An example of what I mean:
I, in China, told an English speaking Chinese friend I needed to stop off in the bathroom to “take a shit.”
He looked appalled and after I asked why he had that look, he asked what I was going to do with someone’s shit.
I had not laughed so hard in a while, and it totally makes sense.
I explained it was an expression for pooping, and he comes back with, “wouldn’t that be giving a shit?”
I then got to explain that to give a shit means you care and I realized how fucked some of our expressions are.
What misunderstandings made you laugh?
I am an English monoglot. Years ago, was working overseas in Kuwait when I experienced a sudden onset of testicular pain and swelling. Went to the hospital and got taken to an elderly Arabic ultrasound technician to examine my junk. After a few minutes of smearing cold jelly on me, he says something…in Arabic.
I do not understand.
He repeats it, this time poking me in the fupa.
I look confused and try to adjust my position on the table to give him better access, hoping this is what he wants.
He sighs, searching for the little English he knows. Finally he says, “Like pooping…but not pooping!” and wags his finger in my face. That’s how I understood he wanted me to tense my lower abdominal wall so he could check for a hernia.
To be fair, most English speakers probably wouldn’t know what to do if you told them the term in English, the Valsalva maneuver.
Sorry I don’t know how to dance the salsa.