I understand most idioms, but...

Post Reply New Topic

I had a lot of trouble with this as a kid,they used to tell me " can't never could" and I kept asking "who's can't?",and when we went to a buffet and I overloaded my plate they said"your eyes are bigger than your stomach",I thought that was so stupid because look how small your eyes are.I think mostly in pictures and only found out a few years ago that most people don't,I can't figure out how they think if you can't see it.I'm pretty good at idioms now but still don't get some jokes.

I also had trouble as a child with this. On a 3rd-grade assignment there were a list of idonyms and was asked what they meant on a multiple-choice fashion. I has the intended meaning, an incorrect intended meaning, and the literal meaning as choices. I got in big trouble as i chose the literal meaning for all the questions and couldn't see that the problem was.

Still trying to learn the intended meaning of some idioms as i go to the literal meaning first and have to stop myself.

As a child I sort of did that. Like when I heard the phrase "open a can of whoop-a**," which made absolutely no sense at the time.

I don't really have a problem with that, least not that I know of. I've probably heard just about every such phrase uses in modern vernacular.

I don't usually have trouble with sarcasm anymore either but I used to.

But I do have a problem with imprecise, 'odd' phrases or questions.

Last week I was microwaving some potatoes. I microwave them longer than necessary. My mother said, "Are you trying to bake them?" That really confused me.

Just thinking about that still makes my head hurt.

Given the fact that I'll use the microwave to make "baked" potatoes, my answer to that would probably be "yes."

Me too

Or the phrase "he has a good head on his shoulders" brings to mind a picture of someone with their head firmly attached to the body.

I think a lot of people do see images...
however, when they don't, there can be some pretty hilarious results...
I think that lack of visual thinking explains a lot of these: http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/

I am the same way, BUT when the meaning starts with an image, I suck at realizing the idiom behind it.

Lets take "A bun in the oven", which means someone is pregnant. Someone posted a picture of some kind of big wheat product being heated. To everyone, my wife included, it was obvious it was "a bun in the oven", but I looked at it for 10-15 seconds before I had to ask her about it, and within 10-15 seconds more I finally understood it. She expected me to laugh within 2-3 seconds of seeing the picture, so the fact that it took 20-30 seconds to understand made me feel, in lack of a better word, ret*d. Anyone else having similar problems?

I have a question about understanding idioms.

Today I went to a psychiatrist to talk about my anxiety. This was my first appointment. I asked if my anxiety can be related with AS. Then...

Psychiatrist: ''Have you had any difficulties about understanding idioms/phrases after age 13?''
Me: ''I visualize idioms literally, but I can also understand their true meaning. I had problems when I was 8, but not after 13.''
Psychiatrist: ''Then forget about AS.''

Other than this dialogue, everything was about anxiety. Oddly, at the end of the therapy he advised me to read Daniel Goleman's ''Emotional Intelligence''. If my problem is only about anxiety, then what can be said about this advice? I think it has nothing to do with anxiety. Am I wrong?

Finally, my question: Can understanding idioms/phrases solely make a person NT as my psychiatrist said? In this thread, it seems different. Where is the mistake? Are you sure about your diagnoses, or is there a problem with my psychiatrist? Thanks in advance.

Last edited by Somberlain on 02 Aug 2012, 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

I think that is is a lot of things working together that make a person be diagnosed with AS.
for example I have a friend who cannot resist a rocking chair. But he doesn't do any other Aspie things.

I on the other hand have a load of issues... and yes I understand idioms and I like them because of the funny visuals I get when I hear them. But I usually understand them.

Yes I visualise also, like when somebody says "he kicked the bucket", I see a foot wearing a red sock and a brown shoe, standing on a bucket. When it comes to the can of worms, I see a can, the lid lifted as if it has been removed with a can opener, full of small white worms.
When it comes to strange expressions such as "Jeez Louise" and "Heavens to Betsy", I just see abstracts, with pieces of detail in them, like, Heavens to Betsy looks like a yellow brushstroke, a baby blue one undeneath it and then then blonde hair and a blue eye and skin that is drawn, not actual human skin. Jeez Louise is just dark blue with red polka dots and then at the bottom lighter polka dots.

If you have other reasons to believe you have AS, I'd definitely seek a second opinion. It couldn't hurt. It's a spectrum, and everybody presents differently. The ability to understand idioms should not immediately disqualify you from a diagnosis.

This sounds really weird. Excluding AS because of that..really? Understanding an idiom you have never heard before, and understanding idioms known to you, are two very different things. If I heard "What brings you here?" for the first time, I would definitly answer "my car" or something similar. But I have learned the meaning, therefore I feel it is perfectly ok to say I understand it now, even though I had to learn the meaning the first time.

I just checked out http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com now, and the idiom buy wolf ticket did not make any sense to me at all, because I have never heard it before, and there is really no logic to it. If I would guess, I'd say it means something to do with a pack, and buying a ticket to enter said pack..somehow. Apparently it means to challenge someone's boast or taunt, which I would never have guessed.

Some idioms are based in logic, and easy to understand, some are just..not.

Another one, peace of mind, I would guess it means peace in the mind, relaxation. It means a feeling of calm or not being worried, logical and easy to understand.

I did do a quick google on "aspergers idioms/phrases" and this popped up; http://suite101.com/article/teaching-id ... asd-a24219 , so I guess it is not totally unknown to have trouble with idioms while on the spectrum. But, perhaps your psychiatrist didn't understand how you interpreted the question. To understand idioms you have learned or logical idioms, are very different from understanding illogical idioms, or phrases you have never heard before but have to interpret the meaning "on the go" so to speak ( hehe, see below ). Perhaps NTs just get a feeling of the meaning from the context of the conversation, and catch on so quick that they seamlessly continue in their social interaction as nothing happened.

(lol, I just wrote on the go in my above post, because I thought it meant doing something while you are performing another task(like walking), also known as multitasking, but it actually meant very busy and active or just active, foreign language idioms are always fun to discover the meaning of )

Not only with idioms.
If someone says something sarcastic I know it is sarcastic but my first thoughts are always the literal meaning of the sarcastic remark.
And I always answer immediately which leads me to answering literally, although seconds after this I usually know it's sarcasm or an idiom but then it's already too late.

IndieSoul and Blownmind, thanks for your replies.

I think idioms/phrases can be understood, by memorizing. After learning true meanings of idioms, one can recall those information in daily speech.

Hence, there are two possibilities. Either people with AS have also problems with memorizing the meanings of idioms, or it is about guessing the meaning of an unknown phrase. If it is about guessing the meaning of an unknown phrase... Oh come on, nobody can be completely successful about it. After all, who can guess the true meaning of ''buy wolf ticket''?

Everyone in the human race does the same thing-visualize idioms.

Thats why the idioms were invented.

Please explain what your point is?

I loved those bits because I do exactly the same thing. I don't get quite as many absurdities as I did when I was much younger, but they still pop up occasionally. "Damn You, Autocorrect" is a gold mine for this. For me.