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Imagine you're ordering a meal. Or writing the sweetest text to your crush. Or even making the perfect presentation to your colleagues. Suddenly the words simply stop... coming. Or worse, you start spitting random jibberish that makes absolutely no sense. Brain farts are real, ladies and gentlemen. But the good news is that you aren't the only one who's dropping these stink bombs. Continue scrolling and check out some of the funniest struggles people have had with the English language, so that the next time you release a gassy wind of iuhgkfhregwlrh you can remember that it happens to the best of us.

#1

People-Mess-Up-English-Words

ryanlangdon_ Report

Rissie
Community Member
6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, people with headsets tend to cause situations like that. Makes them look very silly.

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Interestingly, there's a scientific term for what we like to call a "brain fart." Whenever you're having one, you're experiencing tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) syndrome, from the phrase "it's on the tip of my tongue." And while there is no universally accepted cause, there are some scientific theories that try to explain it.

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    The first one to describe the TOT phenomenon was psychologist William James. "A sort of wraith of the name is in it, beckoning us in a given direction, making us at moments tingle with the sense of our closeness and then letting us sink back without the longed-for term," he wrote in his 1890 book Principles of Psychology.

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    #3

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    CozyBoy Report

    Laugh Fan
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It only seems to go wrong for me if I rehearse.

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    However, no empirical research was done until 1966 when Harvard researchers Roger Brown and David McNeil published a paper in the Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior. They read definitions to people, and then asked them to remember the defined words. During the TOT state, these people could recall certain aspects of the word, and the closer they came to remembering it, the more accurate their associations became.

    "The signs of it were unmistakable; he [the subject] would appear to be in mild torment, something like the brink of a sneeze, and if he found the word his relief was considerable. While searching for the target, [he] told us all the words that came to his mind. He volunteered the information that some of them resembled the target in sound but not in meaning; others he was sure were similar in meaning but not in sound."

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    #4

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    unclewhiskysrevenge Report

    Laugh Fan
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's priceless! I wish mine came out as actual words when I stuff up - normally it's just gibberish.

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    #5

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    CozyBoy Report

    Nagawa (Cofa) Kishiki
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh... can't duck that judgement under the circumstances.

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    #7

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    jellybeing Report

    Laugh Fan
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nearly spluttered my early morning cuppa across the bed!

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    #8

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    Carroll_Amy_ Report

    Nagawa (Cofa) Kishiki
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Gay used to mean happy so just say you are old fashion like that.

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    #9

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    oflacar Report

    #10

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    Report

    Nagawa (Cofa) Kishiki
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yelling does help in sending the right message across.

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    #12

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    Holly Fouch Report

    Tara
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I love this so much. I’m glad they had a good laugh too.

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    #13

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    Erica Siegel Report

    A panda
    Community Member
    6 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Once a waiter asked me what i would like.....i wanted to say "just water" but i said "wust jater"😂😂😂

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    #15

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    CBMSt1 Report

    80 Van
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think Professor Allen is now also.

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    #18

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    avosmasher Report

    #19

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    Morticia Stewart Report

    Tara
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was also high. lol. Explains a lot

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    #20

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    cman525 Report

    #21

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    finalbawse Report

    Beeps
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is the kind of language I routinely speak at the onset of a migraine attack. Freaks the hell out of people.

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    #22

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    envyadams Report

    Nagawa (Cofa) Kishiki
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    At least you didn't said "you're problem." That will be real embarrassing then.

    Cactuar Jon
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The amount of times I have actually said this is embarrassing

    BusLady
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wow, did they report you to the management?

    Natalie Blake
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That’s close to what I said to a client as they were leaving our shop. Instead of saying either, “No problem” or “thanks”, what came out was “No thanks!”

    Nicole Antoku
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I did something similar. I was working in a hostel a while back where one shift consisted of picking guests up downstairs with the elevator (because you need a card to operate it). I was working the night shift, and a guest showed up at 3am. Upon exiting the elevator he says “Thank you!”. My brain couldn’t pick between “You’re welcome” and “No problem” so I cheerfully shouted “You’re problem!” after him. He didn’t say anything so i’m gonna assume he didn’t hear me..

    Nandi Fleming
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Was at a church prayer group, and volunteered to do the opening prayer . I couldn't decide how to start with Dear God Dear Jesus or Dear Lord I ended up saying : DEAR GEORGE i did not know any george but needless to say the prayer did not happen, and everyone was laughing till the end of the meeting. We tried to keep a serious atmosphere but every now and again someone would burst out laughing

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    #24

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    Melindaa_xx Report

    Foxxy
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I said "love you too" to the pizza delivery guy the other day instead of just "you too" in reply to have a good night.

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    #25

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    exominahxo Report

    #26

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    Katie Stack Report

    #27

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    not4hoes Report

    Kjorn
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    try to update the software, could help

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    #28

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    Lauran Ransom Report

    Tara
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You can always introduce me to dessert.

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    #29

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    Jeni Ensminger Report

    Laugh Fan
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I used to get a taxi home from school and the driver was playing some truly awful music (okay I know that's just an opinion) but instead of saying 'can we switch that off? I asked if we could have it off instead - a UK colloquialism for sex. I was 12.

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    #30

    People-Mess-Up-English-Words

    Katie Wright Report

    Monika Soffronow
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    At that ungodly time, any and all miscommunications between brain and tongue are understandable.

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