Today, while making small talk with a veteran, I made the mistake of using the phrase "Cost an arm and a leg". He was a double amputee. FML
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Today, while shopping, an old man came up to me and told me I should be ashamed for walking around fake limping, and that it's horrible to mock people who actually limp from serious injuries. I wasn't faking, I was born without my right leg and I was getting used to my new prosthetic one. FML
Today, I twisted my knee while cutting firewood with my grandpa. The pain was so crippling, I fell over screaming. His response? "Quit your bitching, I had my kneecaps blown off in Vietnam. They had to stitch 'em back on." He's never been to Vietnam, or even out of the country. FML
Today, I told a guy he should be ashamed of himself for parking in a handicapped space. He hit me with his prosthetic leg. FML
Today, my anatomy teacher was putting together a skeleton model for class. He had misplaced the leg bone, so I thoughtfully asked, "What's the matter, lose a leg?" Unfortunately, there's nothing thoughtful about asking that question to a guy with an amputated leg. FML
Today, at a mind-numbingly boring support session, everyone was talking about their hardships. One guy was talking about losing his leg in a car accident. I was half-asleep and asked without thinking, "Did you ever find it?" I almost shat my pants at the roomful of death glares that followed. FML
Today, as a nursing student, I needed to take a blood sample from someone and the veins on his arms weren't really easy to draw blood from. I asked him, "Can I please look at your legs?" It turns out he was amputated. FML
Today, I was pretending to be a mom with my friends, and I was joking how I bought them candy and that it cost me an arm and a leg, only to realize that the cashier only had one arm. FML
Today, at the airport, my mom began talking about how useless the war in Iraq was, and how dumb the soldiers that serve there were for enlisting during the war. The soldier at the vending machine near us caught my eye. I mouthed, "Sorry" and he mouthed, slowly, "You fuckin' better be." FML
Today, my 6 year-old daughter saw a man in a wheelchair whose leg had been amputated. She walks up to him and says, "What happened?" He answers kindly that he's a war veteran. She then responds, "Well then you deserve to get your leg blown off. You shouldn't be killing people." FML
Today, I accidentally asked a one-armed man which arm he wanted me to take blood from. He asked for a different nurse. FML
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Top comments
j11a01 16
Sorry op if guy took offense. I know a few amputees that would actually laugh and agree if you said that to them. People should stop getting offended so easily.
Tarlachia 33
I just wonder what it was exactly that cost an arm and a leg? I think that knowing this will determine if your use of that idiom is appropriate or not.
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Comments (44)
Mathalamus 25
why would you ever make that mistake? jesus, people have no ******* self control whatsoever.
Kiernan151 25
Well seeing how its a common phrase, and if you know amputees (like I do) that still talk like that, you kinda forget some people are sensitive to those things.
Mathalamus 25
well i dont know any, but i still think its ******* stupid to make any sort of jokes about it. even if they say its ok. its called not being insensitive.
HitmanKillsYou 13
insensitivity and an accidental slip of the tongue are two very different things. I sometimes say jesus christ when annoyed or surprised, and it happens when im around people that believe in him/her and i dont and people never call me insensitive. i also call things retarded and try to refrain from using it around people with mental retardation but it slips out occasionally. if people honestly get upset over a slip of the tongue then they should probably just become antisocial.
chosha_fml 27
#30 OP wasn't making a joke. They were just using a common expression to describe how expensive something was.
Rented_eyebrows 18
I bet the atmosphere there was crawling with negative vibes...
wheelz12367 6
I can tell you from experience (I've been in a wheelchair for 5 years) a lot of people with disabilities have a very good humor about it.
linzfinz337 22
I hope he had a sense of humor.
miss_fluffybutt 17
As a single-limb amputee, I'd like to offer you the use of my prosthetic leg. This is so you may use it to pry your own foot out of your mouth.
vishadowpilot 7
Well, he didn't slap the crap outta you with his prosthetic arm. So there is that.
Shallow_Dream 8
lol we'll actually never know if he did or not
Meechiepie 13
I feel you. I once said to my sisters friend "Long time, no see!" he is blind. It's one of those things where as soon as the words slip out of your mouth you immediately regret them.
Odannyboy 21
Ouch
rldostie 19
I'm sure the guy didn't take offense, although probably thought you're getting uncomfortable by the phrase was funny. We veterans are usually a bit thicker skinned than this. However, good for you to realize and internalize what actually DOES cost an arm and a leg--the safety and protection of ones country.
iwin8166 13
If he's a veteran he probably got a good laugh out of it.