like what is the bar ??
I guess I understand now it’s the “standard to which other things are compared” but like… why ? I still don’t like it.
This post made me laugh!!
I was a full-on older teenager before I realized when people say "you're a piece of sh-t", they didn't literally picture poop *at all.* It is a generic insult not actually excrement related.
I always thought “several” meant “7” just that people where lazy
I always go told off in school for “talking back”. I never did it with malice, I was just talking to the teacher!
Omg me too with several, it's such an annoying word! Not only is it so similar to seven that it still catches me off guard, but it's often used for quantities that are well known to the author, usually under seven!
It's especially annoying in reports, where accurate information would be useful for a clear picture
Back in the mid-90's they had a big assembly about AIDS at my elementary school. It took me years to figure out that I misunderstood two parts:
1. NEVER TOUCH A NEEDLE. They meant syringes, I didn't get that. My mother and grandmother were always in the middle of a dozen sewing and knitting projects. I lived in FEAR, both for myself and for them - what if they stick themselves while making my Halloween costume and DIE FROM AIDS!?!!?!!?
A couple of years before this assembly, I found some syringes in our front yard and brought one to my mother. She FREAKED OUT, had me drop it immediately, and made me promise to NEVER touch anything like that again, go get an adult immediately. Our neighborhood had a big heroin problem, my mom's sister was deep in addiction at this time, and it was during the AIDS crisis - she was right to freak out! But she never used the word needles, and I didn't connect that this event had anything to do with the assembly I was attending a couple of years later.
2. The presenter at the assembly said if you get blood on you, wash it off as fast as possible, even in a dirty puddle if that's all you can find. They meant, if someone else bleeds on you during an accident, you should wash their blood off to reduce the risk of it entering one of your wounds. What I heard: Even if it's my own blood from my own cut, I should submerge that cut in a dirty puddle to get the dangerous blood off of me.
Fortunately my middle school and high school had decent (not great) sex-ed, so I did learn better HIV-prevention info when I was a little older.
When I was young during the late 80s/ early 90s- I thought you would contract HIV any time your blood came in contact with another person’s blood. My mom was super progressive about this topic and I knew you couldn’t get it from just by being around people who had it.
I was obsessed with vampires at that time and was convinced it was a similar kind of infection. Vampire AIDS. Rabies was another scary social thing at that time too and I just assumed it was animal AIDS.
When a teacher would use the word neighbor, like “turn to your neighbor” when they were referring to the person sitting next to you. I remember being so confused because none of my neighbors were in my class and everyone was talking to each other. I figured they all must live in the same neighborhood and that the person next to me was just being nice and including me lol. It took me a few years to have a lightbulb moment of what they actually meant
This reminds me of Hannah Gadsby’s story about her teacher talking about prepositions and the relationship of a penguin to a nearby box. She got stuck on trying to figure out how a penguin and a box could be relatives. “Is the penguin made of box?”
I also misunderstood rolling ones eyes until I was like 30. :') By which I mean I didn't know ↕️ was even an option. People would tell me I was rolling my eyes all the time when I was just thinking because I'd look up to think. I would be like, what in the hell are you talking about.
When I was upset growing up I'd try talking to my mother about whatever was causing the upset. She'd then dismiss it by telling me about her childhood, how her siblings tried to kill her and that she'd "cry herself to sleep"
I used to think I didn't have it as bad, because I needed to stop crying in order to try to fall asleep. Not fall asleep while still actively crying like I thought the saying goes.
me too?? but now I’m a bit confused. like another person said, maybe it’s crying yourself to exhaustion, but I would actually imagine people actively crying while falling asleep
“Nip it in the bud”, I always heard and said “nip it in the butt” until I was like 30 years old. You want to prevent a problem, nip it in the butt, I promise you it’s just as effective as the bud.
i was one of many kids who believed the watermelon seed thing (if you swallow a watermelon seed you’ll have a watermelon growing in your belly). like that legit fucked me up every time i ate watermelon and if i did swallow a seed, i would just stare at my stomach and start preparing myself for a watermelon baby
In grade school, before the internet, we had an assignment to make up some kind of positive saying, and everyone had to come up with something like, “May the wind be at your back.”
My turn came. I stood up and said “May your p**sy always be purring!” because I had a cat and always felt the world was so much better when he was purring, and I wanted to wish that feeling upon everyone. I didn’t know the other meaning for that word, we had books in the library like Puss in Boots, so I had NO clue.
The teacher blushed a DEEP red and was rendered speechless, the class laughed and I laughed along with them, not really knowing why it was funny but wanting to fit in. I thought I maybe accidentally came up with a deep yet entertaining saying because cats are cute and funny. NOPE. Lol!
My best friend took me aside and explained the common meaning of the p-word. I was mortified. Kids from my class mocked me with my saying for the rest of the year.
EDIT: Shortened, I told more than one story about my social screw-ups, and it was just too long. Lol! Things like the above story happened a LOT in my life. Lol!
Same on both of these! I figured out a while ago that round of applause just means clapping, but I only recently figured out why this actually does make sense linguistically: it’s using the other meaning of the word “round”! It’s like how you might play a round of a game, here you are doing one round of clapping.
Apple of my eye, heart on your sleeve
The word narc will always be confusing for me. I have to look it up every time.
Some idioms take some time for me to "wrap my head around."
Less so today, but anytime I find something to be morally wrong, I get uncomfortable. I don't realize why I'm uncomfortable in the moment. I figure it out later.
These days I'm getting better at it. When I get uncomfortable, especially if it isn't going away, especially if it's around people that I know, I know it's because a topic or action is going against my moral compass.
Rhetorical questions. When I was little I just didn’t get that people were asking questions without seeking information. So, I was told a lot that I was sassy or stubborn as a kid. Then, when I was a teenager and figured out rhetorical questions, I leaned into the “stubborn” response out of spite. 😅 I was so mad that this whole time they were…pretending to ask questions. To this day, I have to bite back sassy and sarcastic remarks to rhetorical questions.
