Servais (il/lui)What's a phrase you misinterpreted the meaning of for the longest time?
awesomesauce309Growing up I always wrote off “it’s always in the last place you look” as just another random thing adults loved to just say all the time.
Well damn, that just clicked for me.
So is that phrase a joke? I see people talk about how dumb/obvious it is, but I always thought it meant “it’s always in the last place you [would have thought to] look”, as in a ridiculous place you’d never consider.
However my whole family is ADHD and used to setting things in dumb spots you’d never check.
I never really got it for the same reason. Not sure if my parents misworded it, or if I misinterpreted.
propter_hog [any, any]On King of the Hill, Peggy says that in an episode and it always cracks me up, because she’s an idiot.
and whose the obvious winner there. Dale.
Hate that phrase. It says nothing. Obviously it’s in the last place you look, because you stop looking! At least “It’s always in the place you least expect.” says something that feels relatable.
It’s a joking expression. It says “hah hah, keep looking” basically.
It’s meant to be humorous or ironic, or to express frustration.
Of course it’s in the last place you look, because once you find it you stop looking.
My interpretation of it wasn’t meaningless.
Like my search for object algorithm goes like:
I always thought of “it’s in the last place you look” in terms of the list in #3. You think of 5 places it might be, and whatever the order you check them in, it will be in the 5th location you check.
Your interpretation sounds more like it’s in terms of #4. Or maybe #3 but checking each place as you think of it instead of building up a backlog.
This used to piss me off as a child. Parents would say this when I’d ask them where stuff was and I’d retort “not if I never find it!”
Protipp: Once you did find it, and are done with it, don’t put it back where it was. Put it where you first looked for it.