Bad Pickup Lines

[forsyth]

I know plenty of bad pickup lines. Especially if you define bad as ones that don't work, but I appreciate them just for their humor value. Because, face it, lines like "That's a nice dress. It'd look really good on my floor." are just funny. When I was discussing it with one of my (female) co-workers, she said she can't take any seriously, because all the ones she's heard have either been tried on her or friends of hers. Her theory was part of why bad pickup lines are funny is the same reason stupid warning labels are funny. Because somebody must have done whatever stupid thing, to make it needed.

I, of course, didn't believe her. Honestly, lots of bad pickup lines are obviously jokes, I figured. So she told me about the time somebody had come up to her at a party and asked her "Are you tired? Because you've been running through my mind all night."

She had to leave the room because she was laughing too hard. Even at this remove of time and not knowing the guy, I felt kinda sorry for him. I mean, I laughed, and couldn't believe he'd tried that, but that's hardly the kind of reaction any guy wants to get.

But that, plus the way too long drive to and from my class let me think up an idea. See, I think there are no good pickup lines. They're all pretty bad. There's a time and a place, though, when they can work. It's all in the context. Even the outrageously bad ones can work, by getting the person to laugh and giving you a chance to talk to them. And besides, staking out a ridiculous position at the beginning is the key to any kind of bargaining, right?

Comments

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

I think most pickup lines are intended to get a laugh (although obviously not so much that the girl leaves the room). They're meant to break the ice, and have to be followed with actual conversation. An ex-roommate of mine had a surprising amount of success with the line "Hey, baby, tell Pinocchio a lie!" using this strategy.