Backfire

Last night at dinner Ryan was telling me a story about work.  It was a rather extensive story about a co-worker who had a prank backfire on him.  At the end, Caleb politely chimes in "Mommy, Daddy, what happened to the fireman who had fire on him?"
We were a bit confused and replied with "No one had fire on him."  "There was a firefighter who's house was on fire. Is that what you were thinking?"
Caleb sill looking pensive says "But what about the one with fire on his back?"  Ah, "backfire".  We attempted to explain in three-year-old terms how the work backfire has nothing to do with a fire or a back. I just love seeing him learn language.  And gain awareness of how confusing the English language actually can be.