Thursday, February 4, 2010

gotta get a dictionary.

It's always entertaining for me to have all the kids together in one room and listen to them talk.

Over Thanksgiving break (yeah this is one of those posts that I started writing forever ago and kinda forgot about it and now since I have nothing else to say...well, you know) we revisited a conversation that we've had a few times in our house.


Tony claims that the meaning of certain words really don't mean much and you can insert them into any sentence at anytime and the meaning of what you are trying to say won't vary much.

Being that I LOVE words and finding out their meanings and discovering new ways to string them together to get a point across, I had to adamantly disagree (actually, this drove me crazy).


He choose the example "supple" for a word to be used anywhere and any time.

And for months now he will randomly insert it in sentences. Not very often. Just enough to get me to stop what I'm doing and give him "that look" (you know--the mom version of rolling her eyes but with a little bit of "I'm gonna smack you if you keep this up" look thrown in too--you know what I'm saying).

Then he gives me one of his "I'm the baby and I know you think I'm cute" smirks.

He uses it as an adverb:
"I ran supply today in gym class."

He uses it as an adjective:
"You should have seen that movie. It was really supple!"

He uses it as an interjection:
I'm showing him something in a magazine and he says "Supple!!! Mom, Supple!!!"

The worst part is I've never liked this word. As soon as I hear it always think of breasts. As in, "the woman had supple breasts". As in, large....I'm not sure where that comes from.

I thought maybe I should put a stop to this, you know, I didn't want Tony doing this outside of our home and offending someone (or maybe just because it bugged me so much). So I thought I'd look up the word just so I could explain it clearly to him.

And this is what I found....

Sup.ple:
adj. sup·pler, sup·plest
1. Readily bent; pliant.
2. Moving and bending with agility; limber.
3. Yielding or changing readily; compliant or adaptable.

I am so wrong about the meaning of the word. How did I come up with this? I guess it can be used in a sentence describing breasts but not meaning what I thought. Maybe I didn't pay as much attention in English class as I thought.

I don't know why this word bugs me so much (even more now). It grinds on me inside. I think that sounds crazy, but it's the way it is.

And of course, Tony probably realized this from the beginning and that's why he takes such joy in throwing it in when ever he can.

The whole thing reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from The Princess Bride.

Here's a little clip for you.
Oh, and I'm Vizzini....."Inconceivable!" I mean "How Supple!"



22 comments:

Travis said...

I have supple breasts.

Wait.

What?

Brian Miller said...

ha. i love that movie! its so supple. teehee.

Jessica said...

"supple" makes me think of breasts, too! Fron the very beginning of your post, I was thinking, "Wait.....this teenage boy goes around saying something that refers so clearly to breasts? That can't be good...." Seriously. I don't know why, either!

Matty said...

I'm thinking it's a phase. Let's hope.

By the way, I find your post quite supple.

Jeannie Burchfield said...

You know I love your kids, but I'm suddenly wondering if it's the entertainment factor. I think it may be.

Tony needs to stop and stop now, lest the father or big brother of some supple young thing at the mall/school/church--GOD FORBID! Can you IMAGINE?--punches him in the nose.

While you may be worried, know that I'm cheering for you under the snorteling laughter.

Liz Mays said...

Well, now thanks to you, I'm forevermore going to associate supple with breasts!

Terrace Crawford said...

LoL. This is a fun game...

--Terrace Crawford
www.terracecrawford.com
www.twitter.com/terracecrawford

shortmama said...

Im glad Im not the only one because I totally think of supple breasts too!

Ducky said...

You may develop violent tendancies if you were to work alongside me. Sometimes it stops me cold in my tracks when I hear kids conversing....

Tracie said...

Supple makes me think of breasts too. I think I've been reading too many romance novels.

Happy Hour...Somewhere said...

I thought breasts were always heaving in romance books? Which makes me think of upchucking. I think supple definitely sounds better. Although with implants, I'm not sure if that word would apply then. He sounds like a very quick witted kid which is always fun.

Gaia said...

I hate when my kids sound smarter than me! At least he didn't put 'dude' after it...that word gets my bloomers in a bunch! Thanks for your comment, we'll try ice in the toilet next time : )

Sheri, RN said...

lol I was thinking of boobs with supple too... /sigh

Unknown said...

hahaha! supple.
Classic!

Returning the visit! Have a great day!

Corrie Howe said...

I also love Princess Bride. It's a classic. I don't like the word supple either, although I did know it meant pliant.

McGillicutty said...

Urgghh of all the words to choose!!! it's right up there with moist!!!

He's a bright boy!!!

Mike said...

So what is wrong with supple breasts??

I like words, also, at least the ones that I can spell!

G said...

I would slap a child for saying supple. that makes me vom

tattytiara said...

I think the general use of the word supple tends to involve subject matter that includes references to breasts. Or at least it did until a whole bunch of us read this post and started throwing it into new and unusual sentences to watch people's reactions!

banban said...

That is so funny!!!! Loved it.

Unknown said...

So this is the kind of crap I have to look forward to (my twins just turned 4)??? oh no. God help me!

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