One moment a child might cry because a microwave ate his lunch, the next they're spitting out words so beautiful, not even a poet could make them up. A couple of days ago, Tessa Dare was chilling at Newport Beach with her friend Jill Baetiong and her two daughters, Mia and Bridget. It was then when the 5-year-old Mia described the crow as a "Halloween eagle."

"And a child shall lead us. It is known," Tessa tweeted, sharing the term. "This is the new name for the bird-formally-known-as-crow. You know what to do, Merriam Webster." Admiring the creativity, parents turned to Twitter with their own. Thus, we now know that rhino could just as well be called a battle unicorn. Or ravioli should be sold as pasta pockets instead.

Tessa was already aware of this ability that a lot of children have. "I have two kids of my own, a 14-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son,". "Some objects they renamed when they were younger were "Santa-tizer" for hand sanitizer and "pupcakes". My son was in 2nd grade before he figured out they were actually "cupcakes” — I forbade anyone in the family from correcting him because it was too cute."

"Children learn language by drawing connections and filling in blanks, so I think it’s natural for them to invent descriptions and comparisons that we adults never see," the woman added. "As a professional writer, I wish I could recapture the inventiveness of language that Mia and other children have!"

From the thread (which was amazing and continues to grow), Tessa's favorites were the other renamed animals. "Battle unicorns" (rhinos) and "Flamingo Witches" (vultures). Oh, and bed-skins instead of sheets. "That's so spot-on, it's a bit unsettling!"

More info: Twitter (Cover image: Justus Vermaak)

#1 

#2 

#3 

#4 

#5 

#6 

#7 

#8 

#9 

#10 

#11 

#12 

#13 

#14 

#15 

#16 

#17 

#18 

#19 

#20 

#21 

#22 

#23 

#24 

#25 

#26 

#27 

#28 

#29 

#30 

#31 

#32 

#33 

#34 

#35 

#36 

#37 

#38 

#39 

#40 

#41 

#42 

#43 

#44 

#45 

#46 

#47 

#48 

#49 

#50