Who is the Cheaper?

The boss/jefe at the cargo company asked us that this morning. Our brains are a mix of Spanish and English--it's hilarious at times, then can be frustrating, too, when you can't think of the right word in English that you want, but the Spanish word is there. Anyway, I immediately began to rack my brain for a Spanish word that sounds like "cheaper" and couldn't come up with anything. Then I thought, "Maybe he wants to know which of us would want to pay less?" Tully said, in Spanish, "I am." So I laughed a little, and they both looked at me. It didn't make any sense. I thought--what on earth are they talking about? Then I figured out the boss was practicing his English and meant to say, "Who is the Shipper?"

It is fascinating learning a language--you appreciate the unique things in yours all the more--and you question, "Why do we say it like that?" And, you sometimes, okay, much of the time, ask, "Why do they say it like that?"

Of course, we also come across strange words or phrases in English we've never even thought about. For instance, a latino asked us the other day about the phrase, "Come back," in English meaning "Come to see us," or, "Come to the store, and . . ." He said, "I wonder where that phrase came from, because you don't normally want to see a person's back when they're coming to see you, you want to see their front."

So why not ask, "Come front?" Hmmm. Hey, I'm just happy I'm not the cheaper of the two of us. : )