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Dave Eggers' The Wild Things is available for preorder, in regular hardcover and
limited-edition fur-covered.

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W H A T   T O   S A Y   W H E N
P R E T E N D I N G   Y O U   G R E W   U P
M I D D L E - C L A S S   A N D   N O T   I N
A   H O U S I N G   P R O J E C T
I N   B R O O K L Y N .


BY DAVID LEWIS KENNEDY

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1. "Well, at least you can get miles for that."

People seem to be more comfortable with someone if they know they've flown extensively.

2. Geez, I remember going to Odeon with my parents."

Use this line when dealing with people in creative industries. But be careful, as you may get a follow-up question/comment involving the phrase, "fois gras". If that happens, excuse yourself for a smoke or something.

3. "It was actually sort of suburban there."

Use this to describe where you grew up. Never mention that you still doodle your old graffiti tag.

4. "That's the Outkast, right?"

5. "That was like something from Fraggle Rock."

Use this when something really, really surreal occurs. From what I put together, Fraggle Rock was a Muppets-esque show that aired on HBO on Thursday nights in the 80s.

A follow-up line you can use: "I think it was on Thursdays nights or something like that."

People eat this shit up.

6. "It's great there this time of year."

Works well in conjunction with no. 1. Don't use this phrase too often with the same person. Obviously.

7. "I hear The Samples are coming to town soon."

Works great with people from the Midwest, especially if they went to the University of Colorado. The magic of this phrase: There is NO wrong time to use it.

 

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