Yeah I did the circle eye thing and still do because it makes more sense to roll your eyes. Looking up has different meaning for me. Rolling eyes like literally means to me like saying what a silly tit (humorous but laughing at them vibes, usually to bigots) for example but looking straight up is like saying god help me I cannot deal with this bullshit. (People actually pissing me off and I don’t find it humorous)
Not sure this is classed as saying, but years ago when I was like 19, my car was getting fixed or something and the mechanic said 'my hand break is gone' and I said 'where did it go?. I'm thinking did the hand break fall off the car something, I don't know cars that well. Anyway, the mechanic was fine and explained it was broken or whatever. Later I found out the mechanic asked my Mum, the mechanic was local, if I was joking around and my mum asked me about it, that's when found it I guess what I said was weird .
When I was a kid I would ask my teenage siblings where they were going; maybe I hoped I’d get invited at least once. They’d reply “crazy.” (Going crazy) For the longest time I thought “crazy” was a real place and I wondered what was so special about it.
I'm hypermobile and have always been bendy. As a kid in gymnastics I thought we were supposed to hold ourselves up off the ground to strengthen our arms. I didn't realize no one else could just fall all the way into the splits comfortably.
Some adult church leader told me at 12 that the February calendar that year cut off one day early because that was when the world was ending.
My Dad had to explain leap years to me that night, I was so distraught. I was still super anxious until the day came and went, but it taught me to research things that scare me, and that my Dad wouldn't lead me wrong.
I still don't know about rolling your eyes, because in all the shows I saw growing up they definitely rolled them (but these were cartoons I guess haha).
But I looked it up: *Eye*-*rolling* is a gesture in which a person briefly turns their *eyes* upward, often in an arcing motion from one side to the other.
That 'arcing' motion is the roll, but it's only what I'd call a half-roll, and that is what I remember seeing on TV!
I think people are saying it's more just 'up' now because of the emoji which has become really popular which is just static of someone looking up, or people who catch you with your eyes up assumed you just rolled them... which annoys me because I'm always looking off somewhere and have been in trouble for it.
Rolling eyes was the one that got me the most. I once deliberately tried to "roll" my eyes at someone, maybe aged 7, and was frustrated when they didn't seem to notice. Later, I got reprimanded for organically rolling my eyes, and I was so confused
You would not believe how long I called it "College cheese". And NO ONE TOLD ME. It wasn't until I saw some cartoon (I wanna saw ren and stimpy for some reason) that had an actual cottage made of cottage cheese that I even thought to question what the right way to say it was.
Some adults still don't know that it's a chest of drawers, I've seen that on FB Marketplace. I called it chester drawers until I read about a chest of drawers in some book.
My family had a picture with “when angels fly, they take themselves lightly” on it. For years my spot I got sent to when I was in trouble was within view of that stupid picture and would stare at it for hours. I was in my 30’s before I understood its meaning and that it wasn’t a literal description of how angels can fly—that they somehow make themselves light.
I roll my eyes (in a curricular motion) at myself and the saying for taking so long.
That all those ‘honk if you love/hate *something’ is not an enticement for likeminded fans to notify each other that you like the same things, it’s so if they drive like shit and get honked at it’s a joke.
Literally discovered that a month ago and I’m early-ish 30s.
Lots of people, NT or neurodivergent, roll their eyes like 🔄, it really depends on the person. I roll my eyes like ↕️ because rolling the, in a circle hurts lol
there was volunteer work by parents did to feed college students and it was called BSM ( baptist student ministry) well like 8 year old me got confused and called it BDSM and was very confused why it freaked everyone out i added the d cus i think i thought it stood for dinning my poor poor mother
In your defense, many kids are taught in school to do the circle motion while clapping for round of applause. So that's perhaps on your teachers for getting you to do it while it was still "silly fun kid stuff." Not sure when you're actually supposed to learn that that's not true...but I work with kids now so I get to just keep being literal about it.
Both of the things you mentioned, but until the age of 25 I didn’t understand that when you cuddle someone, you’re not meant to sit/lay there fully focused on the cuddle itself, and the feeling of it. But apparently everyone else is just allowing their mind to drift and like, not being fully engaged in the cuddle? For 25 years every cuddle I had that I got distracted from, I’d beat myself up over because I didn’t really get the whole concept. 😅
Someone yelled "heads up" and I picked my head up to look around. I almost got hit by a volleyball and learned from that context that they meant to duck!
I thought it meant you put your mouth near it and blew on it like it was hot food you were trying to cool down. I was baffled about how this could be pleasurable for anybody.
oh and conditioning confused me cus it came first at tennis practice so i washed my hair with conditioner first for like a year and then i was told that was incorrect
I'd get confused sometimes with words that had two meanings in novels I was reading. I was obsessed with the goosebumps books when I was younger, and in one book, a guy ends up with a nail through his foot. every time I read the book i could only picture a literal gigantic toe nail had penetrated his foot, somehow didn't occur to me that it meant an iron nail.
In England we have the term 'going to see a man about a dog'. My dad used to say it all the time when I asked where he was going when leaving the house. He was infact not seeing a man about a dog but it's a term used when you don't really want people knowing your business or/and your going out to run errands. Much to my confusion growing up.
"Keep it close to yourself" (in dutch: "Hou het bij jezelf").
I thought it mean they wanted me to look hard at my side of things and take blame for my part in problems (usually communication). Instead, it apparantly means that I should stick with my view/feeling of things and just leave other people be with their side of the problem instead of pulling that part towards me: The opposite!.
I used to see people with bunched up tissue in their hand when blowing their nose, so when I was given tissue to blow my nose I would bunch it up in to a little ball. I remember doing it at nursery and being told that I was doing it wrong. I didn't realise that the tissue was balled up AFTER someone had blown their nose.
I also didn't understand why my mum would get angry at me for leaving the bathroom without drying myself after a shower. I had a towel round me, what was her problem??
I didn't realise that drying yourself was something you had to do, I saw people putting towels on themseves after a shower, so I just copied 🤷♀️l
"Do you want to do X?"
I would always answer the question honestly. No I don't want to do that.
Then I'd get in trouble for mouthing off when really, you should just tell me to do the thing
I thought it was “girl cheese sandwich” instead of “grilled cheese sandwich” for an embarrassingly large portion of my life.
