Mother: Do you sell M&M booty shorts for little girls?
Cashier: Um… No.
Mother: Oh well… thank you.
–M&M’s World
Mother: Do you sell M&M booty shorts for little girls?
Cashier: Um… No.
Mother: Oh well… thank you.
–M&M’s World
Little boy: Do kids go to jail?
Mom: No, kids don’t go to jail.
Little boy: What if they kill someone?
Mom: Well, when kids are real bad, sometimes they go to juvenile, which is a sad place where they don’t let you do things you want.
Little boy: And they don’t feed you!!
Mom: Well, no, the kids there get fed. But maybe the food isn’t very good.
Little boy, to himself: They feed you McDonald’s. Because McDonald’s is bad for you.
–Downtown 1 train, 50th St
Overheard by: riding the train
Cute little girl: Daddy! Daddy! Come over here!
Large angry man: No! I want to see the monkeys!
–Central Park Zoo
Boy: This…cost $23 million.
Dad: There’s 23 miles of them!
Boy: Still, that’s a million dollars a mile!
Boy: Wait…so is the fabric pure saffron?
Mom: No no no, saffron is a spice.
Boy: Oh. The only time I’d heard that before was on Pokemon, they had Saffron City.
Mom: It looks like they’re about to start marching!
Dad: They will, by Monday.
Boy: Wha?
–The Gates
Little boy,jumping up and down: The Dow Jones is up! The Dow Jones is up!
–86th & Lexington
Overheard by: Some Random Girl
Crazy man, shouting at no one in particular: Fuck the economy, your asshole just dropped 200 points!
–8th Ave & 19th St
Slacker on a smoke break: Yeah, McCain said he is going to suspend his campaign so that he can work on the economy. I mean, really. It would be like me saying I'm suspending my pot distribution so that I can work on quantum physics.
–Forest Ave., Staten Island
Overheard by: political listener
Hobo on subway to man in suit: Spare change? Anyone? Spare change for the homeless? You look like you worked for Lehman Brothers, you're excused.
–51st St
Overheard by: Kate
Older man, to no one in particular: That's why I keep my income low, so no one jumps me.
–Myrtle & Clinton, Brooklyn
Woman with scratch-off lotto card to friend: I won four dollars! I won four dollars! You know I can't spend that, though. I gotta get food for my kids. Those niggas be hungry!
–Staten Island Ferry
Angelic-looking teen girl screaming into cell: Are you coming to the movies with me? You're broke? Just mug someone on the way. Mug someone! (pause) Mug! M-u-g! Rhymes with "thug"!
–Chambers & West St
Puerto Rican dude on cell: I ain't got no money. I got weed, but I ain't got no money.
–25th St & 7th Ave
Village lady: She was in foreclosure before it was fashionable to be in foreclosure.
–Bleecker & Mercer
Son: Daddy, what’s that?
Father: That’s the Watchtower.
Son: What do they do there?
Father: That’s where they teach people how to ring doorbells.
–B train, Manhattan Bridge
Overheard by: Meg
Daughter, loudly licking her fingers: Wow! That was great!
Mother: Stop that!
Daughter: What? It was good…
Mother: Stop that! It is not appropriate.
Daughter: Would you lower your voice?!
Mother: No, what you’re doing is disgusting!
Daughter: Please keep your voice down. It’s embarrassing!
Mother: No, not until you stop smacking your lips! Do you do that when you’re out with your friends? They must be embarrassed when you do that.
Daughter: Um, no, we all do it.
–Virgil’s BBQ
Overheard by: trying hard not to laugh
Eight-year-old girl to little brother on bike: Hey, asshole!
Little brother: What? Are you talking to me?
Eight-year-old girl: Yeah, you're annoying me. You're pissin' me off!
–Central Park
Headline by: KateNonymous
Runners-Up:
· “And on That Day, Young Travis Bickle’s Life Took a Turn” – jlp
· “From the Rarely Seen First Episode Of the Donnie and Marie Show.” – Chris L
· “New Yorkers-in-Training” – Oren K
· “Sesame Street Has REALLY Changed” – Bob
· “When Cindy Mistook Her Dad’s Protein Shake for a Milkshake…” – fox
Kid in baggy pants: What do you mean, you’re a virgin?
Kid shooting pool: Dude, I’m totally a virgin.
Kid in baggy pants: Trust me, you’re not a virgin.
–Pool hall near NYU
Overheard by: DJ
