Things I'm embarrassed to have realised so late in life...

[OrangeFlowersAreLovely]

Those ID necklaces? I had absolutely never heard of the word "lanyard" until around 3 years ago. All my friend's children learnt this way before I did. If you had told me "Lanyard" was a European city - I'd have believed you.

That little press send arrow in the top right hand corner? It only occurred to me in my mid 30s that it is in fact a paper aeroplane. I just thought it was a dodgy triangle.

I was absolutely stunned to find out the woman who plays Amanda in Motherland is not Catherine Tate.

Any confessions to console me I'm not the only one failing at life?! 😃

I found out well into my 30s that black pudding is not cow’s Willy as I had always believed

I don't think the belief that black pudding is a cow's willy is quite as bizarre as the belief that a cow would actually have a willy in the first place!!

To be fair with Tracy Chapman, she does have a very deep voice for a woman - we've known people assume she's male before they find out the singer's name.

I'm another who thought that about the Wombles - i.e. that they are common. The way the song is phrased, plus the fact that they are indeed very 'common' down-to-earth creatures makes that very understandable, I would have thought? Also, I didn't have much knowledge of London as a child, and so I'd only heard of Wimbledon the tennis club - didn't know it was a whole area. I assumed that the Wombles lived in the tennis club itself and kept hoping I'd see one pop its nose up at the edge of Centre Court!

It was 22.50 today for me!!

I thought this too. But I never really watched The Wombles, I'd just heard the theme tune (for some reason my Step-Dad used to sing it) and had never heard of Wimbledon Common (lived in Wales), but I had heard of Wimbledon because of the tennis. The timing of the singing makes it sound like they are saying they common.

@Glitteringapples Usually the equity in the house you’re selling would form the deposit for the new house and you’d take out a new mortgage for the rest of the cost.

Carolean

Yes, think you're right! Sorry

I LOVE 'the Wombles of Wimbledon, common are we….' 🤣

When my dear mum was a little girl and had to go to Sunday school they used to sing a hymn called 'Gladly the cross I'd bear'……..you can probably guess what she thought it was called.

Sigh @flapjackfairy @mnahmnah @WrongWayApricot This was settled fucking ages ago in the thread. If you want to disagree with the entire news establishment and the Oxford English Dictionary, have at.

Here’s the Oxford English Dictionary tweet where they PARTICULARLY tell you that “another thing coming” is a bastardisation of “another think coming:”
twitter.com/oed/status/242977857394049026?s=21&t=owcMpDBdSWEsK-ZSa0iYsQ

And a summary from yet another dictionary, this time Merriam-Webster (see attached image).

AND the article about the whole thing, quoting several sources.
theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/nov/18/mind-your-language-another-think

You have articles. You have two dictionaries. You have all of Google. At this point, how can you possibly STILL be posting that it’s “another thing coming” at this point? Unless you just want to be an argumentative twatwaffle for no reason.

On the subject of singers with deep voices I always thought that Automatic by the Pointer Sisters was sung by a man. Even the band name ‘Pointer Sisters’ couldn’t deter me from this belief. I just thought the band just had a weirdly ironic name (like the Thompson twins who were not actually twins but named after the characters in the Tin Tin books)!

I also thought this. I'm learning so much from this thread.

Another one of mine (not as bad as the Thailand one). I thought there was a band/duet called Franks and Artra.

"And I still don't know what mind your P's and Q's mean. I always thought it meant to be on your best behaviour."

It comes from handwriting. The downward stroke of the lowercase "p" is followed by an upward stroke BEHIND the downward stroke, while the "q" is formed with the upward stroke IN FRONT of the downward stroke. So, when learning to write the cursive letters, you have to learn the difference between forming those two letters, hence, "mind your 'p's and 'q's.

"I’m embarrassed to admit that until recently I had thought that the yellow of an egg is the part that develops into a chick! I’m 56…"

Do you mean it ISN'T?

Sigh @flapjackfairy @mnahmnah @WrongWayApricot This was settled fucking ages ago in the thread. If you want to disagree with the entire news establishment and the Oxford English Dictionary, have at.

Here’s the Oxford English Dictionary tweet where they PARTICULARLY tell you that “another thing coming” is a bastardisation of “another think coming:”
twitter.com/oed/status/242977857394049026?s=21&t=owcMpDBdSWEsK-ZSa0iYsQ

And a summary from yet another dictionary, this time Merriam-Webster (see attached image).

AND the article about the whole thing, quoting several sources.
theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/nov/18/mind-your-language-another-think

You have articles. You have two dictionaries. You have all of Google. At this point, how can you possibly STILL be posting that it’s “another thing coming” at this point? Unless you just want to be an argumentative twatwaffle for no reason.

That's true about never seeing something writen down, we used to have a very good friend with whom we exchanged Christmas cards and so on but when we moved away and had to post them we realised we weren't sure how to spell his surname, there are two ways which both sound the same.

Ah thank you 😀always darkest. So do people have to go through the whole mortgage application thing every time they move - eek?

I used to think they always contained water skis….no idea why!

"dildo." I've heard people call other people that. I always assumed they knew what it meant.
My feminist friends call men who are pathetic "dildoes." LOL

There is a drinks brand called Belvoir. For years I've read and pronounced it as Bell-vwar. 'Get some of that 'bell-vwar' elderberry cordial if you nip to the supermarket, love'. It's actual pronunciation is 'beaver'. I mean that is ridiculous. There is a Belvoir Castle, which is pronounced Beaver Castle too 🙄

They’re an exception, though. I thought they ALL did. Tulips, and daffodils and roses etc. I had a book of poems that showed them open in the day closed at night, to show time progression I think, and just never got past it. I was only about three and it just got…ingrained. Logically I KNOW it doesn’t happen. But I’m still surprised. Every. Single. Time. I see a flower open in the dark. Bonkers!

Oh, and that venomous is distinct from poisonous. And when one should use less and fewer. They did this weird natural grammar thing at my school in the 80s, so picked up a lot of grammar just from reading (which was the idea). I read voraciously, so it mostly works, but I don’t know any of the rules, or why I say things the way I do, just that it’s seems ‘right’. So occasionally I learn something new, specific or exceptional.

Regarding the 'lesser spotted thing' I'm confused now as DH says it does mean spotted less often. I must have used to think it meant had fewer spots, as I definitely remember being wrong about it. I will have to Google it now...

The Internet is suggesting it means smaller, as there is a 'greater spotted' woodpecker as well. I'm now thoroughly lost.

Until about 5 minutes ago, I always thought it was Princess Ann. No e. I was 100% sure.

@Glitteringapples Unfortunately yes.

Hmm, not sure I can say it as Beaver, I'd feel like I was taking the piss. Beaver cordial...

Well, I’ve had two children and several grandchildren and had not worked that one out!
What a great idea!
Those vests have been around for a long time as well!