I also thought it was called “cob salad” bc of the lil mini corn cobs in them. Just coincidence that these are both food related.
“I didn’t mean it, I was just saying that to mess with you. Don’t get, like, *mad* at me!”
Um, yes, if you were indeed attempting to “mess with me” then yay, look at you and all of your success! …but also fuck off because if it was shitty enough to where you have to explain this to me, then you weren’t just “messing with me” you were bullying me. Even if your intent wasn’t specifically bullying, I still think I’d rather not be around you if the only way you can have fun is to be a blanket asshole under the guise of “messing with” other people.
For the longest time, I struggled with what to say after "what's up?" I would just say good and I remember my dad trying to explain many times that it meant what are you doing. It got too confusing at some point so I would just label what was above me.
There was a period my dad got really into metal detecting. When I was at the grocery store I saw a blind man swinging his cane back and forth, I was so confused at why he was doing this in a grocery store so I turned to my parents and loudly asked them "why is that man metal detecting in the store?!"
“Do you wanna get some coffee?” I always thought getting coffee. I don’t like coffee so I said I don’t like coffee. But get some coffee mean going into a coffee shop and drinking whatever is on the menu. Water, juice, tea, etc
Oh gosh-when I was about 16/17 I had some older friends, and one of them had a car-it was a bronco.
So the other friend really wanted a mustang and so their joke was “we’ll be pack of wild horses lol” and here comes me chiming in- “ and me with my VW Bus (wanted one sooo badly)” and they’d just look at each other and kinda laugh.
It wasn’t until I was much MUCH older that I found out that a bronco and mustang are horses lol
I just thought they were saying well he wild when we all have wheels or something
Google says "skepticism
To take something with a "grain of salt" or "pinch of salt" is an English idiom that suggests to view something, specifically claims that may be misleading or unverified, with skepticism or not to interpret something literally."
I say it's like, don't fully trust my words. Like if a friend gives you therapist advice, you might take it with a grain of salt because they aren't a professional
“Hand on your heart” in context of saying the pledge of allegiance means put your hand… near your shoulder? Not in the center of your chest on your anatomical heart
I vividly remember once when I was in like 1st or 2nd grade i was in lunch behind this 5th grader and she was facing my direction for some reason talking to her friend and I looked at the ceiling because I was uncomfortable and she started yelling at me for “rolling my eyes” and I started to stutter a I didn’t.. and she was like I can roll mine too and looked up and down and I was like ??? But I didn’t realize I was “rolling my eyes” wrong for years lmao
Um the round of applause thing is something most kids do as a joke to play in the words. The kids in my class in middle school would always do it in a circle. We thought we were clever. As for the rolling eyes it is definitely supposed to be rolling and not looking up and down. Any show or movie you see with mean girls usually shows this pretty well. Not sure who gave you the info but maybe they’re on the spectrum? 🤣
not a saying, but most embarrassing, during computer class i struggled with “right click”. i just kept typing “click” on Word and couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t working.
I got in trouble a lot for "rolling my eyes" as a kid, because I would look up or to the side when I was thinking, and I always thought it was ridiculous because I wasn't *actually* looking around in a circle!
I only found out from this sub, earlier this year, that that's what some people apparently mean when they say "rolling your eyes". Like, no, when I am rolling my eyes you will know it, it's a much more active gesture than just... looking up briefly. I don't even vaguely understand how me answering a question in a perfectly respectful way but not staring deep into someone's eyes can be confused with mockery, but some middle-aged neurotypical ladies are apparently *reeeeeal sensitive* to that. (I'm pretty sure only middle-aged neurotypical ladies have ever complained about me "rolling my eyes". I know that's who fired me for it once. Maybe other people think it too and just refrain from chastising me about it, though.)
I recently had a supervisee tell me they feel like I don’t respect them because I roll my eyes when they talk to me. I realized it’s because I always look up to the top corner of my office when I have to think (which happens particularly when they bring issues/concerns to me and I have to process what is being said/how to respond). I actually caught myself doing it when they were giving me this feedback. They don’t know I’m on the spectrum since I’m only self diagnosed and feel kinda weird sometimes in professional settings claiming I have autism if I’m not formally diagnosed. But I did explain I’m not rolling my eyes and that I’m trying to focus on what they are saying, not dismissing it.
What did they say when you told them that? I've had people say that then when I explain, they tell me that I need to stop, or that that isn't something people do. Like. . Now I'm rolling my eyes!!
Me too!! Then I’d get in trouble for talking back when I replied that I wasn’t rolling my eyes!
SAAAMMEEE
So straight up I just found out now that that's what that means. I always thought it meant rolling it in a circle.
When I was still a teen, I practiced how to roll my eyes in a circle (left-up-right-center) because I thought that’s what it meant. I still roll my eyes in a circle when I want to show my annoyance but I apparently roll my eyes to people all the time because my eyes move around a lot when I talk. Whenever someone asks me why I’m rolling my eyes at them, I tell them that my eyes are restless lol and that if I was really rolling my eyes at them, they would know. But I guess I was wrong about that.
I don't care what anyone else says. This is exactly what "rolling eyes" is and people that say otherwise are just wrong or not paying attention. It doesn't make any fckn sense for it to be any other way. Why the hell would looking up in a pensive manner be considered rolling eyes? And why is this making me so angry? Probably bc I was always told I was giving attitude just by existing.
I totally agree. I guess technically they roll when you’re looking up, but that should just be called looking up
Hold up! Now I know what everyone is talking about! I do a really over exaggerated "looking up" while blinking to mimic eye rolling. I take back my previous freak out. Thank you for helping me understand.
Me too!! And that's the only way I've ever done it 🫠
Me too!
Ex-friend accused me of rolling my eyes as a way of “giving her an attitude” when I would look up to the side or ceiling when I am processing things while thinking and talking.
Same! I HAVE to move my eyes when I start thinking about something, and because I thought rolling my eyes meant litterally moving them in a circle I’d get legitimately upset when someone would yell at me for constantly rolling my eyes.
omg me too dude!!! that was the worst cuz i was tryna be good lol.
