Recently, I heard a great misinterpretation of the beloved idiom "beating around the bush". A student used an example to explain what he thought it meant. The following example, although humourous on many levels, is also educational and serves to illustrate just how easily an English learner can suddenly create confusion, unintentionally, because of a small mistake in interpretation, accent, tone etc. The story goes as follows:
One time our friend we'll call Rafael had a bad case of stomach trouble. It was so bad that he didn't know which side had to come out first #1 or #2. His dilemma was whether to use the urinal or public toilet (enough said). He asked me whether his ordeal could be expressed idiomatically as "beating around the bush." Rafael reasoned that he had to make a decision between one of the two processes but didn't want to disappoint the other one. So somehow he had to placate one of the two needed functions and by so doing delaying its turn. Ultimately, Rafael chose to "hold it". So the act of trying to "trick" his colon into "thinking" it's needs weren't so urgent (i.e., wait until getting home) satisfied, in essence, the spirit of the idiom.
Well in a very humourous way, I would even tend to agree...haha.
Homework: Can you think of any double meanings that can be construed from this story?
Next: This is not "Omitable"
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