I was reading a Wallace and Gromit story to my (now 5-year-old) son, and he energetically pointed out
| son | Look, a grandfather clock! |
|---|---|
| me | Yes, that's a grandfather clock. It's about to fall on top of Wallace! |
| Wallace | That's just the thing, my lad, we'll have to turn back the clock ... |
| son | What's "turn back the clock" ? |
| me | Well, suppose something happened yesterday that you weren't happy about, so you decide to <blah blah long-winded explanation of expression with digression into the role of metaphor in language> |
| son | Oh, you mean he builds a time machine? |
Duh. I should have realised time travel is a standard part of every 5-year-old's vocabulary.