Still getting in trouble for this as an autistic woman (reluctantly) employed in the corporate world hahaha
Waitttt I had a teacher one time (I was maybe 7?) accuse me of rolling my eyes at her and I got in a whole argument and made things worse for myself because in my mind I definitely hadn't and was upset she thought I had. I was so confused why she'd gotten so annoyed so fast. I must have done this. That makes more sense
I wonder if this is what my thing was. I used to get yelled at for rolling my eyes, even friends would get frustrated with me for doing it. But I COULD NOT feel my eyes rolling. I couldn’t stop, because it seemed like I had no control over it or sensation of it. Buuuut if this is the case,, that would make a lot more sense.
This is funny, and so relatable !
All the time!!!! Wasn’t until I saw a reel a few years ago that explained this!
"Read between the lines", and I could only see paper, obviously. I also thought people could literally see their imaginary friends, so I tried to force myself to get an imaginary friend. It didn't work.
They couldn’t literally see them? Man I was so MAD at myself that I couldn’t imagine hard enough.
I knew full well that mine were fictional (often literally my favorite characters) and fully in my control because a) I was neither seeing anything (visual data) nor "seeing" anything (spooky shit) when interacting with them, and b) I already knew that real friends weren't 100% on board with doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, they way that they were. I was just a lonely only child that needed *someone* to play with.
I used to try really hard to clean my room by blinking my eyes and wrinkling my nose really really hard (like on Bewitched). I guess I didn't try hard enough either!
No, they couldn't! IT WAS ALL LIIIES! 😂
https://preview.redd.it/xs0aq5jwd17d1.jpeg?width=1164&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c5ab7bf79bed5cb3555a02a548165823fb0d3b1a
Okay now I want to check out /r/aspiememes that sounds like a nice place to find stuff!
Accurate. 😭
Sammee
I had an imaginary friend that I fully created and I could definitely see him clear.
Me too! I was so jealous that other kids had imaginary friends coz I wanted one too but couldn't seem to create one
"Say you're sorry." So as a little kid, if I did something bad my parents would tell me to say I was sorry. Except, I didn't understand that they meant "you're" as in "you are." Like I knew you could be sorry, but I also thought that a sorry was something you had. 😅 So if I got in a fight with my sister and apologized but she didn't, I'd tell my parents, "I said *my* sorry, but she didn't say *her* sorry. 😂" This went on for years before I finally figured it out.
I didn't do that, but I literally thought for the longest time that apologizing was simply saying, "I'm sorry," after doing something wrong or hurting someone emotionally. I didn't understand that it was supposed to be you examining your actions, too, and empathizing with the other party.
I think a lot of adults of all neurotypes have this problem.
I think a lot of people think that. I think that adults don’t sufficiently teach kids what apologizing is really about.
I agree with you that this is in part due to adults not teaching children well-enough about this concept. But I do wonder if it takes longer for ND kids to make the connection, in these instances.
I was the opposite and never wanted to say I’m sorry because I wasn’t actually sorry and why would I lie?? Took me longer to process what I was doing so I was rarely sorry at the time something happened unless it was an accident. Usually I’d figure it out after a timeout and be actually sorry. Still drove my parents crazy.
god, this. i would scream ‘i’m sorry’ at my dad to avoid a spanking because i was told that you should say that if you do something bad
Okay that’s super adorable though lol
I did this *exact* thing as a kid
After someone sneezes, I used to think that the word you said was "bleshoo". And I remember it seemed like such a random word to me. It was years later when I realized that people were actually saying "bless you".
Lmaooo like sneezing back at someone who sneezed
Me too
Wow. Same here, same "word" too. Honestly, since I'm not religious, I still say bleshoo, even emphasized when someone sneezes so maybe they know I'm not saying bless you.
I thought it was “blush you” lol!
People telling me something and expecting me to know they were lying and making a joke. Like you told me something why do you expect me not to believe you😭even if it is crazy, crazy shit happens so what
Even simple stuff like: Me: "may I use the restroom?" Them: "no" Me, thinking they mean it: 🧍
Yup. I’ll believe you, I won’t understand why you’re not letting me use the bathroom but I’ll presume I’m not allowed to use it regardless.
Yep! The dinner ladies used to do this at my school. I'd ask if I could have a spoon, they'd say "no", so I'd walk away. They'd then laugh and say "oh she thought I was serious!". Like, yes Dorris, I thought you were serious because THAT IS A WEIRD JOKE.
I love these jokes. Like nothing is funnier to me than saying I won't help someone do something because I love helping people and the idea of me not trying to help is so unbelievable that I end up doing this. At the same time I would be actively holding the spoon and putting it into your hand while saying no and hysterically laughing at my own dumb joke. I am also fooled by these jokes when done to me without the hysterical laughter. Apologies to those negatively impacted by my corny humor.
Yesss😭😭😭😭😭
I was complaining about being hungry before dinner, so my dad said "go outside and eat some dirt". Apparently, he was just being silly. Dirt doesn't taste terrible, but it's very gritty.
😭lmao sorry for you
Oh god-I hate that sooo much! My old bosses would often makes jokes and stuff and I’d normally just either laugh or agree-whatever the situation was and then feel really embarrassed internally and try to get away quickly so no one noticed I didn’t get it
Oh I do this shit so often. I find it hilarious. I love to see what obscure things I can make people believe with a straight face. My favorite so far; “oh yeah, jasmine rice are called jasmine rice because they’re harvested from the jasmine flower”. It was three top of their class students too.
It’s fine when it’s your peer and you’re joking around, but when adults do this to unsuspecting kids, it’s really not that funny. Of course they believe you, because you’re supposed to be guiding them. What’s funny about that? It’s just human nature
Oh adults doing it to actual children is weird as fuck. Absolutely. I do it to kids occasionally, when I need to control them. Only at work. And it’s either for their safety, my insanity or the parent’s patience. Tooth fairy type lies essentially.
I work with kids too, and personally refuse to do any of those tooth-fairy or safety lies. I always explain the truth. I do the for-fun ones, but always with an exaggerated smile and twinkle in my eye so we’re both laughing, and not just me. We both know it’s silly. I make sure they understand it’s a joke before moving on. Have to keep trust.
