Daddy Days: Translating the vocabulary of the boys

Caleb Harris
Updated ·2 min read
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The boys have come up with many unique words or phrases for expressing what they’re talking about. I really think I could create a short dictionary for the exclusive use of aiding people who are attempting to interpret what the boys are saying. However, before I go all Noah Webster on this, I want to run some of these by my loyal readers.

I’ll give you the boys’ word or phrase, the part of speech, the definition, and the synonym most of the English speaking world would recognize. Without further ado, let’s give it a go.

Flower bucket

Noun

A decorative container, often of glass, used for holding flowers

Synonym: Vase. “I know what I want to get mom for Mother’s Day - a flower bucket."

Non-liquid salsa

Noun

Synonym: pico de gallo

Here’s a little side note on this one. Do you know what pico de gallo actually means? Rooster beak. Don’t worry, it doesn’t (and never did) contain any part of a rooster, but non-liquid salsa doesn’t sound quite so strange now does it?

Naken

Adjective

Synonym: Naked

“Look, Daddy, I’m going to take a bath so I naken.”

Naken-tractor

Noun

Synonym: Bobtail, tractor

Bird-chicken

Noun

Synonym: Chicken

When I say we’re having chicken for dinner, the 4-year-old wants to know “is it bird-chicken or just chicken?” Because, when it’s cooked on the grill, that’s anything but just chicken. It’s bird-chicken.

Jammy towel

Noun

Synonym: Bathrobe

“It’s cold this morning so I put on my jammy towel.”

Minja 

Noun

Synonym: Ninja

This one is more than a mere word corruption. The evocative nature of a 3-foot-tall kid posing in a fighting stance combined with the “Mih” sound so reminiscent of the word mini makes this an outstanding onomatopoeia creation.

Bumpy house 

Noun

Synonym: Bouncy castle, moon bounce

I think the 2-year-old has this one right. With five older brothers also using the moon bounce, he’s not so much bouncing in the inflatable house as he is getting bumped in it.Harris and his wife live in Pflugerville with their six sons. Please email comments or suggestions for future columns to thoughtsforcaleb@gmail.com.

Caleb Harris
Caleb Harris

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Daddy Days: Translating the vocabulary of the boys