Funny mistake you've made by taking something literally?

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I think the doctor was asking what was the least you weighed as an adult.


Here is a funny one, I have been asked when my last period was and I answered March 31st thinking the nurse meant the last day I had it because it's the last period, not the first day I started my last period. Well I learned in 2010 it actually means "When did you last start your last period?" I was actually excited when I found out I was a week ahead in my pregnancy because I was one week behind (due to giving the wrong date of my last period). That meant I had less weeks to go in my pregnancy and it meant the sooner the terror of losing another child would end.a

Last edited by League_Girl on 20 Oct 2011, 5:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

To ''put the mockers on someone'' means somebody is affected by the person causing an awkward atmosphere. For example, if your boss was in a really bad mood and wasn't speaking to anyone and not acting theirself, you would say, ''ohh the boss puts the mockers on me when he's like this!'' And about the smell - I never actually heard of it as a metaphor either, perhaps my friend meant it more as an analogy of how she felt about him or something.

I'm not calling anyone stupid. It's just that all of us must have the knowledge of this sort of stuff in us somewhere, otherwise there wouldn't be any metaphors or jokes anywhere on WP and if there was then there would be confusion and people asking, ''what does that mean?'' or something.

The only time when metaphors confuse me is when they're used too much in poems. For example:-


What the hell is that all about?

It's not your fault. The question was unclear.

I still think that question was weird since I was 15 and still growing so it's not like I was an adult and had been the same weight for a while.

I hate getting asked when my last period was because I usually can't remember. I used to know when I was younger but after having Norplant for 5 years I stopped keeping track.

I was unclear. I know a classic ASD trait is taking things literally however I wonder,
How would an NT person understand something if it involved slang or metaphors that they have never heard before.

For example one of my sisters young kids, who is very NT, and very perceptive of others feelings, would not know what
"took a hit of a joint" was if she were unfamiliar with drug slang.

I would also imagine an NT American might not know what "put the mockers on her" means due to unfamiliarity to British slang.

"what was the least you ever weighed?" is an ambiguous question. How would an NT person know what that means? I don't know what it means and I would ask for clarification.

Most people (even aspies) interpret "smart enough" as intelligent enough and the opposite of it means you're not smart and most people interpret not being smart as in being stupid. So people are going to get offended when someone says "I am smart enough to tell the difference between metaphors and when someone isn't using them" people are going to interpret that as only stupid people wouldn't know the difference. So that is going to offend people with autism since they have that issue.

Of course saying someone isn't smart enough doesn't always mean they are stupid. It can mean they are not intelligent enough to do something. It doesn't mean their IQ is in the below average range.

But all doctors ask it that way, even websites when you do the due date calculator.

I have wondered the same thing but however its very normal for anyone to take things literal when they are from another country because each country has their own slangs and idioms. But what about when NTs learn a idiom in their own country they have never heard before? Wouldn't they take it literal or get confused by it? What's the difference between aspies and NTs doing it? That's what I have wondered for years.


I also think anyone who isn't familiar with the internet and is internet illiterate wouldn't know internet terms like troll or bootleg (for fake photos) so I wouldn't say that is AS if an aspie got confused by those terms.

I should have put ''socially smart enough'' then.

When I was about seven, my sister was sitting in her room reading a book when I passed by her door and observed a small plant sitting on her window sill. The conversation went like this:

Me - "Hey, is that a new aloe plant?"
Sister - "No, it's not"
Me - "Oh, that's funny, it looks like aloe to me, and I'm pretty sure I've never seen it there before."
Sister - "It's called 'sargasm' stupid!"

Somehow I didn't get that my sister was trying to say 'sarcasm'... and for 5 years, I thought 'sargasm' (which is actually a type of seaweed) was closely related to Aloe vera.

I also never understood when teachers said "This behavior is unacceptable" again and again to me.

On one occasion I said back to my teacher in frustration, "Well, I was unaware that my goal in this class was supposed to be seeking your acceptance."
...I got a nice long talk with the principal about that one.

It is definitely not a British phrase from anywhere near where I come from, which is up near Manchester which can not be further from where it originated.

It is actually Australian

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/put- ... rs-on.html

I remember being told at age six by my teachers "That is inappropriate" or "That isn't appropriate." I didn't understand what she meant by that and my mom found it very strange they use words we didn't even know what they meant. But the thing is we have to use words to kids they never even heard because that is how they build their vocabulary. We can't dummy things down for them so they grow up with limited words they appear not smart. My child doesn't know lot of words, does that mean I shouldn't talk to him just because he doesn't know lot of them? I have to talk to him or else he won't learn language and that is how they learn to speak. They eventually get it when their minds develop that far enough or else I'm a bad parent.

So I eventually figured out what appropriate meant, not allowed. But of course I am sure I had inappropriate and appropriate all mixed up and thought they were both the same thing. That's how my mind worked then. I even thought at one time nice meant doing things to get attention so I say "That's nice" and people would tell me "that's not nice" Then I figured out nice meant good person and they stay out of trouble and don't get people mad.

I'm confused.

How is possible NOT to take anything literally?

If you figuratively take something, you're not really taking it, so the only way you can take anything is to literally TAKE it.

Right?

Of course, I AM assuming your question is not meant figuratively.

^ lol

I "see" lyrics when I hear songs, and so many times I take the phrase literally and see a really crazy scene.

For example, The Jets had a song called "You've got it all over him" and I always wondered what she got all over him, like as in a plate of spaghetti?

Then there's John Denver's "You Fill Up My Senses" which I took to mean "you fill up my Census" so whenever I hear that song I picture someone filling out a census.

And on and on...