Parents

Father: Oh, you mean hummus. Hamas is a terrorist organization.

–14th & 6th

Overheard by: Daniel Radosh

Man on stoop on cell: Son, it sounds like you got yourself an STD.

–Windsor Terrace

Overheard by: LaurenG

Dad: Now don’t go getting lost again. It cost me a lot of money to get you back last time.

–Bronx Zoo

Father: It was because of nuclear proliferation. All the dinosaurs shot nukes at each other.

–Museum of Natural History

Overheard by: JB

Man: The last time a bird pooped on me I met your mother.

–Central Park Zoo

Guy on cell: Dude, I can’t give you a bottle. And he don’t got none, either…dude, I don’t mean no offense, but you know you’re a junkie type, right?…yeah, I hear ya…Fine. Maybe for $20 I can find you something.

–86th between Lexington & 3rd

Lady: So is that why he brought you a Xanax and a sandwich?

–Ludlow & Delancey

Overheard by: Michi Hollydale

Businesslady: I was a meth addict. You know, methadone. I didn’t inject it, though.

–Starbucks, 35th & 8th

Overheard by: wit and whimsy

Girl on cell: So like I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I told my parents that I was on drugs…which, of course, nothing could be further from the truth…yeah, I can blame them for reacting that way!

–77th & Lex

Chick on cell: …I know. He’s so generous with prescriptions. And I keep telling him, “I’m a real pill popper!”

–52nd & Madison

Overheard by: Captain Obvious

Chick: If you can get the perfect balance between alcohol and cocaine, then you’ve really hit your peak.

–15th & 5th

Overheard by: Lucy

Woman: So I had to figure out which was cheaper: the drugs or the rehab.

–Kate’s Joint, Avenue B

Queer: God it’s so gross! Gays in there lifting and just sweating all their drugs out…I just don’t go to the gym on mondays; it smells like chemicals!

–15th & 7th

Girl on cell: Yeah, they all call her Vitamin H, can you believe that?…No, no, it’s alcohol that’s the gateway drug. You only want to do coke after you drink.

–2nd Avenue & 10th Street

Chick: How’s the Wailers concert?
Voice on cell: All we need now is a beer and a spliff!
Chick: Great, Mom.

–University Restaurant, University Place

Overheard by: Becka Dash

Crazy lady: I hate my fucking mother and I want to kill her. I want to watch her bleed. She is a fat lazy bitch. She was nothing but a container!
Guy: God will not forgive you if you kill your mother. Can you also keep it down please?

–PATH train

Overheard by: JMK

Stocker guy #1: Hey, listen to this.
Stocker guy #2: Yeah?
Stocker guy #1: So I’m driving home last night, and my cell phone rings. And it’s a number that I don’t recognize. I pick it up, and say, “Hello?” And there’s this woman’s voice, and she’s like, “Is this Michael?” and I say, “Yeah.” So I’m thinkin’ it’s that girl I met the other day, that I gave my number to. And she’s like, “Did you meet a girl at 88th and 2nd?” And I’m like, “Yeah.” “How old are you?” she asks. And I like, I say, “I’m 34”, but I’m really 44. And then she’s like, “Well, she’s 15. This is her mother.”

–Food Emporium, 87th & Madison

Girl on cell: Mom! Guess what? We are having a full moon in New York tonight.
Girl #2: You so stupid…it’s everywhere!

–Park Slope

Overheard by: Jim Chambers

A suit drops his cell phone on the sidewalk and yells: Fuck!
Tourist dad: Oh my, did you hear what that man said in public?
Tourist mom: And this is the exact reason why I don’t want you to move to New York!

–71st & Amsterdam

Overheard by: Ellen

Guy: So, I went on this audition, and they asked me, “Can you juggle and ride a unicycle?”. I mean, I can juggle, and I can ride a unicycle, but I can’t do both at once, I’m not a skills clown. Basically, my skill is falling. I can fall really well.

–A train

Overheard by: Berit J.

Girl: Mommy, what’s the opposite of hair?

–86th & Broadway

Overheard by: Stuart Weisberg

Mom: Don’t you know this is the liberry, not the cry-berry?

–The Fordham Library Center

Tween girl: …and the one Winnie the Pooh had a nice body…

–Bryant Park

Overheard by: Jason B. Schmidt

Guy: …if my wife and I spit at the kids, nothing happens…but if a llama does they burst into tears.

–53rd & 6th

Overheard by: J-Mo

British guy: Can’t be more worse than having a baby every six months.

–116th & Lexington

Boy: Mommy, how many hours are in a mile?

–44th & 8th

Overheard by: BBW

Lady: I come here every weekend. It’s my church.

–Manhattan Mall women’s bathroom

Overheard by: Dolly Lowenstein

Guy: She became a Republican to spite our father.

–Whole Foods, Columbus Circle

Woman: I really hate Bush. I can’t stand him. The world would be such a better place if he just died…But then there’s Cheney…

–6 train

Drunk guy: You wait right here, I’m going home to get my gun, I’ll be right back!

–23rd between 8th & 9th

Guy: This is the guy I got arrested with in San Antonio for pissing on the Alamo.

–LES party

Overheard by: Caz

Mother: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Daughter: A cop.
Mother A cop? You don’t want to be no cop, what do you want to be a cop for?
Daughter: So I can carry a gun.
Mother: You don’t need to be a cop to have a gun. Your dad ain’t no cop and he has a gun.

–F train

Overheard by: Paul Swenson