Pick Up Lines That Aren’t

Have you ever been in that situation where a stranger walks up to you and makes a statement that sounds odd, but then you assess the context and realize that the person meant something completely different and more conventional? This seems to happen to me a lot.

In any event, all of the statements below are things that people have actually said to me. Each of these expressions could be considered as a pick-up line and, in some cases, I thought it was until I learned the full context of the comment.

1. “Excuse me, but didn’t I marry you?”
These were the first words a stranger said to me at a party. When he approached me this way, I first thought he was a lunatic. Turns out the guy was a judge and he thought I had been the bride at a ceremony he performed.

2. “I checked you out at the library.”
He was referring to one of the books I’ve written. He had never seen me in person before.

3. “You look hot.”
I have very sensitive fair skin and get flushed easily when I drink things like wine or coffee or just breathe air. However, no matter who says this to me I still take it as a compliment every time and graciously thank the person. Usually at that point, the person becomes embarrassed and tries to avoid me. At my age I don’t really care what they meant. I only care what I heard.

4. “Will you please do me?”
When my husband said this to me I got very excited and screamed “#$%@ YES!” right in front of the kids.  Turns out he only wanted me to put sunscreen on his back.

It’s been said that timing is everything, but context is pretty important, too. Well, it’s only important if your goal is to be understood.