Innocuous conversations that you have overheard that have stayed with you...

[drownininplaymobil]

When my dc were pre-schoolers, I was in some toilets in a church, wrestling various small humans with their pants/handwashing etc.
A student (I think) came in and said to her friend "My hair felt weird so I thought I'd come and have a look at it in the mirror".
I can remember at the time wondering when the last time was that I had time to look in a mirror other than when I was brushing my teeth. And slightly resenting the fact that this gorgeous young thing had the freedom to just saunter about noticing how her hair 'felt'.
Such a small throwaway comment but it really stuck with me. Anyone else?

@chickenwing when I first moved north I was doing finger rhymes with my nursery class and said 'Put your hands in the air' and they all put their hands in their hair (in thee 'air). They couldn't understand why I collapsed laughing.

We were going into Moleskine in Covent Garden as two young female adults walked out and one said 'so are the books made from Moles then?'.

Security guy on door just looked at us and raised his eyebrow as we were laughing. They get it a lot apparently 😁

At work I heard two coworkers talking. One slightly older than me, married with two children complaining to another one about 10 years younger than me about how having children will make you broke and having two incomes as a married couple and no children would be so great, blah blah blah. I had been trying to get pregnant for over a year and just wanted to strangle him. The whole time I was thinking that I would give up anything to have a child and he is such an ungrateful little prick.

At Leicester Forest East services some time circa 1984/5 we were crossing the covered footbridge that goes between the two sides of the services on a late night stop from somewhere. I was around 7. Another pair of similar aged sisters skipped past, one clutching a bear and I heard her say ‘Ted wants to come to the loo-lahs too!’
I don’t know why it stuck in my head but every so often I wonder who she was, she would be grown up now and 40ish like me ... perhaps she’s on MN?

About 15 years ago DH and I were staying in a very old fashioned hotel in Torquay. After dinner the dessert trolley was pushed round so you could choose something. Overheard an elderly lady say to the waiter " oh I shouldn't really, I'm partially diabetic"

Another time in a pub and overheard someone say to their elderly relative they were with "Nan you can't eat that, you haven't got your nashers in"

In the bread aisle in Tesco “now, then, Toby, if you don’t stop being naughty then you won’t get any brioche!”

always makes me laugh thinking of brioche being a major treat and not a packet of chocolate buttons or a kinder egg. In fact when we’re chastising our teens for overstepping the mark a bit, we often say “if you carry on like they you won’t get any brioche!” Always makes them laugh and apologise!

About 5 years ago in the queue for the buffet at a family do.

2 older blokes commiserating at being in the queue behind "Derick, who eats 2 spuds more than a pig" still tickles me to this day

Camping in Wales as a child and waiting for the loo with my DM when we heard a girl with a VERY strong northern accent explaining to her younger brother from the other side of the wall that separated the male/female loos “now if you want a wee you have to go in there and if you want a poo you have to go in here” it was the intonation that made it hilarious but we repeat it to each other regularly almost 20years down the line!

@NewRoadToHappinessxx as daft as it sounds being adopted really does make you feel like you won’t be able to have children as your mother couldn’t 🤷🏻‍♀️ Well it did to me (happily in my case despite it taking for fucking ever I got there in the end) and it did for the girl you overheard too so I assume others feel the same.

I really want to join in but can’t think of one

I just have a really vivid memory of Madge on neighbours 25 or so years ago...
Me: Why’s her hair red?
Mum: it’s dyed
Cue me thinking your hair could die and turn rusty red, like autumn leaves

This is mu favourite

Ice cream shop in the south of Spain about 15 years ago. The man serving sounded like he was from England (I was I the queue). The woman at the front of the queue asked him where he was from.

Ah-yer-erred-ahh-ride?

Took about 6 “whats” to work out that he was in fact saying “Have you heard of Hyde?”

Now whenever anyone asks about a route or where we’ve been that’s how we respond.

In the wine section of Sainsburys
'Look, Rose wine (pronounced as the flower) do you think that's made from Roses?'

And a friend who came to live in london from Australia for the first time upon seeing a red royal mail van...
'man, the Queen gets a lot of post'...

The one from Cardiff sounds like me and DH, but it would have to have been over ê0 years ago. Still together.

@goose1964

It's an old, old story. Urban legend. That poster didn't hear it herself.

See for instance this song

And the back story on the band website:
Loves You, I Fucks You, I Buys You Chips was inspired by a real-life incident. My good friend, Seggy 'The Phantom' Hedges, was on his way home from the seething metropolis of Bristol to the safe havens of Portishead after a night on beer one dark and misty night. Seggy boarded that fabled chariot, the A369 (a bus), and sat on the back seat behind a silver-tongued devil who was in the middle of wooing his woman. The couple started arguing, and said silver-tongued devil uttered the immortal words:

"I loves Ee, I Fucks Ee, I buys Ee chips, what more does Ee want?"

When Seggy told me this story, I realised that a moment that special, so filled with love and passion, could not go unrecorded in history. It would be criminal to allow such a travesty to occur. Thus, this song was written.

Was on the london underground about 8 years ago and i heard two men talking and all of a sudden on man turns to the other and says i would shake your hand but your full of shit. Stayed in my head till now and still cracks me up!

Years ago a lady I was friends with at the school gate told me a doctor friend had offered her some part-time work in his practice. She was going to see him to discuss hours etc.
Next day I heard her telling someone about the job, the bit she wasn’t keen on was
“Making up ointments”
When she told me I laughed before telling her it was probably ‘appointments’
“Oh gosh” she said “I wondered why he gave me a strange look when I said I didn’t take chemistry ‘A’ Level at school

Coming out of DDs then nursery a few years ago, woman in front of us clatters her son round the head and says loudly ‘Mikey! Stop f*cking swearing! What have I told you about fucking swearing? Fucksake....’

Kinda felt sorry for poor Mikey (name changes, obviously)....

@starfishmummy

I may have discussed the best way to dispose of a body, now that i was running out of space.

@NotALurker2 that's just too weird! What were they saying?

I wonder if anyone still laughs at overhearing me and my two sisters.

On a coach from Oxford to London and went past a small airfield. I told my youngest sister that it was Heathrow (she was about 25).

She kept saying 'wow, I really thought it would be bigger' etc. Two women behind were laughing at us. I never told her the truth

Dh and I were behind a lady in the queue in John Lewis cafe when we heard her order a macchiato only she pronounced it "mash-ay-to". It took the woman taking her order about 5 goes to work out what she wanted.
If we are in any sort of cafe now we always say "I'll have a mashayto"

Staying in a b and b with a group of friends. One family had their 11 year old daughter's friend with them. The friend came down to the lounge where the adults were sitting and said 'Sarah's body is stuck in the drawer and we can't get it out'. We sat open mouthed for a few seconds before someone realised she meant the garment.

One day I was waiting for the bus and overhead two old friends on their 20s doing a catch-up talk. From what I understood they haven't seen each other in a couple of years. What got stuck with me was one saying that she married a guy that is not her type (Chubby and brown eyes) but was OK because he didn't beat her much.
I was mortified!!

On holiday years ago with my mum and step dad. Step dad nicked the knife off the table next to us because he didn't have one.

Few mins later the couple sat back at the table ( went to get their food from the buffet) and the woman said in such a strong yorkshire accent

"where's me fuckin knife"

20 years later we still say wheres my fuckin knife if were all together having dinner, so funny