Marty and the girls were playing around in the living room while I cooked dinner the other night (yummy Chicken Marsala!) when everything erupted into giggles. Honing my sense of hearing as only mothers can, I hear the girls teasing Marty because he had put his pants on backwards getting dressed in the morning and had been wearing them backwards all day. Now, this was not mean “ha-ha” teasing but rather the girls pointing at Marty’s pants, Marty wagging his behind at them and then everyone falling down laughing. Then repeat as necessary. I heard the girls exclaim over and over, “the fly is on your dupa!” (dupa = butt).
Dinner proceeded without any other events and then later at bedtime, I reminded Marty to make sure his pants were on the right way in the morning. As he undressed he kept looking over his shorts turning them over and over.
Me: Whets the matter?
Marty: I am looking for the bug.
Me: What bug?
Marty: MarySarah (always stated as a unit) said that there was a bug on my pants.
Me: (realization dawning) No, sweetie, your zipper was on your dupa because your pants were backwards. Your zipper is also called a "fly".
Marty: Oh, I thought they meant for real.
I can’t help but think of the other idioms he may have issues with until he gets older:
On the fly
Fly ball
Cost an arm and a leg
Break a leg
Drive me up the wall
Hit the Books (or the sack)
Hold your Horses
Kick the Bucket
No room to swing a cat
On the fence
Pick up your ears
Put a sock in it
Raining cats and dogs
Smell a rat
Spitting image
Smell something fishy
Till the cows come home
Wag the dog
When pigs fly
You are what you eat
