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Original poster

What dumb thing has taken you forever to realise?

734 replies

muchalover · 26/08/2023 19:45

Nights in white satin song was playing in the car today. A favourite song of mine so I was singing along and it dawned on me that the word is "nights," not "knights".

Whole song makes much more sense now 😳

I had a similar issue with "Toyota, the car in front" but it's a Nissan I'm behind (or other car brand).

And in the film Winnie the Pooh where the gopher says "I'm not in the book" and I thought it was the phone book😬 for decades!

I promise I'm intelligent.

OP posts:
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20
butterpuffed · 27/08/2023 08:38

continentallentil · 27/08/2023 08:15

@Babbleoff

High-per-ber-LEE

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I used to think it was pronounced Hyper -Bowl too . Thought it was something to do with American Football !

Also thought 'misled' was pronounced 'Mizzled' so never understood what it meant and used to gloss over sentences with it in !

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 27/08/2023 08:40

I love these threads that crop up fairly regularly.

It was on one of these that I learnt that Mr Brown didn’t “go up to town on the A21”

Hollyisalrightactuallysorry · 27/08/2023 08:43

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 27/08/2023 08:32

The funniest thing about this thread is it's got exactly the same realisations on it that these threads always have Grin There's one about every 6 months. There are two of the usual things missing from this one though. Where are all the people who thought that the Channel Tunnel went through the water rather than under the ground and the ones who thought that all Centreparks locations were under a big bubble?

I don't think we've had the petrol icon showing which side you fill up on yet! (And then all those insisting it doesn't for their car)

Hawkins009 · 27/08/2023 08:46

Jennatron5000 · 27/08/2023 02:20

Like this

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Ouch

puddingisgood · 27/08/2023 08:49

Well it's not a 'dumb thing' but it was something that I didn't know until in my 40's.
Owls don't make a 'twit-twoo' sound. One owl makes the 'twit' and another makes the 'twoo'.
Apologies if already mentioned, I've not finished reading the whole thread yet.

Limer · 27/08/2023 08:49

And I thought my mum listened to Suma Gregor on Woman's Hour.

I thought this too! And Jeneah Bramsky.

MotherOfCatBoy · 27/08/2023 08:56

To everyone talking about mispronouncing words you’ve only read and not heard - there is a quote from the late great Clive James that says something along the lines of, never be ashamed of this because it shows that you’re reading beyond your experience and comfort zone and that can only be a good thing!

southernbelles · 27/08/2023 08:57

WhileMyGuitarGentlyWeeps · 26/08/2023 23:24

@WhatWouldTheDoctorDo

Though I genuinely get annoyed when people are sniffy about mispronunciation of words, it often means they're only seen them written down

Yeah true, but this thread is really only light hearted, and is people laughing at their OWN mistakes! Like many others on here, I did always pronounce the word 'hyperbole' as 'hyper-bowl' until about 5 years ago, (instead of hy-per-berlee.) Always said 'Yosemite' right though, coz of watching Yosemite Sam with my dad as a child! Grin

Always thought he was 'Sammity Sam' when I was a child 🤣

sashh · 27/08/2023 09:00

Babbleoff · 26/08/2023 21:55

Have just googled this and cant actually get over how its pronounced! Hyper-belly??? Not hyper-bowl??!

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It's of Greek origin, the e at the end of the words is pronounced.

Hebe
systole
syncope
Persphone
Penelope
Daphne
Aphrodite

WomanOfSteel · 27/08/2023 09:05

Royalsingingseal · 27/08/2023 06:50

Never heard that before and born and still live in the north east

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Not north east but God’s own country😜, we use badly to mean poorly. It seems to be the older end that use it now though.

Wishimaywishimight · 27/08/2023 09:10

I used to pronounce malevolent as 'male/mail-vole-nt' instead of 'mal-lev-o-lent'.

willWillSmithsmith · 27/08/2023 09:13

MustBeThursday · 26/08/2023 21:20

That the instructions at the start of the rounds (except the technical) in Great British Bake Off are purely for the benefit of the audience. The contestants already know the requirements, they have used that information to create their recipes. It took me WAY too long to cotton on.

Took me a few series to cotton on to that. I used to think they must be very quick thinking to come up with bakes on the spot like that.

SophiaElise · 27/08/2023 09:15

Lifeisgood1 · 26/08/2023 20:06

I used to think the song 'everytime you go away, you take a piece of me with you' was actually take a piece of meat with you! 😂 could never understand why they took meat with them!

Haha, thought it was just me!

Most of my "realisations" are from song lyrics - too many to list!

