Photo by Kevin Harber
Welcome back to Overheard in D.C., DCist’s weekly column of funny, strange, and poignant things that our readers and staff overhear and send in. We’ve been doing it since 2006, so check out the archives here.
D.C. is not always the friendliest city. Strangers don’t really talk to each other, and many interactions with service industry staff are transactional rather than chatty. It would be nice if people were kinder to each other, even if they don’t need to be. Then again, there can be too much of a good thing.
Overheard of the Week
In a CVS in McLean, Va.:
Teenage cashier ringing up condoms: “Oh, latex allergy?”
A 50-something woman: “Uh, yes.”
Cashier: “Samesies!”
Below, millennials, hockey fans, and new words.
As always, Real, Original Overheard in D.C. relies on you to submit the good stuff to our special Overheard in D.C. email address. Make sure to tell us who, where, and in what context, too.
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Let’s hope she’s being sarcastic
At the Verizon Center during a Capitals-Canucks hockey game:
Lady to her date: “Why are we playing a Canadian team? Is this some kind of exhibition to introduce hockey to Canada?”
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A good new term.
At Rustico in Ballston on Tuesday night after work:
Two mid-20s guys in suits are talking.
Guy 1: “I think she’s into me … sort of. It’s weird.”
Guy 2: “Yeah, it’s like she’s into you, but doesn’t realize it. She’s like … passively aggressively into you.”
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I would suggest clothes next time
At Target in Alexandria, Va.:
Middle-aged woman to guy: “I’ve vowed to get in shape this week after wrestling a seven-foot Douglas fir. Oh, and by the way: I have sap in places you don’t want to even know about.”
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Thank you for your input
At the National Archives:
Woman to her husband: “That’s the Declaration of Independence? I don’t know. … I think they should go over it in fresh ink.”
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Or is it the alcohol
Day before Thanksgiving during the morning commute on the Silver Line to Wiehle-Reston East:
Train operator: “Keep in mind: gobble gobble make you wobble wobble.”
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Business venture!
On the Red Line:
Two college-aged girls dressed for going out are talking.
Girl 1: “I wish they made sweatshirts for your legs.”
Girl 2 is silent.
Girl 1: “That would be really nice right now.”
Girl 2: “… they’re called sweatpants.”
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Teaching your children well?
In Middleburg, Va.:
A very D.C.-looking family is enjoying the beautiful weather.
Daughter, about seven-years-old: “Is this ‘roughing it’?”
Mom: “We’re at a French restaurant, eating creme brulee and are about to go to a toy store. No, you aren’t roughing it”
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We are doomed
At Bethesda’s Barnes & Noble location:
A group of about five millennials walk in.
One sniffs at the air: “Ewww, I smell paper.”
