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“You Ate My Ears” is an illustrated anthology of 60 idioms from around the world: those weird, wonderful, and sometimes rude expressions that are nonsensical unless you’re a native speaker of the language of origin. Idioms such as “Stop ironing my head” or “Like an angel peeing on your tongue” inspire Vitorovich to create “literal” illustrations that capture the cheeky and inventive and often bizarre ways of communicating in each culture. The idea emerged last summer when the artist visited her grandparents in Belgrade, where she discovered a book on Serbian idioms. She and her grandma read through all the expressions, and as her grandma tried to explain their meaning and origin, they ended squealing with laughter. For example, in Serbia, they say “Morning is smarter than the evening,” an expression that may only make sense if you’ve spent an evening drinking with a group of Serbians.

Idioms are so ingrained in our daily speech that we rarely think about how they came into existence or why we use them. It’s often only when we try to explain them to a non-native speaker that we realize their complexity – and often their absurdity. After Vitorovich collected and studied these expressions, she brought these absurd meanings to life through her playful, witty eye. She found the process incredibly entertaining and hopes the readers of the book will feel the same.