Synonyms Work Just Fine

I have a strange habit of referring to objects, places and ideas by off-key synonyms, because at that moment, I can’t quite think of the word I’m searching for. Although it makes for hilarious conversation, I’m not sure why I do it, at all. The problem started in high school when I referred to a couple Math and English books as my “study books.” It progressed from there. I called Christmas “Santa’s Day” once and the restaurant “Applebees” sincerely became “Johnny Appleseeds.” Scale became “Weight measurer” and so on. I don’t know where this verbal ADHD originated from, but it looks like it’s contagious.

me: I saw “The Class” the other day for a screening. You’d really like it. [proceeds to send link to trailer]

him: Oooo interesting. This reminds me of that Michelle Pfeiffer movie with the students.

me: Which one?

him: With Coolio, remember?

him: Teacher in the Hood!

me: you mean “DANGEROUS MINDS?!”

Teacher in the Hood. After I recovered from my fit of laughter, I took comfort in the fact this wasn’t the first time he had synonym-ized words. Payless had turned into “Penny Savers” and Old Navy had turned into “Navy Seal” among countless others that I can’t recall.  It could have been at this point that I might have realized that we where meant to be.