yeaa… I’m guilty of that sometimes, but usually it’s because I prefer reacting to the literal interpretation with another pun over having to stress about giving a quick, serious and polite answer to the intended meaning - basically I am stalling for time to think about it.

I am quite old and for most of my life didn’t know why I struggled with many things. I have over the years acquired a rather large vocabulary of phrases never or rarely meant literally. I can translate those though it takes extra effort. What I can not solve is the problem of phrases that can be meant literally or imply something else, depending on context an tone. In those cases I obsess over it for as long as I can possibly delay an answer without being rude and then flat out ask what the intended meaning was.