Teachers/Professors

Prof: A noun is a person, place or thing. Can someone give me a noun? William?
William: How ’bout…motherfucker?
Prof: That could be a noun, but also a verb or even an adjective…

–BMCC

Overheard by: Professor

Professor: Has anyone seen an opera? Which was your favorite?
Student: Well, I only saw one.
Professor: Which one?
Student: Cats.

–Jay & Tillary

Professor: In this court case the Kitty Kat Lounge challenged a state law demanding that dancers wear pasties and a G-string while dancing.
Queer: What is a pasty exactly?
Professor: Who here has experience with pasties?
Frat boy: They are minuscule little stickers that cover the areolae.
Professor, laughing awkwardly: I’ve encountered these before. My girlfriend, when she doesn’t want to wear a bra or whatever but doesn’t want her nipples to show, has worn these… And this was my first encounter with pasties.

–Silver Building, NYU

Girl: My arms are too short for this pose.
Yoga instructor: You’re Hungarian, aren’t you?

–New York Sports Club, Harlem

Overheard by: Samantha

NYU professor: And so the Chinese invented statistics to take censuses. (to girl) Would you have been counted?
Girl: Um… Yes?
Guy: No, because they only counted men in the censuses.
Professor: Right, because this was back in the good old days, when men were men and women were washing machines.

–NYU Kaufman Building

Overheard by: Erin

Teacher: My father always told me, "Never run away from a fight. If the guy's bigger than you, hit him. If he gets back up, hit him again. If he gets back up again, hit him with a garbage can. If he still gets back up, run like hell, 'cause this dude's gonna kill you!"

–Stuyvesant High School

Teacher: Okay. Emergency procedures. If the fire bell rings, we run like hell.

–Stuyvesant High School

Overheard by: Goober

Chinese teacher (referring to Sichuan earthquake): They had a saying after the earthquake happened that originates from a male part. "People are supposed to rise up, and get hard!" …and be strong.

–Bard High School Early College

Math teacher: Give me your little men!

–Spence School

English teacher: I could be charged with child abuse in some states for teaching grammar in 90-degree weather. (student is silent) I'm not going to hit you.

–Brooklyn Tech

Overheard by: Julie

Student: Didn’t the ancient Romans also eat lying down?
Professor: Yes.
Student: That’s really bad for your digestion.
Professor: Well, it was good for having sex with the hired help after.

–Bard High School Early College

Teacher: I may kill you anyway because of that whole desperado thing.
Student: I don’t even know what desperadoes are. I just said it because you don’t like them!
Teacher: That’s reason enough.

–Brooklyn Tech

Overheard by: Liz

Awkward Japanese teacher: So you guys use text messages, right? Like… L-O-L?
(students look confused)
(awkward Japanese teacher laughs)
Student, proudly: I know: L-O-L sensei!
Awkward Japanese teacher: Oh em gee.

–Columbia University

Overheard by: vicksburg

HS girl #1: I have a question. No. She gotta question, but she makin’ me ask you for her because she embarrassed. What’s “drag school”? Thas where you go to learn howda be a drag queen?
Teacher guy: What? Drag school?
HS girl #2: Yeah, you said you was leavin’ us because you gotta go to drag school.
Teacher guy: Grad school. I am leaving you because I am going to grad school.

–Prospect Park BBQ

Overheard by: Lydia