“Mummy?”
“Yes, Michael.”
“I think my teacher has killed some people.”
“Why would you think that?”
“I heard another teacher tell her, ‘We know where all the bodies are buried.’.”
Mummy smiled, “That’s not what it means, Michael. It means the other teacher knew all about something that had happened not that your teacher really killed someone.”
“Oh?” Michael was still confused.
“It’s what’s called an idiom. An idiom doesn’t really mean what it says.”
The next day, “Miss Jones?”
“Yes, Michael?”
“I thought you had killed someone because a teacher said she knew about the bodies but mummy explained.”
“What did she say?”
“You’re an idiot, miss.”
Ross's Writing Blog 
anita
February 1, 2012 at 06:13
too funny…I have often wondered about that word, but then maybe I’m an idiot too!! heehee.
Ross Mannell
February 1, 2012 at 16:52
Thanks for the comment.
While never having quite this experience in class, children did sometimes come up with unusual interpretations of what was said when they didn’t quite understand all of the words. 🙂
amos
February 2, 2012 at 15:25
That was cute! And the dog video was too cute!!~Ames
P.S. Popped over from Jenny Matlock’s.
Ross Mannell
February 7, 2012 at 18:21
Thanks for the comment.
Not sure what the dog video was. Possibly it’s one of those inserted by WordPress unless you pay $45US per year to remove.
ames
February 2, 2012 at 15:27
Whoops. Spelled my own name wrong. It’s Ames…not Amos.
Anna of Annas Adornments
February 7, 2012 at 05:45
Monday, February 6th, 2012
Dear Ross,
I posted very, very late for last week’s SC. But I am determined to go aroundvisiting to read what others have written. Your text is lovely!
I would imagine that this expression would be hard for very young children to understand. Somewhere around the age of ten, children start to think interms of symbols. I really like your text. It illustrates well how children can interpret a metaphor literally, especially a scary expression about buried bodies!
Always a pleasure!
Best wishes,
Anna
Cissi and Cassy – Anna’s SC wk 91
Ross Mannell
February 7, 2012 at 18:26
Hello Anna,
Like all of us, children interpret what they sense using their experiences. For an unfamiliar word, it isn’t uncommon for them to use their limited knowledge to process the word. Idiom is unfamiliar to many adults let alone children therefore I thought the confusion might add a little humour. 🙂
Jenny Matlock
February 12, 2012 at 02:36
Ross, how cute! I loved this little play on words! You capture the minds of children so well.
May I ask if you are a childrens book author?
Ross Mannell
February 12, 2012 at 23:01
Hi Jenny,
It would be wonderful to be a children’s author but, no, I’m not. I am a retired primary school teacher who loves writing stories children are able to read. While I have written a couple children’s novels, they have never been published. I love creating story lines and characters and, because of the time neede, often become very involved with the characters I create and am sad when a story ends.
Perhaps one day I’ll write something which will catch the eye of someone in the industry. For now, I spend quite a bit of time commenting on children’s blogs around the world, adding to my five blogs, supporting young performers through encouraging words, writing short stories for Saturday Centus and the 100 Word Challenge, making DVDs and CDs for schools and community groups, and taking time if possible to write another longer story. 🙂
“The best teacher of children, in brief, is one who is essentially childlike.”
H. L. Mencken
This quote comes from “Prejudices: Third Series” by H L Mencken.
After many years of working with children and watching them grow as they learn, I had a reasonable idea of the working of their minds and the funny things they say and do.
Ross 🙂