50 Incidents Where People Did Precisely What They Were Told, And The Results Were Hilarious (New Pics)

There are plenty of reasons why someone might not be speaking literally. On one hand, this may be to emphasize how they feel about something. For example, “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” Or, “I can’t breathe!” when they're simply laughing hysterically from a joke their friend told. You might even say that you've done something “a thousand times” because it feels like you have, when in reality, you’ve only done it about a hundred times.

We speak in metaphors, idioms and figurative language because it’s much more interesting and evocative than saying exactly what we mean. Just imagine how boring every single conversation would be if we never used hyperbole or flowery language. How could we express ourselves or show our personalities? And don’t even get me started on how boring books would be…

While English certainly isn’t the only language that is often spoken non-literally, it’s the one we’ll focus on right now. Since clearly, we all speak it! But these idioms that we all know and love are what makes English one of the more challenging languages to master. To sound like a native speaker, you have to know much more than vocabulary and language. You also have to understand countless phrases, figures of speech and metaphors. It’s definitely an uphill battle! 

When it comes to some of the most common idioms used in English, BSC Education notes that “turn a blind eye” is a popular one. What this actually means is to ignore something, as though you didn’t see or notice it. Another popular phrase is “to kick the bucket,” which is an informal, and sometimes even crude, way of referring to someone passing away. 

Have you ever gotten upset with someone because they dropped the ball? Perhaps your colleague forgot to submit a project before the deadline, or your dad forgot to pick you up from school. This is when we make a mistake, often by doing something careless. 

Now, if you’re barking up the wrong tree, we’re not actually talking about acting like a dog. This is when you go after someone who has nothing to do with what you’re upset about or what you're looking for. Maybe you’re blaming your mom for eating the cookie you wanted, but it was actually your sister who took it. Or perhaps you’re complaining to an employee about something that they have absolutely no control over. Either way, you’re barking up the wrong tree, buddy.

Woah, hold your horses! And if you don’t actually have any horses, that’s totally fine. What I really mean is to slow down, be patient and/or relax. But if you do have pet horses, you may have been born with a silver spoon in your mouth. If you came from a wealthy family and have been given everything you could ever need, then I’d say that’s the case. (Regardless of whether or not you own a literal silver spoon.)

Another confusing aspect of English is that, for some reason, people love using the word “literally” without literally meaning it. For example, you might have heard someone say, “I was literally outside for five seconds, and it started raining!” Now, in reality, they might have been outside for five minutes. But they probably weren’t counting, and they want to exaggerate to emphasize their frustration. So the word “literally” just gets tossed in!

Now, English speakers misusing words for emphasis isn’t exactly a new phenomenon. Mark Forsyth, author of The Etymologicon, told the BBC, “It amuses me that Americans use awesome all the time. They say a bus turning up is awesome, but it can't possibly fill them with awe. I use excellent all the time, without meaning it's excelling. Wonderful doesn't really fill people with wonder, fantastic is strictly speaking like a fantasy."

But why is “literally” such a particularly troublesome word? Ian Brookes, consultant editor at Collins English Dictionairy, says the word is “one of those language bugbears, so we print a special note in the dictionary to advise on the problem.”

"There are always two opposing views - those that believe we must use words very carefully, so that language does not lack precision, and the other side which argues that if people try to fossilize language they limit it,” Brookes told the BBC. "The problem really only occurs when it is not clear which sense is being used.”

We hope you’re enjoying this list of silly misunderstandings and misinterpretations, pandas! Keep upvoting the ones that you find particularly clever, and let us know in the comments below which phrases you’d like to use literally. Then, if you want to check out another Bored Panda list featuring people following instructions to a T, look no further than right here!