Things that perplexed me when I was a kid

[sasha_feather]

--I thought the moon was a planet.

--People seemed to pronounce wind chill as "windsheel", all blended together and soft, so I couldn't parse it and thought they were maybe saying "wind shield," even though that did not make sense.

--I thought that tourist meant someone who led tours (tour guide).

--I couldn't hear the difference between picture and pitcher.

--I didn't understand why "I" in the middle of a sentence should be capitalized.

--I didn't understand the subtle nuances that differentiated dinner and supper (this is still difficult because dinner means different things to different people).

What did you have a hard time understanding as a kid?

Comments

[davidgillon]

If I'm in Durham: Breakfast, dinner (lunch), tea (dinner), supper
If I'm in Kent: Breakfast, lunch, dinner (tea), supper

There's a definite locality/class element in here historically, with, in the UK, dinner+tea being Northern/lower class, and lunch+dinner Southern/upper class.

And given your icon, should we mention second breakfast ;)

[king_touchy]

We have elevenses on Sunday. Thank you, Tolkien! ;)

From reading British-based fanfic and fiction, it seems 'tea' is a meal, when I thought it was just an afternoon snack of tea and something sweet. Or tiny sandwiches.

[davidgillon]

Tea and dinner in the large evening meal sense are completely interchangeable, with regional preferences.

Tea the drink and tiny sandwiches (and usually cakes) is generally referred to as 'Afternoon tea' or 'High Tea' (though that usage may be historically incorrect).

If we delve back to when I was a teen (late 70's) one of my great aunts had been a cook while 'in service' in her younger days. If we went to visit, then she would produce, on the spot and with little if any warning, a tea which consisted of several varieties of sandwiches (and tiny they weren't!), several home-baked cakes - and she was a magnificent pastry cook, and as much tea as anyone could drink.

[king_touchy]

she would produce, on the spot and with little if any warning, a tea

...that sounds like a super-power. ;)

[davidgillon]

I suspect decades of practice, and a large and well-stocked pantry :)