"got any gum?"

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On a roadtrip today I gleaned a bit of NT insight that I found marvellous. Ever have someone ask you if you have a mint or a piece of gum? My husband tells me that he thinks this is a non-ASD way of people telling other people they might have bad breath. This blew my mind. Hey says that people don't want to offend anyone, so won't come right out and say, but are social enough that they want to communicate and broach the subject and let the listener interpret it as they will. This is being polite. I've always thought it meant the person wants a stick of gum, but it's an interesting concept!

I would think that the other person asking if you wanted something minty would be more likely to be insulting. I sometimes take offense if I register some aspects of their facial expressions while they ask this, but I try not to be so paranoid.

I never would have thought of that. I would assume the person wanted a piece of gum.

If someone offers you a piece of gum or a mint, it might mean they are giving it to you because of bad breath. On the other hand, if they are getting it for themselves and offer you some, it's because they are being polite and offering you a mint because they are getting one in front of you. It's that adage if you don't have enough for everyone don't get it out in the first place. It doesn't automatically mean your breath is bad, but it could mean that.
I find the best thing to do is carry my own mints. That way, I can just pop one whenever I am in a space where there's going to be people and the chance of my breath stinking up the room. It's insurance against this happening.

Leela says You got any gum?

I wonder what NTs would say if you had your fly undone. To tell or not to tell that is the question

There are two schools of thought on that. One says "don't tell him; that's how own problem". The other says to jokingly say "XYZ" (eXamine Your Zipper). At work or on the street, go with the first option. With people you know well, like friends and maybe classmates, go with the second one.

The most common way I've heard this expressed is "You are flying low".

Wow, I would have thought they wanted some.


I wonder if it's an aspie thing to misread between the lines.

While NTs may do this sometimes, it is very common for Aspies to take comments literally rather than to read between the lines.

I wouldn't find it rude at all for someone to tell me I have bad breath...

I remember this episode. bravo

My reply to that is usually to say "Its not a party until someone pulls their c@@k out." It always gets a lot laughs.



I had a boss tell a salesman that his breath smelt like "He had been chewing on dead babies" Then he offered him a breath mint. I just about s**t my pants laughing.

If someone asks for gum, I'd assume that they'd want a stick of gum. On the other hand, if someone said, "here's a breath mint" and proceeded to hand me one, then I would think that they are trying to indirectly tell me my breath is bad.

To me, It would seem more likely that the person asking for the gum is the one with bad breath. For someone to expect me to think that I have bad breath based on them wanting gum or a mint for themselves seems a bit much to ask. I'm not the best at interpreting this stuff though, so maybe your husband is correct, but it all seems a little silly to me.

Also, I'm curious why it's so socially wrong to just tell someone their breath stinks. I don't think I would be offended by that, but our society seems to think this is unmentionable. We're all shoveling food in our mouths all day, so why do people find it so surprising that someones breath might get stinky now and then?

Where I live, the question 'got any gum' means one thing and one thing only -that the person who is asking would really like a bit of gum. No hidden meaning or hints.