Tankisms: Answers

My dad gave a valiant effort and correctly guessed a few answers. Same for a few that I've talked to over the past week. Now, as promised. Here are the answers to the vocabulary quiz I posted last Monday.

1. Guh pies!
a) Good Pies!
b) Surprise!
c) Blue skies!
This was fun. Coming home from work, I walked through the front door to the usual greeting of kids shouting “Daddy’s home!” The Tank had something extra special for me. Standing at the top of the stairs he held a toy up in his hands as if presenting a virgin offering to a volcano god and said, “Guh pies!”
“A surprise? For me?” I replied.
“Uh huh…” he nodded his head and ran off to play, toy still in his possession.

2. Gikah pak
a) Give it Back
b) gigabyte
c) Other path
The kids were watching Dora one Saturday morning (or Diego… I can’t tell the two shows apart) and the characters were wandering through a series of caves. Dora (or Diego) asked which of two paths should be followed.
After the question “This path?” the Tank answered “Gikah pak.”
Next question, “Or this path.”
The Tank answered (while jumping) “Yuh! Yuh! Yuh!”

3. I dingy
a) My thingy
b) I did it
c) I'm thinking
This was a common phrase that always made me laugh. After pulling his pants up, or brushing hair out of his face, or placing books back on the proper shelf, the Tank would look at us, beaming with pride, and say “I dingy.”

4. Bankaleckalick
a) Bang it like this
b) Blanket
c) Bekah, I like it
If anyone can turn a two syllable work into a five syllable word, it’s The Tank. When tucking him in at night, there are two things he needs: his bear (muh beh) and in bankaleckalick.

5. Mleck
a) Mine
b) Move
c) Milk
This is Bekah’s favorite. His beverages of choice: wadda, mlek, and juiced.

6. Belay
a) Play
b) Below
c) Bake
For The Tank, belay does not involve ropes and carabiners. It mostly consists of dumping buckets of toys into the narrow space between his bed and the wall, running around in circles while shouting something like a war chant, or climbing on/jumping off furniture.

7. Lukta may
a) Lucky day
b) Look at me
c) Look, the mall
Driving along 95, I heard The Tank declare “Lukta may.” I looked in the rearview mirror and saw him pointing out the side window toward the Silver Lake Mall. (Yes, I know, calling the Silver Lake Mall a mall is disingenuous and an insult to malls across America. I might have to start referring to it as the Silver Lake May.)

8. On do alay
a) One, two, three
b) I put shoe away
c) What to do today?
This one would have been a tricky one to translate if it had not been for The Tank’s demonstrative actions. After stating “On do alay,” he picked up his shoes and marched down the stairs to put his shoes where they belong.

9. Butts
a) Butt
b) Bath
c) Block
Butt equals block. I’m not sure what The Tank calls his bum, but it’s not butt. He plays with and stacks butts. He makes towers out of butts. He throws butts. He puts butts away when cleaning his bedroom. And occasionally, Christian knocks his butts over – which prompts a teary lament of toddler proportions.

10. Any muh pan
a) Andy Kaufman
b) Any mud pie
c) I need my pants
While I would be impressed if anyone under the age of five knows of the genius Andy Kaufman, that is a knowledge not possessed by The Tank. After getting changing a diaper, The Tank pointed at his jeans and said, “Any muh pan.” I conceded.

11. I butt mighty
a) I go potty
b) My butt is mighty
c) I brush my teeth
This is my personal favorite. Fresh diaper: check. Jammies on: check. Still need to brush his teeth and get him a drink of water. But after I finished buttoning the front of his pajamas, I said, “Go to bed.”
The Tank didn’t like that idea. “I butt mighty,” he said.
“What?” my reply.
“I butt mighty.” He ran off into the bathroom, pointed at the sink, and repeated a third time, “I butt mighty.”
“Yes, I’ll brush your teeth.”
At that, he smiled.

12. Teepee nom I king
a) I am the gnome king
b) The peas not eating
c) Of thee I sing
Honestly, I have no idea what this one means. He was sitting in the living room, pointing down the hall, and said, “Teepee nom I king.”
“What?” I asked.
He repeated and I looked to where he was pointing, but I could not figure it out. He restated his demand over and over again. And after a dozen ‘teepee’ declarations, I gave up. I still have no clue what he wanted.

The day after I posted this quiz, The Tank offered a new vocab word: “Da Plane.” He was pointing at a balloon. And over the weekend, we had some hearty laughs at his expense. We would ask him how old he was and he’d give us his name. Then we’d ask for his name and he’d say “I’m thwee.” Didn’t matter what order or how many times the question was solicited, he’d (without fail) switch his name and age.