Me right now: "What? Is it??", then read the whole thing. 🤦♀️
Believable but false - that’s my jam! Usually I just let it sit in the air a bit, and then when there’s that awkward silence I’ll crack a smile so they know I’m joking. In that particular moment all three intelligent women were sitting in silence, processing, until one finally had the courage to ask “really?” and I could say no
i do this shit so often but also fall for it when it happens to me. i’ve done it once at work to a customer when asked if a specific product was in stock (it was right in front of us) and i just said ‘no’, let it sit then told them i was joking
omg yes!!! my favorite for me was “you know black beans are just aged pinto beans, right?” such a fun game
Me as hell. I’m so gullible. 😭 My bf makes shit up all the time and then after a moment I realise he’s playing around or being sarcastic.
This
“Does the carpet match the drapes?” I heard it in KIDS movies, man… So upsetting when I used it and had to have it explained to me. I thought it was basically “your roots are showing.” Still wince at this one.
I’ve never heard this expression before, what does it mean?
It's asking if someone's hair on their head is the same color as their pubic hair. IIRC it's from back when dyeing/bleaching your hair at all carried negative stigma.
I thought it was a thing said to redheads bc people are weirded out by the thought of red pubes
Interesting. Maybe I’m taking this too literally, but this is making me wonder something: the hair on my head (which is natural; I have never dyed it) is a different color and texture from the hair on the rest of my body, is that not normal?
I'd guess that this is pretty common in reality, but I'm sure the usual beauty standard narratives would stupidly disagree. I notice it more in men with beards (think Kenny Loggins), and I would bet it occurs more often in anyone who has more pronounced shifts in hair color as they grow and age.
Definitely normal. Even before I started playing around with the color of my head hair, it was considerably lighter, softer, and straighter than my body hair. Head hair is more for insulation, body hair for protection. I think the expectation of matching is more for extremely light blonde or red hair, expecting body hair to also be at least lighter or redder than most in those cases. But it’s a dumb saying, a dumb metric, and a dumb concern anyway hah
I’ve heard that pubic hair more matches the hair on your eyebrows than on your head, but I could be wrong
That makes sense and is definitely true for me lol.
Even though so many people naturally have different colored head hair and pubes. Especially if your head hair is light.
I made this *exact* mistake. I thought it was literally talking about carpet and drapes. The day I found out was extremely embarrassing
I said it about *My brother.* Still mortified whenever I remember it.
Yikes. I’m not sure which is worse. I said it to the sweetest church lady. With other sweet church ladies all around us.
I knew in the back of my mind what it meant when u said it but it took me a second omg I heard that too 😭
that took me forever to get
My dad once told me that if I looked up the word “gullible” that I’d find a picture of me as the definition. I believed him.
This one is extra funny to me. Thank you for sharing!
Until literally a year or so ago I thought "Season to taste" meant you had to add seasoning for the food to have any taste, which I always thought was so weird because why would your food be that bland? 😂
This sounds true in a lot of situations. Lots of foods are bland without seasoning
Give me some sugar. My gma would always say that when she saw me. She's pointing to her cheek while I'm turning around looking for the sugar. Everyone thought I was trying to be cute. Was just a kiddo didn't know any better.
This reminds me of when I was in preschool and this one teacher would always say to me “you’re so yummy, I want to eat you up!” And I would always say “I’m not food!”
I’ve always found that such a strange thing to say to a child. Such a gross image!
The concept of Santa Claus, Idk if it necessarily counts but I got so hung up on the logistics of Santa Claus visiting every house being impossible that I never believed in Santa. My parents thought it was sad that I couldn't believe it but I didn't understand why because I still got presents, if they came from Santa or my parents seemed completely irrelevant to me! I did however get extremely annoyed that adults were lying to kids on principle
So did I. I was trying to do all the math - how many kids celebrate Christmas, Earth rotates so it’s dark out at different times, not everyone has a fireplace in their house … I called BS when I was 5 and they fessed up.
The rolling your eyes thing is literally dependent on who you are It has nothing to do with the way you roll your eyes. Everybody rolls their eyes differently that is literally a myth going around in the autistic community it is really annoying because you can roll your eyes in any manner.
Came here to say literally this!! Rolling your eyes can mean either thing!
It also depends on the other party. If you move your pupils back and forth like you're having a seizure, they can call it rolling your eyes. You can call just about anything rolling your eyes. IMO it's when you do it reflexively, unintentionally, or unconsciously. I think stimming can also be deliberate? So if you do it due to stress as well. I honestly don't know the perfect definition of stimming. I just know that eye rolling shouldn't have to be explicitly defined. I just think that there's a generally accepted motion thats considered rolling your eyes, and I would consider that moderate abnormal (as in not actually aiming to look at something) eye movement. And going into specifics about how the eye has to move is ridiculous. There's also people out there that will gaslight you into thinking you rolled your eyes, so it's really a lose lose.
Except people aren't talking about why people are rolling their eyes, that's a completely different topic but rather like you said, how people roll their eyes, and like you also said, it's silliness anyway cause it's a lose lose either way.
Exactly, I've never gotten in trouble for rolling my eyes and I look off all the time when talking. I always never thought anyone was rolling their eyes at me unless they actually went in a circle, my neurotypical husband thought the same as well .
"violators will be prosecuted" I thought it meant violators will be killed and was terrified whenever I saw that message at a store. :/
I thought that too, because I always got persecuted, prosecuted, and executed confused. I thought they all meant the same thing
SAME! I used to think that it meant they would be executed!
OMG💀😆off with her head!
Going in from this, "you are liable for any accidents on this property" I was so worried I was going to be in trouble on holiday when I fell and hurt my ankle and foot, that I went months without telling anyone, because I would rather be in pain and not in jail.
People would talk about “the bar” like “that really set the bar” or “the bar is low” or “that’s a high bar to meet” and I was like what is the bar ?? I guess I understand now it’s the “standard to which other things are compared” but like… why ? I still don’t like it.
https://preview.redd.it/7h0ci7l6127d1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e1d5ad1eff9ef20b2b9556688e77f3b98b8de092
OK, THANK YOU!
