definitions: lawn / ecko

It's the return of Double Definition Tuesday*

(day-late, dollar short edition)

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lawn - verb, to shorted the length of the grass

(see also, "mow lawn" - a cutting implement to lawn a yard)

usage:
(outside, soaking in the sunshine of a rare, blue-sky winter day)

me: (coming out of the studio where I've been painting): Hey, girls?

K (from somewhere out of sight): Yeah?

L (also out of sight): Yeah?

me: What are you doing?

K: We're helping...

L: Yeah helping...

K: ... mama...

L: ... yeah mama...

K: ... planting...

L: ... planting...

K: .... something...

L: ... yeah, somethings....

me: Ok. M, you guys doing ok?

M (out of sight): Yeah, we're doing fine.

L (coming around side of house): Dada?

me: Yeah?

L (stopping in front of me, intrigued by the paint roller): Well, we tried but it isn't working.

me: Tried what? What isn't working?

L: To lawn. It's not working.

me (???): No?

L: Nope. (pointing to roller) What's that Dada?

me: It's my paint roller. Is there anything I can help with?

L: What?

me: With the... what did you try to do?

L: What?

me: You said it wasn't working, that you tried and it wasn't working.

L (obviously dealing with a dense mind): The mow lawn. We tried to lawn and it wouldn't work.

me: What's wrong with it?

L : Ask mama. (Yelling) Mama?!? It's not working!!!

M (from a distant part of the yard): What?

me (muttering): Exactly!

L: What? What Dada?

me&M (meeting in the yard): Wha..?

L (hands on hips, now forced to deal with 2 dense minds): I told Dada that we tried and it wasn't working.

me (looking at M with a raised eyebrow): Yeah!

L: And that's all I said!

M: Hmm...

me: The lawn.

M: Hmmm...

L (pointing at the push mower): That!

me: Ah. So you tried...

L: I said, we tried to lawn and it's broken. The mow lawn.

M: Ah...

me: ...ah, the mow lawn....

L (skipping away): Yup, it's not working and we going to do it....

me (looking at M): The 'mow lawn.'

M: Right.

me: You tried to 'lawn.'

M: Yeah, what don't you understand?

Ecko - noun, a small noisy lizard frequently seen in Hawaiian homes.

usage:
K: A spider!
me: I'll catch it. Don't worry.
M: Like you caught that cane spider on Maui?

(both of us laughing)

me: Well, those are different!
K: It's crawling!

L: Hey, you 'member that ecko?

me (glancing at M): Echo?

L: Yeah, on... on... where we were staying....

me: On Maui?

L: Yeah, where we were staying on Maui!

me (another glance at M): Really? An echo?

L (adamant): Yes! It was...

M (looking at me): Was what L?

L: Up on the wall! It was doing (makes clucking noises with her mouth).

K: That lizard?

L (finally someone who understands!): Yeah!

M: Oh, the gecko?

L: It runned down the wall and ate bugs!

me: Yeah, they're good at that. They're good. They eat bad things like mosquitos. We like them.

L: And they eat... spiders?

me: Well... I don't know...

K: Not that cane spider!

M (laughing): No, not that cane spider!

me: The walls were bare in that place. (glancing at L) And we did have some high volume commentary. I think there was an echo.

L: Yeah, and it runned after the spiders!

K: It's still crawling!!