One aspect of the English language that makes it particularly difficult to learn is the fact that we rarely say exactly what we mean. “I’m feeling under the weather” or “I have a frog in my throat” might sound like absolute nonsense to someone unfamiliar with those phrases. And if you say that someone has a “heart of gold,” it would be quite concerning if you were actually referring to their anatomy.
But it’s not always crystal clear when we should adhere to what people say literally or when we should just take it with a grain of salt. And apparently, these misinterpretations often lead to some hilarious situations. Below, you’ll find a list that Bored Panda has compiled of funny examples of people doing exactly as they’re told. So enjoy scrolling through these clever actions and honest mistakes, and be sure to upvote the images that leave you tickled pink!
#1 What Platform Is This On
Image source: PsychoDDRQ
#2 When My Wife’s School Said They Had BBQ For Teacher Appreciation Week, She Was Excited To Hear To There Was A Vegetarian Option! It Was A Potato With BBQ Sauce
Image source: Dmed24
#3 I Asked My Husband To Seal An Envelope For Mailing
Image source: northernCan81
#4 I Asked For An Apple Watch For My Birthday. This Is What I Got
Image source: migato86
#5 I Had Some Time Before My Flight Out Of Boston
Image source: PresidentMagikarp
#6 My Cousin Just Started Kindergarten, She’s Going To Go Far
Image source: cm1022
#7 A Very Literal Half Pint
Image source: clusterlove
#8 I Suppose My Sil Should Have Gone Into The Bakery Instead Of Ordering Through Their Online Function
Image source: Decent-Confusion1486
#9 My Kind Of Guy
Image source: AzureDoo
#10 Heart Rate At 98.7° C
Image source: Administrative-Day76, imgur.com
#11 I Was Doing Homework When I Did This
Image source: RavelOnePiece
#12 Can You Talk Real Quick?
Image source: SamSillis175
#13 It’s Useless If You Can’t Swim
Image source: ItsAndyRyan
#14 Literally
Image source: jmattice2
#15 Asked My Dad For A Blank CD, Showed Me This Saying “I’ve Got A Clear One”
Image source: mrmoustachepanda
#16 Meet Bob
Image source: vaitor
#17 This Target Sign Says That People Arent Allowed In
Image source: reddit.com
#18 Museum-Goers Touched The “Please Touch” Sign Instead Of The Rock
Image source: superjew102
#19 I Don’t Care
Image source: Blazer3011
#20 Try And Stop Me
Image source: infected_scab
#21 Bills Bills Bills
Image source: jbsmomhasgotitgoinon
#22 Imagine Alligators In The Lunch Break At Your Workplace
Image source: Shiroyasha_2308
#23 This Is Popcorn Chicken
Image source: ShaniaWillis2
#24 Huh, I Wouldn’t’ve Thought
Image source: corndogfile
#25 Well, They Are For Sure
Image source: GignacPL
#26 That Is Hilarious
Image source: timjhogan
#27 At Least It’s Not Made Out Of Sand
Image source: thecrazythinker
#28 In His Defense, I Did Say To Put These In The Bathroom. There Is Nothing Like Having A Literal 2nd Grader Living In Your House
Image source: arbucklefatty
#29 2nd Graders Homework. My Friend’s (Awesome) 6 Yr Old Son Is Autistic And Takes Instructions Literally
Image source: snowbird311
#30 They Said Put In A Mask. Didn’t Say Which Kind Of Mask
Image source: Blitzer3
#31 My Kids Came In And Told Me There Was Water Coming From The Laundry Room. They Said It Looked Like It Started At The Washer. I Rushed In To Find This
Image source: narcolepsyinc
#32 After A Huge Meal (Schweinshaxe) In Berlin I Asked For Just A Small Beer. This Is What The Waiter Brought Me:
Image source: Krutang
#33 I Asked For A Car Full Of Money For My Birthday, Grandmother Delivers
Image source: upr1s1ngx
#34 My Son Doing What The Sign Says
Image source: jediclaire
#35 I Waited Here
Image source: GamingGolurk
#36 80-100 Words
Image source: definetlynotspam
#37 Girlfriend And Her Friend Spent The Day In Sf
Image source: reddit.com
#38 Face Palm
Image source: nvdnqvi
#39 It Looks Like Someone Took This Sign A Bit Too Literally
Image source: Kai420
#40 When Santa Is Too Literal
Image source: xtian_macedo
#41 Competition To McDonald’s Have Arrived
Image source: Shiroyasha_2308
#42 I Am Indeed Not A Train
Image source: Klomlor161
#43 I Was Expecting The First Comment To Be Pineapple, But I Guess This Works Too
Image source: Longjumping-Big-3617
#44 That’s What The Gps Said
Image source: Alarmed_Jellyfish771
#45 Nobody Knows Such A Person
Image source: anshj21
#46 He Didn’t Fight
Image source: -dommmm
#47 This Is The Modern Jack Sparrow
Image source: marciucclaudiu
#48 I Meaaan
Image source: letternumbers-and_
#49 I Do Too
Image source: PenguinBeatbox
#50 An Amateur Pilot At Best
Image source: postymcpostpost
#51 Some People Take Things Way Too Literally
Image source: 13thmurder
#52 Six Year Olds Are Very Literal
Image source: MadPoopah
#53 They Said He Jumps When He’s Excited.. So Naturally I Was Thinking Just, Jumps Up On You.. No This Dog Literally Jumps
Image source: daniunicorn
#54 Can’t Argue With That
Image source: PrIixis
#55 I Asked For Extra Spicy Pad Thai Today
Image source: Lowghen
#56 Sure He Would Be A Baby
Image source: Reallylilguy, SuperCaioWorld
#57 What A Coincidence! Me Too
Image source: OldRaspberry9796
#58 They Only Go Up To 9
Image source: ok-i, OhNoWTFlol
#59 Air Filters Do Their Job
Image source: AngeleSallee, TeaVinylGod
#60 How To Defeat A Bear
Image source: DemonDuckOfDoom1
#61 No Doubt About It
Image source: ulyssesfiuza
#62 To Be An Only Child You Do Not Ha E Siblings
Image source: Stock_Plenty8987
#63 $500 To $160,000 With Nft
Image source: jabawack81
#64 That’s A Lot Of Money
Image source: reddit.com
#65 Holy Crap, Mind Absolutely Blown
Image source: SnooCupcakes8607, DotaGuy12
#66 Literally, It Is What You Wanted
Image source: Ortesk
#67 So True
Image source: pcmr-123
#68 I Flew Korean Air And Asked For A Rum And Coke. Something Must Have Got Lost In Translation
Image source: meco64
#69 This Works Just Fine
Image source: RoachDman
#70 The Assignment Was To Write 1 To 120. He Took It Literally
Image source: imabanddork
#71 The Teacher Said Don’t Look (At The Board) While You’re Writing. She Took It Literally
Image source: reddit.com
#72 Got My Dad A Pocket Watch For My Wedding At The Weekend. Asked For An Engraved Capital R At The Top. They Took The Instruction A Bit Too Literally
Image source: GingerSnapBiscuit
#73 I Took A Picture Of Myself Everyday For One Day
Image source: DaRealBigMac06
#74 This Image Looks Like Four Different Pictures Because It Actually Is
Image source: Shimmer_bunni2307
#75 More Than One, In Fact…
Image source: your_mum_1705
#76 So My Job Literally Requires Me To Cut Corners
Image source: Wobblandy
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