What learning a new language can teach us about our own culture

Shiretoko National Park, Hokkaido, Japan

You shouldn’t push granny into the poison ivy.

I mean, it goes without saying, doesn’t it? Thankfully, there’s no epidemic of old ladies getting shoved into shrubs.

Yet, it may surprise you to know that I used to hear this phrase all the time. It’s common where I grew up. So why have you never heard it?