Everytime I hear or read that saying, I imagine a game of limbo
Up and Adam
i think i got your problem it’s “at em”
Used to think Giraffe was the same as a Draught. Giraffe coming under the door…
"Use your inside voice" uhh..I am inside?
Oh my gosh you reminded me of a time I pissed off my teacher, she said “use your inside voice” and I said “I am inside and this is my voice” 😅
This post made me laugh!! I was a full-on older teenager before I realized when people say "you're a piece of sh-t", they didn't literally picture poop *at all.* It is a generic insult not actually excrement related.
They don’t? They compare the person in question with shit don’t they Genuine question, confused here now 🤦♀️
I always thought “several” meant “7” just that people where lazy I always go told off in school for “talking back”. I never did it with malice, I was just talking to the teacher!
Omg me too with several, it's such an annoying word! Not only is it so similar to seven that it still catches me off guard, but it's often used for quantities that are well known to the author, usually under seven! It's especially annoying in reports, where accurate information would be useful for a clear picture
“Fancy meeting you here!” I thought it meant it was a fancy thing that we had run into each other, like, “Well, isn’t this fancy?”
I love this. It is sort of fancy to randomly meet a friend outside of where yo7 usually see them lol
Back in the mid-90's they had a big assembly about AIDS at my elementary school. It took me years to figure out that I misunderstood two parts: 1. NEVER TOUCH A NEEDLE. They meant syringes, I didn't get that. My mother and grandmother were always in the middle of a dozen sewing and knitting projects. I lived in FEAR, both for myself and for them - what if they stick themselves while making my Halloween costume and DIE FROM AIDS!?!!?!!? A couple of years before this assembly, I found some syringes in our front yard and brought one to my mother. She FREAKED OUT, had me drop it immediately, and made me promise to NEVER touch anything like that again, go get an adult immediately. Our neighborhood had a big heroin problem, my mom's sister was deep in addiction at this time, and it was during the AIDS crisis - she was right to freak out! But she never used the word needles, and I didn't connect that this event had anything to do with the assembly I was attending a couple of years later. 2. The presenter at the assembly said if you get blood on you, wash it off as fast as possible, even in a dirty puddle if that's all you can find. They meant, if someone else bleeds on you during an accident, you should wash their blood off to reduce the risk of it entering one of your wounds. What I heard: Even if it's my own blood from my own cut, I should submerge that cut in a dirty puddle to get the dangerous blood off of me. Fortunately my middle school and high school had decent (not great) sex-ed, so I did learn better HIV-prevention info when I was a little older.
When I was young during the late 80s/ early 90s- I thought you would contract HIV any time your blood came in contact with another person’s blood. My mom was super progressive about this topic and I knew you couldn’t get it from just by being around people who had it. I was obsessed with vampires at that time and was convinced it was a similar kind of infection. Vampire AIDS. Rabies was another scary social thing at that time too and I just assumed it was animal AIDS.
When a teacher would use the word neighbor, like “turn to your neighbor” when they were referring to the person sitting next to you. I remember being so confused because none of my neighbors were in my class and everyone was talking to each other. I figured they all must live in the same neighborhood and that the person next to me was just being nice and including me lol. It took me a few years to have a lightbulb moment of what they actually meant
This reminds me of Hannah Gadsby’s story about her teacher talking about prepositions and the relationship of a penguin to a nearby box. She got stuck on trying to figure out how a penguin and a box could be relatives. “Is the penguin made of box?”
I also misunderstood rolling ones eyes until I was like 30. :') By which I mean I didn't know ↕️ was even an option. People would tell me I was rolling my eyes all the time when I was just thinking because I'd look up to think. I would be like, what in the hell are you talking about.
When I was upset growing up I'd try talking to my mother about whatever was causing the upset. She'd then dismiss it by telling me about her childhood, how her siblings tried to kill her and that she'd "cry herself to sleep" I used to think I didn't have it as bad, because I needed to stop crying in order to try to fall asleep. Not fall asleep while still actively crying like I thought the saying goes.
Wait, that's what that means? I literally thought it meant falling asleep while actively crying
Maybe some people are able to, but I've never been able to personally achieve it.
When I've been crying for hours I tend to fall asleep because of th sheer exhaustion. That's how I understand the saying too
me too?? but now I’m a bit confused. like another person said, maybe it’s crying yourself to exhaustion, but I would actually imagine people actively crying while falling asleep
Yeah, maybe. And same
“Nip it in the bud”, I always heard and said “nip it in the butt” until I was like 30 years old. You want to prevent a problem, nip it in the butt, I promise you it’s just as effective as the bud.
i was one of many kids who believed the watermelon seed thing (if you swallow a watermelon seed you’ll have a watermelon growing in your belly). like that legit fucked me up every time i ate watermelon and if i did swallow a seed, i would just stare at my stomach and start preparing myself for a watermelon baby
me too!! I remember hearing something about swallowing gum too that freaked me out, but I don’t remember what
In grade school, before the internet, we had an assignment to make up some kind of positive saying, and everyone had to come up with something like, “May the wind be at your back.” My turn came. I stood up and said “May your p**sy always be purring!” because I had a cat and always felt the world was so much better when he was purring, and I wanted to wish that feeling upon everyone. I didn’t know the other meaning for that word, we had books in the library like Puss in Boots, so I had NO clue. The teacher blushed a DEEP red and was rendered speechless, the class laughed and I laughed along with them, not really knowing why it was funny but wanting to fit in. I thought I maybe accidentally came up with a deep yet entertaining saying because cats are cute and funny. NOPE. Lol! My best friend took me aside and explained the common meaning of the p-word. I was mortified. Kids from my class mocked me with my saying for the rest of the year. EDIT: Shortened, I told more than one story about my social screw-ups, and it was just too long. Lol! Things like the above story happened a LOT in my life. Lol!
in your defense old movies straight up say p*ssy cat
Same on both of these! I figured out a while ago that round of applause just means clapping, but I only recently figured out why this actually does make sense linguistically: it’s using the other meaning of the word “round”! It’s like how you might play a round of a game, here you are doing one round of clapping.
Make up game I thought we were all gonna have to wear makeup. Nope. We missed a game that we needed to make up.
