Ugh. I don't even know how I would bring that up tactfully. "Well, actually...that word has a different connotation than you think, so you might want to be aware of the scenarios you use it in."

Or even "can have a different connotation." I am, as ever, reminded of the time I had to tell coworkers that they couldn't use the phrase "my box" in the title of a curriculum for teen girls.

I am, as ever, reminded of the time I had to tell coworkers that they couldn't use the phrase "my box" in the title of a curriculum for teen girls.

I think for some people creating this stuff, if they think of a bad connotation at all they think, "Oh, no one's gonna think that."

I did that in the seventh grade. I created a cartoon character: "Marvin the Tripod--our three-legged hero." Marvin was an alien who had two regular legs like us humans, and his third leg stuck straight out in front of him for two or three feet and then had a knee with a leg going straight down to the ground. It occurred to me that his third leg was kinda' like a dick but I thought, "No one's gonna think that." Of course I was wrong. But that didn't stop me from making photocopies of Marvin and sneaking them into students' desks when I was alone in the classroom.

I also made a wire sculpture of Marvin for art class.

Then there was the actuary I used to work with who told us that we should redesign our website "to make it easier for clients to get their hands on our tools". On no other day has my professionalism been tested as it was then.

Hah! Oh dear. My box. Hands on our tools. They probably just accuse you Of having a dirty mind.

I got plenty of sleep, in theory, but it was very "I have a cold and can't breathe and keep waking up with a dry mouth" sleep. Grr. But I suppose I should be glad it came to this on a week when I'm in town and not traveling.

Hah! Oh dear. My box. Hands on our tools. They probably just accuse you Of having a dirty mind.

They may with some justification have accused me of suddenly developing an elaborate coughing fit.

He was just so earnest about it, you know? Like this was the one thing that had been missing from the firm until now.

One year one of our corporate goals was to delight our customers. I told my supervisor I needed to get paid extra to delight customers, and he was just baffled and suspected he should be annoyed with me.

Oh dear. Now I can't stop laughing!

Maybe I could just arrange for her to see the CSI episode on furries? Or show her the fetish map and she if she understands toy boats?

Dear Self

I told you to remember you had to buy gas this morning. Don't you ever listen?

Signed, Did Not Run Out Of Gas But Was Not On Time to Work

After I got my mom watching Buffy, she and my stepdad started using the word "Bugger!" as a general expression of exaggerated annoyance (like if some minor inconvenience happened, they would say "Oh, bugger!"). One day I was over there, and some little thing happened (like the pizza place we wanted to order from was closed), and my mom said "Oh, bugger!", which my stepdad repeated, and they gleefully cackled at using their new word. Finally I said, "Just to be clear, because I don't want you to use the word in front of the wrong person...you DO know what 'bugger' means, RIGHT?"

They didn't. They just thought it was funny because Spike said it. So I filled them in, and their reaction was pretty much "We've been saying WHAT?!?"

I enjoyed that a little too much.