Throw Her Under the Bus

As we walked down the jetway at BWI on Monday to board our Southwest flight to Austin, Jo and I discussed that before we knew it Evan would be older than 5 and we would no longer be able to avail the preferential "families traveling with small children" boarding group. I commented that we should be able to pass Evan off as five for a long time. Then Jo recounted the time when we tried to do the same with Vivian somewhere (I can't remember where) and Vivian blurted out "I'm six" much to our embarrassment. Jo said "Remember when Vivian threw us under the bus?"

I laughed.

Vivian, who like Evan listens to everything Jo and I say, said "I never threw you under the bus". We explained the idiom to her with an example of her and her friend and a situation at school.

Two days later we are driving in Austin late one evening.

Vivian "Today Alena threw me under the bus". Then she explained what had happened. She had used the idiom aptly. A few moments later we stop behind a city bus at a bus stop. I tell Jo that I am waiting behind the bus because I think we need to turn right after this.

Evan "Vivian - is this the bus Alena threw you under?"
Vivian "No Evan. There was no real bus".
Evan "Oh".

A few minutes later, Vivian asked if that was a school bus or a city bus we had passed.

Evan "It is a church bus. Is this the bus Alena threw you under?"
Us "No Evan - no one threw Vivian under a bus. It's just a way to say something else"
Evan "Oh".

Today we dropped Vivian off at drum class in the evening and Jo and Evan and I drove around. I recounted to Jo that Vivian had split her lip at school earlier today when Isabella accidentally hit her with a hula loop.

Evan "Did Isabella throw Vivian under a bus?"

The poor boy firmly believes that someone threw his sister under a bus. Dangers await, lurking in dark corners of idioms.