Look everywhere
What do you think “everywhere” means? To me, “everywhere”means, literally, E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E !
April my wife lost some little thing of everyday utility somewhere in the apartment. I forget exactly what - her house keys, her bicycle key, her bank passbook, her diaphragm, her train pass, her health card. Something. She was getting ready to leave the apartment for work one day and in her last-minute preparations she was frantically looking for this thing.
“Where is my thing? Did you see my thing? Did you touch my thing?”
It was annoying to have to listen to it. I wish I could touch her thing.
“Where did you last see it? You know, if you always put things in their proper place, then nothing will ever get lost.” (God! I sound so much like my father.)
“Shut up!” (Whoa! Mom never sounded like that.)
“Did you look everywhere?”
“Yes. Everywhere.”
“Really? Are you sure it’s in the house?”
“Yes.”
“Well, if it’s in the house then I absolutely guarantee you’ll find it if you look everywhere.”
“I look everywhere.”
“I don’t mean did you look in the usual places or the places you think it might be. I mean, did you look everywhere? Really.”
“Yes. Everywhere.”
“Really? Did you look inside the refrigerator?”
“No.”
“Aha! So you didn’t really look everywhere, did you? Did you look inside your underwear drawer?
“No.”
“Did you look inside the toilet?
“No.”
“Did you check my bag, or under the bed?
“No.”
“Did you look inside the mailbox, or behind the door?
“No.”
“Did you lift up the tatami mat and look under there?”
“No.”
“Did you feel behind the bookcase, or in the kitchen drawers?”
“No.”
“How about the shoes and boots by the door? Did you turn them upside down just to see?”
“No.”
“Did you check behind the TV?”
“No.”
“How about the pockets of all those coats and jackets by the door?”
“No.”
“Did you look inside the storage space above the closet?”
“No.”
So many “Nos.”
“Well, everywhere means Evvvveerrrryyyyyywwhheerrrrrrrrre!! Not just the usual places. I can’t believe you don’t understand this. Everywhere means every where, not only somewhere!”
“Are you really sure your thing in the house?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. If it’s here somewhere we can find it if we look everywhere. At the very most it will take no more than a couple of hours to turn the apartment upside down.”
“Stupid!”
“Me? Who lost the thing in the first place? Are you looking ‘everywhere’ for it?”
“Yes!”
“So, how’s that working out for you? Did you find it?”
“No.”
“Well, then ...”