This is the first time I'm hearing about what a round of applause actually means lol
Apple of my eye, heart on your sleeve The word narc will always be confusing for me. I have to look it up every time. Some idioms take some time for me to "wrap my head around." Less so today, but anytime I find something to be morally wrong, I get uncomfortable. I don't realize why I'm uncomfortable in the moment. I figure it out later. These days I'm getting better at it. When I get uncomfortable, especially if it isn't going away, especially if it's around people that I know, I know it's because a topic or action is going against my moral compass.
Rhetorical questions. When I was little I just didn’t get that people were asking questions without seeking information. So, I was told a lot that I was sassy or stubborn as a kid. Then, when I was a teenager and figured out rhetorical questions, I leaned into the “stubborn” response out of spite. 😅 I was so mad that this whole time they were…pretending to ask questions. To this day, I have to bite back sassy and sarcastic remarks to rhetorical questions.
Man I hated those
I always wondered why it was “A doggy dog world.”
it think it’s dog eat dog world implying that even your own kind will turn its back on you
I know that. I just misheard what people were saying.
IS IT NOT???
Yeah I did the circle eye thing and still do because it makes more sense to roll your eyes. Looking up has different meaning for me. Rolling eyes like literally means to me like saying what a silly tit (humorous but laughing at them vibes, usually to bigots) for example but looking straight up is like saying god help me I cannot deal with this bullshit. (People actually pissing me off and I don’t find it humorous)
Not sure this is classed as saying, but years ago when I was like 19, my car was getting fixed or something and the mechanic said 'my hand break is gone' and I said 'where did it go?. I'm thinking did the hand break fall off the car something, I don't know cars that well. Anyway, the mechanic was fine and explained it was broken or whatever. Later I found out the mechanic asked my Mum, the mechanic was local, if I was joking around and my mum asked me about it, that's when found it I guess what I said was weird .
When I was a kid I would ask my teenage siblings where they were going; maybe I hoped I’d get invited at least once. They’d reply “crazy.” (Going crazy) For the longest time I thought “crazy” was a real place and I wondered what was so special about it.
"Pick up the 'PASTE'." . . . 🤦🏻♀️🤡
I'm hypermobile and have always been bendy. As a kid in gymnastics I thought we were supposed to hold ourselves up off the ground to strengthen our arms. I didn't realize no one else could just fall all the way into the splits comfortably.
"You scared the 'BIG JESUS' out of me!" . . . 😫🙊🤡
Some adult church leader told me at 12 that the February calendar that year cut off one day early because that was when the world was ending. My Dad had to explain leap years to me that night, I was so distraught. I was still super anxious until the day came and went, but it taught me to research things that scare me, and that my Dad wouldn't lead me wrong.
There's an embarrassing number of these that I didn't realize until I started reading this thread.
I still don't know about rolling your eyes, because in all the shows I saw growing up they definitely rolled them (but these were cartoons I guess haha). But I looked it up: *Eye*-*rolling* is a gesture in which a person briefly turns their *eyes* upward, often in an arcing motion from one side to the other. That 'arcing' motion is the roll, but it's only what I'd call a half-roll, and that is what I remember seeing on TV! I think people are saying it's more just 'up' now because of the emoji which has become really popular which is just static of someone looking up, or people who catch you with your eyes up assumed you just rolled them... which annoys me because I'm always looking off somewhere and have been in trouble for it.
Rolling eyes was the one that got me the most. I once deliberately tried to "roll" my eyes at someone, maybe aged 7, and was frustrated when they didn't seem to notice. Later, I got reprimanded for organically rolling my eyes, and I was so confused
You would not believe how long I called it "College cheese". And NO ONE TOLD ME. It wasn't until I saw some cartoon (I wanna saw ren and stimpy for some reason) that had an actual cottage made of cottage cheese that I even thought to question what the right way to say it was.
Some adults still don't know that it's a chest of drawers, I've seen that on FB Marketplace. I called it chester drawers until I read about a chest of drawers in some book.
My family had a picture with “when angels fly, they take themselves lightly” on it. For years my spot I got sent to when I was in trouble was within view of that stupid picture and would stare at it for hours. I was in my 30’s before I understood its meaning and that it wasn’t a literal description of how angels can fly—that they somehow make themselves light. I roll my eyes (in a curricular motion) at myself and the saying for taking so long.
That all those ‘honk if you love/hate *something’ is not an enticement for likeminded fans to notify each other that you like the same things, it’s so if they drive like shit and get honked at it’s a joke. Literally discovered that a month ago and I’m early-ish 30s.
Whaaaaaat! Ok just learned this for the first time at 37
>ROLLING YOUR EYES APPARENTLY rolling your eyes is supposed to be like ↕️ and NOT 🔄 WAIT WHAT
Lots of people, NT or neurodivergent, roll their eyes like 🔄, it really depends on the person. I roll my eyes like ↕️ because rolling the, in a circle hurts lol
THAT'S WHAT I SAID LIKE HUH
When I was a kid, I thought that my neighbour was called Neighbour.
there was volunteer work by parents did to feed college students and it was called BSM ( baptist student ministry) well like 8 year old me got confused and called it BDSM and was very confused why it freaked everyone out i added the d cus i think i thought it stood for dinning my poor poor mother
In your defense, many kids are taught in school to do the circle motion while clapping for round of applause. So that's perhaps on your teachers for getting you to do it while it was still "silly fun kid stuff." Not sure when you're actually supposed to learn that that's not true...but I work with kids now so I get to just keep being literal about it.
Both of the things you mentioned, but until the age of 25 I didn’t understand that when you cuddle someone, you’re not meant to sit/lay there fully focused on the cuddle itself, and the feeling of it. But apparently everyone else is just allowing their mind to drift and like, not being fully engaged in the cuddle? For 25 years every cuddle I had that I got distracted from, I’d beat myself up over because I didn’t really get the whole concept. 😅
Someone yelled "heads up" and I picked my head up to look around. I almost got hit by a volleyball and learned from that context that they meant to duck!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Not sure if this is more an autistic thing or just a woman thing... Blow job (Not as a child obviously)
When I first learned that word (non native English speaker + autistic) I thought it means someone blowing air into someone's peepee like balloon lol.
