Quote:It is one thing to understand not all words and phrases should be interpreted literally, but that does not automatically allow me to recognize sarcasm or a joke every time I see it.

 

Imagine being deaf. You know music is playing by feeling vibrations, but have no idea what kind of song it is. Somebody would have to give you that information. AS is like that. It is why I asked people to use what I call the sarcasm emoticon (the upside down smiley) when they don't mean what they say. But for idioms, it is just a matter of not knowing what they mean. I know you don't literally knock on wood. But because you don't, I can't figure out why you say, "Knock on wood." Sarcasm, on the other hand, is something I can't recognize without that emoticon.

 

Actually, if there is wood around, you are supposed to literally knock on it. If not, you just knock on something close to it that's nearby.

 

At least that's always what we did when we used that phrase, meant to keep bad luck away or keep your good luck going.

 

Could be different for others though.

 

This might actually be one of the only literal idioms, or one of the few anyway.

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