Chloe saved Sophie from herself when Sophie, your average, literal 6-year old, wanted to name her stuffed unicorn “Horny.”  Chloe burst out laughing when she heard the name and suggested to her little sister that the name would be a little challenging for the unicorn to carry.

I don’t even know if Chloe knows exactly what the word means – in the context of sex, that is.  She does know, however, to guffaw when she hears it.  Sophie was warned off, but the episode still left its mark.  A couple of hours later, while eating dinner, she asked me what “horny” meant.  I explained that although the word was the perfect description for her unicorn, it unfortunately had another, adult meaning.   “What? Tell me!”  I insisted.  “You’d be better off choosing a different name.” What else could I respond? Nothing, that’s what.  I simply repeated that it was “a slang word that adults use.”  Chloe continued to smirk in the background.  Sophie continued to be confused.  “What does that mean?” she persisted.

I threw up my hands.  “It’s just an adult word that means adult things.”  As the words came spewing out of my mouth, I realized how stupid I sounded.  But I could think of no way to explain to Sophie what the word means without referencing things she knows absolutely nothing about.  The almost-named horny unicorn must have been looking over me and praying for a new moniker, however, because Sophie finally let the subject drop.  Awkward conversation averted for another day.