My literal mind at work

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One time someone was saying that the neighbourhood they used to live in wasn't very nice, because there were bars at the end of the street. They meant bars as in pubs, but I understood it as bars as in rods (I envisioned them as metal), and I was puzzled about why/how a street would have (metal) bars at the end of it, and even if it did, how that would make it a not nice neighbourhood. I finally figured out what they were talking about when someone talked about going to the bar, or closing time at the bar, or something like that.

I don't know if that counts as literalism, because both bar=rod and bar=pub are literal meanings of 'bar', just different literal meanings, and I understood it with the wrong (and more concrete) one.

Another time, my roommate had two friends over for tea, and while she and I were getting things ready in the kitchen, she whispered to me "I hope they go out". I understood "go out" as "go out of the house, leave", and was puzzled why she'd invited them over if she wanted them to leave so soon. About 10 seconds later I realized she meant that she wanted them to date each other.

the other day my mom bought a mandolin slicer, I asked her why she wanted to slice a mandolin.

Oh.

I get it now.

me too!

Aspergers is so Zen.

Me too. I read it a few times trying to figure out what making the dog mind meant.

Just for the record, I still interpret it this way and have to stop and go back to the actual meaning.

It is entertaining to ponder what "making the dog mind" would be. It seems impossibly abstract. Like, could it be making the Platonic ideal of a dog's mind, and what would that platonic ideal be? An embodiment of "man's best friend?" a throwback to lupine ancestors? Would it get excited if I threw it a frozen kong filled with peanut butter?

Clearly deep philosophical questions here.

Making the dog mind means to make it listen to you and to behave good and not doing things you don't want it to do.

Yes, I think we've established that now. But don't you think it an exceedingly odd way of saying you want the dog to obey?

I couldn't focus on the point being made about literalism because I was stuck on reading "making the dog mind" and trying to comprehend what that could possibly be.

Yes, I know. That's what I meant by "the actual meaning." I'm just describing where my thoughts keep going despite knowing the intended meaning.

People also say that about other humans like "Do you mind?" "Would you mind turning that off?"

I always picture a brain. I can't make a literal image in my head from the words.

Making the dog mind, I picture a dog brain. Or how about sitting down at the table and making a dog's brain out of clay. There is your literal image of the phrase.

I just thought of something, when I keep seeing the thread title, I keep thinking the OP was literal at work because he took something literal there.

But he actually means his literal mind is working. Nothing to do with him being at work with his literal mind.

The meaning of 'mind' in 'Do you mind?' is different from the meaning in 'making the dog mind'. In 'Do you mind?', 'mind' means something like 'be annoyed', while in 'making the dog mind', it means something like 'pay attention'.

I think League_Girl maybe thought people were unfamiliar with mind as a verb or even somehow the issue was that it was used in conjunction with dog. I'm quite happy with the use of mind but have never in four decades seen it applied in quite that way. It feels as if the sentence has been clipped or truncated, and is missing vital information, hence the confusion.

Mind the step.
Mind your way.
Mind your own business.
Will you please mind what I say.
I really don't mind.

All those uses are quite clear, but "making the dog mind...." - Mind what? Just like "making the man mind" would be equally strange to me, whereas "making the man mind out of the way" is ok.

I always thought "do you mind meant?" "Will you stop?" as in obey me because stop it, behave. Making the dog mind= listen to me, behave.

Now it seems like a double standard. Why are you okay with the other sentences but not with "Making your dog mind?"