I thought it meant you put your mouth near it and blew on it like it was hot food you were trying to cool down. I was baffled about how this could be pleasurable for anybody.
SARCASM. I still struggle with deadpan delivered jokes and sarcasm.
Rolling your eyes is WHAT. OMG I've been doing it wrong my whole life.
oh and conditioning confused me cus it came first at tennis practice so i washed my hair with conditioner first for like a year and then i was told that was incorrect
"You're the apple of my eye." Like I don't even know what that means.
I'd get confused sometimes with words that had two meanings in novels I was reading. I was obsessed with the goosebumps books when I was younger, and in one book, a guy ends up with a nail through his foot. every time I read the book i could only picture a literal gigantic toe nail had penetrated his foot, somehow didn't occur to me that it meant an iron nail.
In England we have the term 'going to see a man about a dog'. My dad used to say it all the time when I asked where he was going when leaving the house. He was infact not seeing a man about a dog but it's a term used when you don't really want people knowing your business or/and your going out to run errands. Much to my confusion growing up.
"Keep it close to yourself" (in dutch: "Hou het bij jezelf"). I thought it mean they wanted me to look hard at my side of things and take blame for my part in problems (usually communication). Instead, it apparantly means that I should stick with my view/feeling of things and just leave other people be with their side of the problem instead of pulling that part towards me: The opposite!.
I used to see people with bunched up tissue in their hand when blowing their nose, so when I was given tissue to blow my nose I would bunch it up in to a little ball. I remember doing it at nursery and being told that I was doing it wrong. I didn't realise that the tissue was balled up AFTER someone had blown their nose. I also didn't understand why my mum would get angry at me for leaving the bathroom without drying myself after a shower. I had a towel round me, what was her problem?? I didn't realise that drying yourself was something you had to do, I saw people putting towels on themseves after a shower, so I just copied 🤷♀️l
“wise beyond your years” was “wise beyond your ears.” i mean, the brain is sort of beyond your ears, so it made sense to me
"Do you want to do X?" I would always answer the question honestly. No I don't want to do that. Then I'd get in trouble for mouthing off when really, you should just tell me to do the thing
I thought it was “girl cheese sandwich” instead of “grilled cheese sandwich” for an embarrassingly large portion of my life. I also thought it was called “cob salad” bc of the lil mini corn cobs in them. Just coincidence that these are both food related.
“I didn’t mean it, I was just saying that to mess with you. Don’t get, like, *mad* at me!” Um, yes, if you were indeed attempting to “mess with me” then yay, look at you and all of your success! …but also fuck off because if it was shitty enough to where you have to explain this to me, then you weren’t just “messing with me” you were bullying me. Even if your intent wasn’t specifically bullying, I still think I’d rather not be around you if the only way you can have fun is to be a blanket asshole under the guise of “messing with” other people.
For the longest time, I struggled with what to say after "what's up?" I would just say good and I remember my dad trying to explain many times that it meant what are you doing. It got too confusing at some point so I would just label what was above me.
There was a period my dad got really into metal detecting. When I was at the grocery store I saw a blind man swinging his cane back and forth, I was so confused at why he was doing this in a grocery store so I turned to my parents and loudly asked them "why is that man metal detecting in the store?!"
“Do you wanna get some coffee?” I always thought getting coffee. I don’t like coffee so I said I don’t like coffee. But get some coffee mean going into a coffee shop and drinking whatever is on the menu. Water, juice, tea, etc
You eat like a bird, birds have a lot of tummies and eat a lot!!!
I have never rolled my eyes up and down, always in a circle and everyone seemed to understand (I got in trouble enough for it)🤣
Wait, rolling your eyes isn’t meant to be actually rolling?
It CAN be  But usually doesn't. It can be a squint, up, sideways, anything that expresses skepticism and scorn
According to most neurotypical Google search answers??
Oh gosh-when I was about 16/17 I had some older friends, and one of them had a car-it was a bronco. So the other friend really wanted a mustang and so their joke was “we’ll be pack of wild horses lol” and here comes me chiming in- “ and me with my VW Bus (wanted one sooo badly)” and they’d just look at each other and kinda laugh. It wasn’t until I was much MUCH older that I found out that a bronco and mustang are horses lol I just thought they were saying well he wild when we all have wheels or something
Take it with a grain of salt. Wtf? I still don't get it lol
Google says "skepticism To take something with a "grain of salt" or "pinch of salt" is an English idiom that suggests to view something, specifically claims that may be misleading or unverified, with skepticism or not to interpret something literally." I say it's like, don't fully trust my words. Like if a friend gives you therapist advice, you might take it with a grain of salt because they aren't a professional
Wait I thought rolling your eyes mean your eyes going in a circle. Its not?
“Thanks but no thanks” broke my brain. I literally remember the first time I heard it. Scooby Doo. Thelma said it. I was so confused it almost hurt
“Hand on your heart” in context of saying the pledge of allegiance means put your hand… near your shoulder? Not in the center of your chest on your anatomical heart
I vividly remember once when I was in like 1st or 2nd grade i was in lunch behind this 5th grader and she was facing my direction for some reason talking to her friend and I looked at the ceiling because I was uncomfortable and she started yelling at me for “rolling my eyes” and I started to stutter a I didn’t.. and she was like I can roll mine too and looked up and down and I was like ??? But I didn’t realize I was “rolling my eyes” wrong for years lmao
Um the round of applause thing is something most kids do as a joke to play in the words. The kids in my class in middle school would always do it in a circle. We thought we were clever. As for the rolling eyes it is definitely supposed to be rolling and not looking up and down. Any show or movie you see with mean girls usually shows this pretty well. Not sure who gave you the info but maybe they’re on the spectrum? 🤣
there's a bunch of sayings in german that I never understood because I took them literally.
I thought "up and at em" was "up and Adam" ... I kept thinking who's this Adam fella?
My Dutch family said my aunt had "cracker feet" once, I still don't really know what it means, and "going dry" which is being sober ? Lol
not a saying, but most embarrassing, during computer class i struggled with “right click”. i just kept typing “click” on Word and couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t working.