Too many double meanings

I just realized the other day how in our every day conversations, we often have to clarify the meaning of our words. "I don't mean that in a ______ way. I meant this....etc." It gets really old to me. Sometimes I think people even know what you are really trying to say, but their minds tend to morph harmless everyday phrases into something completely opposite. I wonder how long it's been this way. How long have we been confusing each other's words? Something tells me this isn't a trend that just started. Our language has so many different homophones and second and third and fourth definitions of words that it is very, very hard to always understand completely. Then again, I feel that, alot of times, we tend to complicate things naturally. We play a large role in the confusion. It seems like it was simpler when we were kids. It's funny how the words of a child can be simple, yet the thought there is so meaningful. Likewise, it's funny how the words of adults, the words that we speak, can be so complex, yet so meaningless.

Austin B.