Monday, March 14, 2011

Language faux pas


Today I was reminded how funny language really is. There are just some things that--no matter how hard we try to be vigilant of what is leaving our mouths--simply come out wrong. That's half the fun of words, really.

Me (reading aloud): And then he stuck the flower in his button hole.
Student: Stuck it in his WHAT hole?!!
Me: No, no, no... Butt-ON. The word is butt-ON. Oh, for goodness sakes...

I lost the inability to hold my "teacher face." We all laughed for a full minute.

I told them that next year I will be reading, and then he pinned the flower to his lapel.

It reminded me of the several occasions in which I put my foot in my mouth after saying something unintended in Spanish. And invariably... it always has something to do with bodily waste-removal or procreation-type activities. That's just the nature of the beast.

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