My daughters have picked up/inherited sarcastic wit from their father. As a result they would reply to some of my questions in a roundabout way which simply wouldn't reach my brain and I would take them too literally for their comfort. Then they would be forced to translate the same into a straight statement which is maddening for them!
Once when my elder daughter was in elementary school I was packing her lunch. She asked me to pack some halwah (Sweet) brought by her uncle on his visit the previous day. I asked her, "Why?"
She replied, 'See you have packed Idlis for my lunch. If I mix it with the Halwah and make a paste of it for lunch it tastes divine!'
Taking her literally, I replied innocently, "Oh, I see. This is a new dish I have never tried out myself. Should try it sometime." And proceeded with packing some halwah.
My daughter stood there silently for a few minutes overcoming the dumb reaction to her sarcasm and then burst out to say, "Mummy, I just said that to tell you 'what a question, I just want the halwah as a snack for the rescess!"
I replied, "Then why didn't you just say so?"
By this time she had started laughing: "And please don't try out the 'new dish!' "
My co-sisters (other daughter-in-laws in my husband's fsamily-he has three more brothers besides his only sister-all of whom are masters in this art of sarcastic wit, thanks to the genes passed on by my late father-in-law!) would discuss this aspect of our daily exchanges in our families and we would have a hilarious time recollecting the happenings at each one of our homes which would have the same tone to them. Juxtaposed with a very literal mind, the sarcasm often fails to have the desired effect! This way we outsiders act as a buffer zone for their wit which would have otherwise become too sharp for comfort in their interaction with society at large. So we say to ourselves modestly, in defence of our being very slow on the uptake of their wit:-)
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