Meaning To Say One Thing But Something Entirely Different Comes Out
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
June 23, 2009 12:26am CST
This discussion is sort of inspired by another one about how we express ourselves and maybe using the wrong term or word. This is with a twist though that was well, embarrassing.
Years and years ago, one of my local libraries had the most exquisite beautiful gardens and was all due to the loving care of one woman, named Olga. To look at her you might figure she was in her early 60s yet she was in her mid-80s...what kept her young was her vibrant love and volunteer work she did at the garden. She spent her own money getting seeds, bulbs, plants and planted them.
Here I come along...the photographer, and would spend a lot of time photographing the flowers as they came into bloom. Tickled at the idea I was spending so much time photographing the garden she would allow me to go INTO the garden to get close up shots and she asked me, if she could have copies of the slides (I'm still a film photographer and used slides for color shots) and I agreed.
so now I have a "portfolio" of slides to show off to her...she invited me to her apartment which was right next door to the library. So I'm showing off my slides, she's looking at them, and picking which ones she wants to buy from me. Then...I happened to spy a small "religious" type publication, called Daily Word, published by Unity...and which I was familiar with...but the copy lying on the table, was the Spanish speaking edition, called Palabra Diaria, pronounced Pa-La-Bra Dee-Ar-Ria...so I said, "Oh you read Palabra Diaria?"
A weird silence permeates the room...and Olga has a very strange look on her face, but says nothing, except to say, "Yes." Then the time was over and I left...I'm walking out of her building and burst into fits of laughter and people must have wondered what the hell was wrong with me---it dawned on me what I had said...instead of pronouncing Diaria as Dee-ar-ria...I had said....diarrhea
Okay...have you ever pronounced a word so utterly completely wrong? Meaning to pronounce it one way and something truly asinine came out? Did it make you laugh? Did you want to crawl in a hole?
I include one of my photos from the garden that also happens to have a monarch butterfly on the marigolds
Years and years ago, one of my local libraries had the most exquisite beautiful gardens and was all due to the loving care of one woman, named Olga. To look at her you might figure she was in her early 60s yet she was in her mid-80s...what kept her young was her vibrant love and volunteer work she did at the garden. She spent her own money getting seeds, bulbs, plants and planted them.
Here I come along...the photographer, and would spend a lot of time photographing the flowers as they came into bloom. Tickled at the idea I was spending so much time photographing the garden she would allow me to go INTO the garden to get close up shots and she asked me, if she could have copies of the slides (I'm still a film photographer and used slides for color shots) and I agreed.
so now I have a "portfolio" of slides to show off to her...she invited me to her apartment which was right next door to the library. So I'm showing off my slides, she's looking at them, and picking which ones she wants to buy from me. Then...I happened to spy a small "religious" type publication, called Daily Word, published by Unity...and which I was familiar with...but the copy lying on the table, was the Spanish speaking edition, called Palabra Diaria, pronounced Pa-La-Bra Dee-Ar-Ria...so I said, "Oh you read Palabra Diaria?"
A weird silence permeates the room...and Olga has a very strange look on her face, but says nothing, except to say, "Yes." Then the time was over and I left...I'm walking out of her building and burst into fits of laughter and people must have wondered what the hell was wrong with me---it dawned on me what I had said...instead of pronouncing Diaria as Dee-ar-ria...I had said....diarrhea
Okay...have you ever pronounced a word so utterly completely wrong? Meaning to pronounce it one way and something truly asinine came out? Did it make you laugh? Did you want to crawl in a hole?
I include one of my photos from the garden that also happens to have a monarch butterfly on the marigolds6 people like this
18 responses
@Anora_Eldorath (6028)
• United States
24 Jun 09
Pye-
I suppose I'll have to ask the hubby as it generally has occured when speaking to him. I don't recall off hand the number of things I've mispronounced that have caused him to raise an eyebrow and chuckle.
I do recall though an incident from my childhood involving my brother. He must have been around seven at the time. We had stopped to pick up a card for my uncle on the way to a party, and my brother picked up one with Snoopy on it. The inside of the card said "Ein Swine". My brother prounced it "Ee-nee sch-ween-ee". It kept both my mom and I in stitches for ages!
Namaste-Anora
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
26 Jun 09
Mmmm..Eine Swine...that's German for a swine isn't it? Why was that inside a Snoopy birthday card? LOL
@Anora_Eldorath (6028)
• United States
26 Jun 09
LOL, I was 12 at the time, I'm now 37 so it was many moons ago! I remember it was some play off on Einstein but I can't recall for the life of me what the punch line was, other then my brother misprouncing it lol.
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
24 Jun 09
Oh how funny and dont know that I have done that.
But once I was at a place that worked on my truck adn as I was telling him what I wanted it all came out backwards.
HE looked at me and said can you do that again.