SunnieShine · 27/08/2023 09:19

ItsNotRocketSalad · 26/08/2023 22:34

I thought meme was pronounced me-me for a long time. Thankfully I never said it out loud before I learned it was meem.

Me, too. I still think our way is better. 😀

Spongeeater · 27/08/2023 09:26

Another 'trombolese' - am amazed I have never googled it. I google such random shit all of the time!

SunnieShine · 27/08/2023 09:34

As a teenager I thought the Caribbean was in Africa.

drinkuptheezider · 27/08/2023 09:34

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 27/08/2023 08:40

I love these threads that crop up fairly regularly.

It was on one of these that I learnt that Mr Brown didn’t “go up to town on the A21”

Wait...he didn't?? Where did he go?

Threenow · 27/08/2023 09:38

Bernadinetta · 27/08/2023 08:25

I’m guessing because it’s named after the Great British Bake Off due to its success and familiarity of the name. The “Great” part in everything like Great British Sewing Bee, Great British Pottery Throwdown and sayings like “Great British sense of humour” or “Great British weather” comes from the Great in Great Britain, and does not mean really good, or really big. However, due to the success of GBBO and becoming a well-known brand, and with the helpful addition of the word Great having a positive alternative meaning, it takes on a life of its own and uses parts of the brand so that people recognise off shoots such as the specials Great Christmas Bake Off and Great Comic Relief Bake Off. The fact that other countries such as Great Australian Bake Off and The Great American Baking Show etc use the “Great” part is one of the reasons I was incorrect in the first place- it runs off the tongue so naturally due to the familiarity of GBBO. But think about on the news when the newsreader talks about “the Great British public”- they’re not saying the public are great, they’re just talking about the public in Great Britain. A similar segment in Australia wouldn’t refer to the Great Australian public, just simply the Australian public.

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I'm not disputing the use of the word "Great", merely pointing out that you were incorrect when you said the same competition in other countries wouldn’t be the Great Spanish Bake Off or the Great Canadian Bake Off.

cakeorwine · 27/08/2023 09:38

drinkuptheezider · 27/08/2023 09:34

Wait...he didn't?? Where did he go?

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Mr Brown Goes Off To Town
On The Eight Twenty-One
But He Comes Home Each Evening
And He's Ready With His Gun

drinkuptheezider · 27/08/2023 09:44

cakeorwine · 27/08/2023 09:38

Mr Brown Goes Off To Town
On The Eight Twenty-One
But He Comes Home Each Evening
And He's Ready With His Gun

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Grin
drinkuptheezider · 27/08/2023 09:45

drinkuptheezider · 27/08/2023 09:44

Grin
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Why did my smiley face come out as cake???? Ffs

JamiesTurkeyTwizzler · 27/08/2023 09:47

In the song Manic Monday I thought the words were 'Blame it on the train but the bus is already there'. I used to think she should get the bus if it's quicker than the train. I was a lot older when I realised it was 'boss' not bus.

I also thought it was 'kissing valentino by a crystal blue medalian stream'

I still sing it with the misheard lyrics if it comes on the radio.

AInightingale · 27/08/2023 09:49

In relation to Mr Brown, i only realised when I watched a dramatisation o fPerry/Croft's writing of Dad's Army that Jimmy Perry composed that song as the theme tune. I thought it was some old wartime standard. It was sung by an old stager called Bud Flanagan who actually did sing that type of song. Shows how easily we can be taken in.

Longtime · 27/08/2023 09:52

EnjoythemoneyJane · 26/08/2023 22:29

That you don’t have to break your front teeth trying to wrestle the cover off a new solid stick deodorant. You just wind the stick up. This is knowledge I acquired embarrassingly recentlly; I’m in my 50s 😳.

Also on another of these threads years ago someone said they’d only just realised that underwater tunnels (like the channel tunnel) are dug in the actual ground beneath the water. Total penny drop moment and made me realise I’d always subconsciously imagined fish swimming on the other side of the walls as I’m driving through. I’m not completely stupid, honest.

I was waiting for someone to mention the Channel Tunnel!

Jackienory · 27/08/2023 09:54

JamiesTurkeyTwizzler · 27/08/2023 09:47

In the song Manic Monday I thought the words were 'Blame it on the train but the bus is already there'. I used to think she should get the bus if it's quicker than the train. I was a lot older when I realised it was 'boss' not bus.

I also thought it was 'kissing valentino by a crystal blue medalian stream'

I still sing it with the misheard lyrics if it comes on the radio.

Billy Ocean: the going gets tough - " go and get stuffed "

Madonna: Spanish Lullaby, La isla bonita - " lucky slag Anita"

😎