AIBU to be annoyed by people who think literally

As PPs have mentioned, I also got made fun
Of for being overly literal. I now know I'm autistic.

I've never heard anyone f cellar spiders.

They are not Daddy Long Legs! DLLs have wings and fly in at night and piss about in the lampshades. Dh calls them Crane Flies but he is wrong about that. Daddy Long Legs aren't Cellar spiders and Crane Flies don't exist. Cleared it up for everyone.

Not heard that phrase for years!

I can really imagine another thread: “AIBU to be irritated at my friend calling daddy long legs, “cellar spiders”. Why doesn’t she use a term everyone understands?”

To be fair to your friend I've never heard the name 'cellar spider' before- definitely a daddy long legs round here!

You can be annoyed, but you are not superior because your brain works a particular way. As many people who annoy you are likely annoyed by your lack of precision.

haha, lol, iffy post
come on now

I think this is different as it’s not just being literal, it’s not understanding how conversation works. That you can remark on things even if you know the explanation for them.

But surely you all know cellar spiders live in other places other than cellars because you actually find them yourselves! Anyone with a brain knows that spiders aren't going to go, "oh no, not going in there- that's a garage not a cellar!"

Some people seem to oblivious to the world around them! It's common to find those spiders (usually known as daddy long legs) in corners in your house- especially at this time of year. Right now I'm finding them in hidden corners when I'm cleaning- like behind the toilet, in the corners behind the furniture etc.

Whereas I get annoyed when people (my Mum being an example unfortunately, as she is generally lovely) constantly talk in figures of speech.

It makes it hard to know what they mean, and also is quite irritating as it tends to mean they don’t engage with the actual subject matter, just skate over it with meaningless phrases. Idk maybe it’s me but it annoys me.

I quite like people to be precise but then it’s part of my job.

Neurodiverse people often think literally. It's the way their brain works, they can't help it and they're not doing it to be annoying. You sound woefully ignorant 🙄

Cellar spiders are very distinctive - the spindly legged ones that tend to sit quietly in a web in the corner. I used to call them ghost spiders, but I don't think I saw them around a lot until about 10-15 years ago and only heard the term cellar spider a lot more recently.

I'm with other people saying that people who take things very literally are often ASD/Aspergers and so it's quite unreasonable to be annoyed at this .

I am very literal and it really irritates my OH. I can't help it.

I think it would confuse me because spiders are well, spiders, so they can't take over. It's a great space, or it's not, the spiders are neither here nor there.

So, while I tried to work out what the correct answer was (quickly. People don't like massive pauses while I work it out), I'd probably hit on the 'cellar' bit as I've not heard of them.

I would understand that the OP was being funny (by her manner at the time), but I'd not see quite how it was happening quick enough in the fast paced context of a conversation, so I would respond to the wrong bit. And I'd probably be trying to sound like it was a joke, because I'd be aware of the OP being funny. And then I'd look thick as fuck.

I can do it when it's in writing. I have an English degree and particularly enjoy poetic analysis. I LOVE finding all the meanings and interpretations words can have. I just routinely get it wrong when it's being spoken and I have to respond/act quickly.

I have a friend like this, you can't say anything to him without getting a snappy literal response.

"Oh it's hot out today" "Well obviously, it's summer"

"It's getting dark so early now" "That's how night works"

I give up.

Yes, YABU.

why is everyone so transfixed on not having heard of cellar spiders being the cause of this issue?

Do we only find House spiders in houses? No.. we get them in the shed/outbuildings too.

Its not a made up name, that some people know them as 'daddy long legs' is irrelevant, their common name is Cellar Spider, because like House Spider we don't use their latin names.

Im autistic, as are most of our family, and we still wouldn't have made the mistake of thinking you only get a certain species of spider in certain places to the point of needing to question what the OP was saying like her friend did.

You sound impatient, why not just explain. It’s a trivial thing to get annoyed about. From other responses it’s very interesting that people’s parents are thick as mince but they and their children are neurodivergent.

I’ve never heard of cellar spiders. I’d have no idea what you were talking about

I get you, OP. They are literally called cellar spiders, to everyone who seems to be struggl with the idea.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholcidae

Also, I just googled cellar spiders as I’d never heard of them. I know them as Daddy-long-legs.

I do this sometimes. I can’t help it, I don’t always realise when people are joking. I tend to take comments literally on occasions. I always feel embarrassed when I realise!

I've never heard of cellar spiders either so would probably question it too

Cellar spiders can be distinguished from other long-legged spiders (and non-spider arthropods like harvestmen) by the number and position of their eyes.

Are you sure they're cellar spiders?

And, are you sure that there is absolutely nothing, that your friend has heard of, but you have not? You must know a lot.

I think people aren't talking about the OP's sentence, rather the thread title.

Literal thinking and communication vs. Abstract/Implied thinking and communication.

The OP says she is frustrated with literal thinkers. And us literal thinkers are pointing out we feel the same about opposite type of thinker/communicator.