A child sees tangible objects more clearly than adults, and it has nothing to do with wearing glasses.
It's about their unfiltered perception for identifying the things around them at a basic level being sharper than our calculated rationale.
So when a kid calls something out as he or she sees them, it can be jarring but makes a whole lot of sense.
Thanks to Tessa Dare's anecdote on Twitter about her friend's 5-year-old calling a crow a "Halloween Eagle," people began favoring kids' lingo over definitions assigned by the dictionary and shared examples of their own.
My friend’s 5-year-old just saw a crow and called it a “Halloween eagle.” And a child shall lead us. It is known.… https://t.co/hYiYb6kHif— Tessa Dare 🐐 (@Tessa Dare 🐐) 1527642783.0
I can't see rhinos as the same species anymore.
@TessaDare @MerriamWebster A friend's 5 yr old saw a rhino and called it a "Battle Unicorn". Can we let 5 yr olds c… https://t.co/ILJ4KV46K0— Zoe Tuinman (@Zoe Tuinman) 1527693121.0
The etymology for "wallet" can be traced back to the 14th century when the word denoted a knapsack, or a bag for provisions, in Middle English.
However, this makes much more sense.
@ZoeJTuinman @TessaDare @MerriamWebster My 4 year old has renamed wallets “money pockets,” which makes so much sens… https://t.co/iljsfCTsIs— Jana Ziegler 🌊 (@Jana Ziegler 🌊) 1527803611.0
I would like TV crime procedurals to adopt these terms, please. Especially the 'boo boo trucks.' "Someone, call a boo boo truck immediately!"
@TessaDare @MerriamWebster As a toddler, my son was king of properly renaming things. This is why my vocabulary now… https://t.co/A7jWqdM11I— Erin Rooney Doland (@Erin Rooney Doland) 1527646897.0
I'm not alone in agreeing with this one.
@TessaDare @MerriamWebster When our son was little, he called a harmonica a "cowboy trumpet".— Suzanne Blakeman (@Suzanne Blakeman) 1527685524.0
@ukule_lee @SuzanneBlakeman @TessaDare @MerriamWebster My thoughts exactly! Keep on harpin' or cowboy-trumpettinn' !— Etienne Millien (@Etienne Millien) 1527707034.0
Si, senior!
@SamuraiKnitter @petecorson @TessaDare @MerriamWebster Chipotle, or any taqueria is a "taco store" in our family vernacular.— Claire Gilder (@Claire Gilder) 1527708355.0
It's the grim truth.
@erdoland @TessaDare @MerriamWebster When I was 4 or 5, I referred to cemeteries as “die yards.”— Janice Simon (@Janice Simon) 1527680461.0
@JaniceSimon @erdoland @TessaDare @MerriamWebster if a murder victim rises from a die yard to exact justice, then i… https://t.co/yRUhEUtFPB— james joyce jimenez, crush ng beckett (@james joyce jimenez, crush ng beckett) 1527715255.0
You gotta hand it to the kid.
@TessaDare @MerriamWebster A kindergartner told me she liked my hand socks...gloves obviously. But now forever hand socks.— Jenny Watson (@Jenny Watson) 1527717747.0
This could also apply to da Vinci's "The Vitruvian Man" very easily.
@TessaDare @MerriamWebster My 5 year old niece says "starfish-circle" for cartwheel. Genius!— Kaitlin C (@Kaitlin C) 1527648085.0
This holds truth.
@TessaDare @MerriamWebster My son calls ravioli “pasta pockets”— Shannon Gallagher (@Shannon Gallagher) 1527707886.0
Shhh, there's oncoming foot traffic.
@TessaDare @MerriamWebster My son couldn’t think of the right word for “hush puppies” so he renamed them “quiet doggies.”— Erin Tate (@Erin Tate) 1527703674.0
Awesome.
I need to get some pork chops and apple sauce, so I'm stopping by 'yay meat' first.
@petecorson @TessaDare @MerriamWebster We call the butcher shop "Yay Meat" because that's what the kid always yelle… https://t.co/eMqkIcFPTW— Bitch is my superhero name. (@Bitch is my superhero name.) 1527704201.0
Don't underestimate the power of kids' lingo. Sometimes they make a lot more sense than the dictionary.
H/T - Twitter