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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 May 3.
Published in final edited form as: Child Dev. 2012 Feb 3;83(2):469–485. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01728.x
Pass (shows explicit awareness of discrepancy between
literal and intended meaning)
Fail (no evidence of perceiving non-literal
meaning)

She’s being sarcastic/sarcasm Because it is sunny [raining]
She doesn’t mean it Its lovely outside
Because its an idiom She likes rain [picnics]/ We need rain
She tricked him She wants to play in the puddles
Its her way of telling him she is upset Because she [the cake] got wet
Just to make up a little joke Because he lied to her
She is saying politely that she is not happy She thought it was sunny/did not see clouds
Because she is a smart aleck She’s cross
Because she is meaning “Why tell me it was
nice?”
To tell him off
Because its not sunny
So he doesn’t feel bad
Because he said it first
Because her Dad likes the rain but she doesn’t