I did then got it turned around and we had a big laugh!
have to go look at pic
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
26 Jun 09
LOL--I can relate to that too, saying something "backwards" and giving what I mean a different meaning
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
24 Jun 09
happened to me a lot
english is not my mother language I have to learn a lot more vocabs and grammar
I need to learn how to make people understand what I mean
so yeah along the way I made mistakes especially when speaking
writing is easier I have time to think about the right words and the arrangement edit them before anyone else reads
but when I speak and stop (to think about the right way of saying it)
people will stare at me thinking either I am trying to lie about something or they will give me this look as if some hurricane is heading our way and will hit us any second so I have to hurry and say it before we all die
anyway married to an english man helps, but I try not to sound like him because he always sounds sarcastic although he is a good person and means well
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
26 Jun 09
Well even though English isn't your mother language you do write it well, but yes I do understand. With me my French is now rusty, but when I did know it well, I was able to read and write it better than speak it
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
23 Jun 09
i don't think i've ever had a major pronouncement flub..
although i do remember asking at age 4 after watching a space show with my parents
"how many light years were in this year?"
to the response of laughter.only years later did i realize how dumb that was..
well,hey..i was four.
well,hey..i was four.@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
23 Jun 09
oh yea.i used to stare at the stars for hours.
child's mind trying to make sense of new things,i guess :)
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
23 Jun 09
LOL--my you were interested in astronomy at age 4?????
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
23 Jun 09
I've always been a astronomy nutcase...actually wanted to be an astronomer at one time...LOL
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159008)
• Boise, Idaho
24 Jun 09
I don't get the picture here but am sure it was lovely. I have done what you describe several times. It is both laughter and embarassment that happens. Nice what she did with the garden too. These special people we meet in our lives are such a gift.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
26 Jun 09
Its a shame the garden is no longer up to par like it was when Olga was the gardener...but then her "love" of gardening obviously showed through in how she kept it
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159008)
• Boise, Idaho
26 Jun 09
It's ashame that people really don't take the time for such things anymore. She will be remembered by you.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
24 Jun 09
Do you have anything original to say? You repeat words from the discussion topic itself--this is frowned upon here at mylot
@rowantree (1186)
• United States
25 Jun 09
Beautiful pic! Yes, I've twisted my words around a few times. Crawled into that hole and eventually was able to come back out of it.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
26 Jun 09
One great thing...I didn't discover my mistake until after I had left Olga's apt...if I had realized what I had said right then and there...then yup, would have crawled in under a rock
@CatsandDogs (13963)
• United States
24 Jun 09
Ohhhh yeah I sure have!! But at the moment, I can't remember what I said but you can count on it being in the hundreds of times because I could not understand how words were pronounced thanks to my hearing problem. Oh now I remember one! When I was about 5 years old, we had a dog that I thought his name was Ham but it was something else but I can't remember. Well one night (I remember this very vividly) as I was trying to get into the chair at the dinner table, I asked my mom what we were having and she said "Ham" and I got all sad and looked at the ham on the table and said "Poor Ham...." Everybody looked at me and realized what I had thought! I thought our dog was on the table for us to eat and I wanted no part of it and kept saying "Poor Ham...." Then my brother took me outside into the shed where the dog was.... it was sick and is why it was in there... to show me that they didn't kill Ham and tried to explain or tell me how to pronounce his name but I couldn't figure it out and ran to Ham and hugged him for I was so happy and then I said "How can this be Ham and Ham be on the table?" lol I was such a confused child!! It took years for me to get the understanding that ham came from a pig, not a dog but even still, knowing it came from a live animal, that turned me off to meat but was made to eat meat until I grew up enough to choose what I wanted to eat and didn't want to eat and now I barely eat any meat at all. Just a touch of roast and turkey, that's about it.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
26 Jun 09
OMG--hope you don't mind but I'm laughing about the "Ham" story, but can understand how as a kid you must have been devastated to think that the "Ham" on the table for dinner was your doggy Ham
1 person likes this
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
23 Jun 09
Hi pye,
I could just picture her face, glad that you had a good laugh about it though, I haven't been in that situation, that goodness.
Bright Blessings.
Tamara
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
24 Jun 09
Yes...thankfully I have a warped sense of humor and can laugh at my own mistakes
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
23 Jun 09
The kind of sad thing is, is that the garden is no longer kept up the way it was when Olga was the gardener and she passed away some time ago
@ShellyB (5241)
• United States
23 Jun 09
It often happens that way, there can be a wonderful gardener but the person who inherits the garden is not someone with the same passion or even has a green thumb.
I am sorry about Olga and like they say life goes on.
And one good thing is that you have memories of her friendship and photos of her wonderful garden.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
23 Jun 09
Yes I do have a lot of good memories and photos from the garden when she was in charge...would you believe the time frame I'm talking about is over twenty years? There is a memorial plaque in the garden with her name on it to remember her by
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
23 Jun 09
Hey pye! As I read it that is exactly how I pronounced since
I am such a Spanish wiz! NOT! And yes, I lmao and still am
lmao! How embarrassing! But, how were you supposed to know
how to pronounce it? It is funny! I'm sure your photos were
exquisite though so I know she couldn't have not liked them!
