Bear With Me

I’ve always loved how the English language has these little hidden gems—phrases that sound innocent until you tilt your head and think wait a second... One of my all-time favorites? “Bear with me.”

The first time I heard someone say it out loud as a kid, I legit thought they were about to introduce a literal bear. Like, a grizzly.

Imagine someone giving a PowerPoint presentation and suddenly pausing to say, “Bear with me,” and then—bam—a huge bear lumbers in stage left. Chaos. Honey everywhere.

Now, every time someone says it, I chuckle quietly and imagine them pulling off the ultimate zoo heist. “Bear with me” goes from a polite “please be patient” to a full-on Mission: Impossible moment involving tranquilizer darts and a zookeeper named Steve.

Language is weird. And delightful. And sometimes unintentionally hilarious. Phrases like this remind us that while we’re all out here trying to sound professional or polite, we’re also just one syllable away from sounding like we’ve smuggled wildlife into a meeting.

It’s also a gentle reminder that humor can be hidden in plain sight. You don’t always need a punchline—sometimes, it’s just about seeing the ordinary a little differently.

So next time you’re writing an email or hopping on a Zoom call, and you’re tempted to say “bear with me,” just know that somewhere, someone (probably me) is picturing you running through a zoo with a duffel bag full of salmon and a guilty conscience.

Got any other delightfully weird phrases you love? Hit reply and share them—I’m always collecting little language oddities that make life funnier. And if you want more bite-sized humor and storytelling like this in your inbox, you know what to do: subscribe, forward, or send smoke signals. I’m listening.

ChillaxTribe