Marriage and Water Closets.

Last night's lesson started with:

Är Adam gift?
Nej, det är han inte.
Han är inte gift.

The exercise is designed to teach me two ways to respond in the negative to the question, "Is Adam married?" Fortunately, the authors do not fool me. I know the true purpose is to subconsciously reinforce an unmarried state of affairs. Certainly the question could have been something like, "Is Adam a rock star," or the like. But no. See, the word "gift" in Swedish also means "poison," and I think that is telling. Don't you think that is telling?

But the point about marriage meaning poison must be soooo old and I never would have even brought it up, except then I found the words "I DO" on the back of a commode. Don't try to tell me that IDO is a commercial enterprise, the equivalent of the good old Standard toilet manufacturer over here. There are too many coincidences for my liking.