I just got the "you can't possibly have autism" line

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I think when I was young I initially may have had trouble with idioms and metaphors, and similes. But I read constantly, and I read very advanced material for my age. So I eventually figured out for myself the meaning based on the context of the material.

Many idioms make no sense now, because they were created at a time when they actually did make sense. But I understand what they mean, without having to make sense of them. Some metaphors are more abstract, so they are hard for me to understand for that reason.

Technically "Slow as molasses in January" is a simile, not a metaphor. It just means that it's cold in January, so molasses is going to be somewhat cold and so moves slowly, as of you were trying to pour it. That's how I understood it, anyway.

Metaphors are actually harder to understand, at least for me.

My wife made all the running. I didn't have a clue. To this day I don't know if a woman is flirting, in fact I'm not 100% sure what flirting means. In fact, 'Do you know when a woman is flirting with you?' was one of the first questions I was asked at the very first appointment I had to get a diagnosis.
Anyway, [i]you[i]can't be autistic because in your avatar you are wearing a suit and look quite smart, you clearly have some fashion-sense, something Aspies aren't supposed to have! (I'm joking)

Maple syrup would be a better choice, in January.

Or am I being too literal?

My mother picks out my clothes

My husband tells me he gets frustrated sometimes when I take him seriously and when I get upset with his jokes. I don't realize I am doing this. I told him why doesn't he just stop then and he said he can't help it and it just happens. I guess it's a habit he has so it's hard to stop because he is so used to doing it. That is how I look at it for everyone when they continue with behaviors even after being informed of someone's disability but yet still continue to expect them to have that same ability as everyone else. It took me a while to remember about my husband's feet so I also kept expecting him to do things forgetting about his feet condition like wanting him to put his plate in the sink if he forgets or not thinking about parking close to the store. I kept forgetting because of my habits so it was like I was on autopilot.

I have only used molasses for baking. I honestly don't even know what it's normally used for. But it's really thick, even in the summer. Much thicker than maple syrup. So it would be slower in any month.

I have a idiom dictionary and they all explain where the phrases come from and I see they have been adopted. Like kick the bucket comes from when people would stand to hang themselves using a bucket and they would kick it from under them. I agree some still make no sense so I would have to look them up too again to see where they come from like 'hit the nail in the head' and 'throw the baby out with bathwater.' I know hit the nail in the head means to say something right and I am not sure what the other means.

I apparently lacked using phrases because I can remember my mother telling me in high school she would like me to start using some. I use them now because I like how some of them sound and I like the images I see in my head from it. Like if I hear "we're worry about it when we cross that bridge" I know they mean when we get to that situation and I picture myself crossing a bridge with that other person and whoever is involved in the situation and then we all start worrying about it lol.

Throw under the bus, I think it means making a bad decision but I still picture a person being thrown under the bus literally by that other person. I just looked it up again and it says to sacrifice a person, to use someone as a scapegoat, to discard or disown someone. You will mind as well say throw them in the trash so why bus?

Some reason using phrases doesn't always come natural to me. But yet I understood "When a boat runs ashore, the sea has spoken" when I first heard it in a movie and everyone else in my school didn't understand that phrase and said it made no sense. It was like we switched so I used that as an opportunity to show them my life by telling them why do they think I get so confused easily and ask so many questions, welcome to my world.

i was recently diagnosed, and believe me I can understand sarcasm. I have also been told by acquaintances, even my own brother "you can,t possibly be autistic". Well perhaps they would like to step into my own head for a day and find out what really goes on!! !

They do use trash. As in "They just trashed him." Which means you are comparing someone to trash.

Throwing under the bus is supposed to elicit the images you mentioned. It is a visceral way of saying you caused someone great damage by trying to save yourself. It is hyperbolic on purpose.

The one I still don't get, and it was explained to me about 30 years ago, is the old example of 'wearing your heart on your sleeve.' That still makes no sense to me at all. There are others. Many I can follow logically (January, molasses) some like the heart thing just throw me. Sometimes, context will at least give me a clue if it is something negative or not.

The problem is that when you're trying to figure things out in conversation, you can get out of sync in the conversation. That always starts a bad feedback loop of trying to catch up.

But, for me, it's hit or miss. Over time, the lsit of misses have gotten shorter as I have either had them explained or figured them out. Database is large on those things.

Your shirt sleeve is a very prominent part of you. It was especially prominent before the 20th century, when sleeves were more elaborate.

Additionally, in the old days before the 1970s, people usually wore cuff links on their sleeves. They were prominent, too.

To "wear your heart on your sleeve" means that your emotions are obvious and prominent.

I ignore the phrases and see the literal images and then I will go back and think about it later or just interrupt and ask "huh" or "what do you mean?"

Ok, here's why "hit the nail on the head" makes sense. It means to get something exactly right (that's my interpretation). So if you have ever done any kind of carpentry, and used a hammer and nails, it makes sense. Because not hitting a nail squarely on the head means it likely will not go in straight, or may bend and have to be pulled. So getting it right on the head at the proper angle is perfect.

"Throw the baby out with the bathwater" is to get rid of something important while trying to get rid of something else. The dirty bathwater must be discarded, but not the baby! It comes from when people used stand alone tubs to bathe before indoor plumbing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_throw_the_baby_out_with_the_bathwater

It took me a long time to figure out what throwing someone under the bus meant. I probably only figured it out in the last few years. I don't like the expression, myself. It makes little sense.

A person can have a cold and except for the sniffles they're fine, while someone else can be sneezing, coughing, feverish, have a sore throat and just want to hide from the world in bed all day.

Of course, autism is not an illness or disease, but it is kind of like that. I've said it before and I'll say it again - if you've seen one autistic person, you've seen only autistic person. If some NTs can't get that through thick skull it's their loss.

An example of me having troubles.

This was a response to me in another thread from zkydz. I know this isn't meant to be literal because of the way it's written but I have no idea what she is trying to say. I can pick up on when something isn't meant to be literal but I will have a hard time understanding it. I run into this a lot online.

And sometimes I can understand what a person is saying like when someone told me on Reddit he or she isn't a midget but that doesn't mean he or she thinks it cool to kick them around. Then she or he said what they really meant so that could be why and he or she was using the midget part as an analogy. It was about parents talking about their LFA kids and severely autistic kids and how hard it is raising them and I wrote why do ASD people keep thinking it's about them when they are not that badly off.

I avoid people telling me I couldn't possibly have autism by simply not telling anyone. The number of persons I have told are exactly two, both immediate family, and have asked them to keep it to themselves because I don't wish to be the topic of conversations behind my back. So far, it seems to be working.

On the subject of figures of speech - I am notorious for mixing up metaphors and idioms, maybe using the first half of one and the second half of another. This is entirely with spoken language. If I can take the time to write it out, I usually can select the right words to "hit the nail on the head!"

I get that. I use the mental images too. I guess we just see them differently. That's why I have trouble with some of them or miscalculate their intended meanings to me.

And, I always ask when it doesn't make sense.

Some that don't make sense that I have had the meaning explained, well, I can just use it, but try not to. It's a bit like learning a language.

Chinese hello: Ni Hao

Sounds like Knee How....is someone asking about my knees? You just have to accept some things unless they truly bug you out.