The photo here is just breathtaking, are all of those that I
have seen! You are quite the photographer! I love butterflys
so of course this is one of my favorites!
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
24 Jun 09
Actually that's what made it all the funnier..you see I DID study Spanish in High school...so I should have remembered how to pronounce things
@maikarumike (458)
• Malaysia
23 Jun 09
Sometimes all you need when it doesnt go right and bad is just a warm cup of coffee or a nice long sleep to freshen up yourself.
1 person likes this
@dreamweaverjan (3471)
• United States
23 Jun 09
ROTFL!! Oh Pye! That sounds like something I'd do; not you!!! (G)!!
Your photo is just sooo beautiful, I feel like I could reach right through the computer screen and touch them, and smell them!!
and what a beautiful butterfly too on them!! I hope my marigolds turn out to be pretty too, they are growing nice and tall, no blooms on them as yet....
I would have loved to have seen this woman's expression when you were asking her that you know?? LOL!
Thanks for sharing the story and your beautiful photo!! 
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
24 Jun 09
At least Olga was, well diplomatic about it and didn't point out my mistake at that moment
Glad you liked the photo
Glad you liked the photo
@countrysun2sea (161)
• United States
24 Jun 09
Thats funny....sorry. I have one that will even beat that! Many (many) years ago I was dating this guy and we traveled from FL to IL to visit my family. We were staying with my mom and brothers.... was doing our laundry the night before we were to head back south and my mom walks into the laundry room , where my boyfriend and I were folding our clothes to pack..and asks if we were hungry. Keep in mind I was doing laundry so FOOD was not on my mind..she walks in and says "You guys hungry?" and out of my mouth come "I'm hungry. Tommy, take off your pants"....(I was doing a load of jeans next)...........I wanted to absolutely die!!!!! It was rather funny but the embarassment was enough to kill me..........ugh............poor guy and my mom cried she laughed so hard.
1 person likes this
@countrysun2sea (161)
• United States
24 Jun 09
I was nothing less than mortified....lol...I can laugh NOW (almost 20 yrs later....lol)...but OMG was it baaaaad.....
1 person likes this
@reinydawn (11643)
• United States
1 Jul 09
Oh, that is precious! I do that kind of stuff all the time, my mouth is way faster than my brain sometimes!
@moondancer (7433)
• United States
23 Jun 09
That was nice of you to make her a portfolio of her flower garden.
Yes, I have stumbled over words that I know only too well and said the wrong thing not knowing it or as soon as the words came out I knew it was not what I meant to say. I do this a lot! Yes, sometimes it makes me want to hide under a rock.
Sometimes it is embarrassing.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
23 Jun 09
The only time I want to crawl under a rock when I say the wrong word is if I catch it right away...that day I didn't catch on until some minutes later but instead of wanting to hide made me burst out laughing
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
23 Jun 09
I had a very embarrassing situation once when I first started on my first job as a stenographer. Those days there was no computer to do all the spell check and typing was done on an old manual typewriter. One day my boss called me in to his office to dictate to me a short letter which I did with confidence. I am quite good at taking shorthand and typing it out straight to the typewriter. After I've finished typing out the letter I sent the draft in for my boss to edit. Minutes as I left his office I heard him laughing so loud which made me rushed back to see why he burst out laughing. To my embarrassment he pointed out to me my mistake. Instead of the right word 'cement' I typed 'semen'. In shorthand it is more to phonetics and these two words when written in shorthands have the same stroke. The person who took the dictation should use logic during translation and in my case it was a careless mistake.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
24 Jun 09
Oh y goodness...I used to know shorthand but never had the opportunity to really use it--it is kind of weird and I guess if one does a shorthand symbol just slightly the wrong can be mistranslated the wrong way very easily. I didn't think shorthand was still taught anymore--I learned it in high school about thirty years ago.
@mentalward (14691)
• United States
23 Jun 09
I don't feel so alone now!!!
I was a proofreader for about two decades. Fairly new at this one job (in-house; I had been working freelance before that) I came across a word I had never seen before... never in written form.
I was proofreading medical journals and, as everyone knows, there are some weird-azz words in the medical profession! Anyway, I came across this word: epinephrine. Never having seen it written before, I asked my co-worker what was "E-PINE-frine"?
He almost fell off his chair, laughing so hard! He finally managed to tell me that it was pronounced "Ep-in-EFF-frin". I knew what THAT was, and was so totally embarrassed!!!
After that, I kept my mouth shut and just looked words up in a medical dictionary if I wanted to know how to pronounce them. @pyewacket (43903)
• United States
24 Jun 09
LOL--yes there are a lot of weird words in medical jargon...I know since when I write articles you be surprised how many medically related ones I do--thankfully since I do my articles here at home I never really worry about how things are pronounced and probably don't pronounce them right as I'm reading the word...but the only ones to know of any goof-off are my two kitties...LOL
