# Never start a conversation with ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 17, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866 "2016-10-17T20:17:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/1 "2016-10-17T20:17:39Z")
an English teacher. You would think after 20 years of me teaching Mrs. Cad this basic rule of time-survival she would have it figured out but no she still doesn’t realize they talk forever about nothing. She’s started conversations twice this month and I was subjected to the most excruciatingly banal auditory abuse ever. After a week (found out later it was only 15 minutes) of her talking non-stop about shit no one other than another English teacher would care about. OK true story, at parent-teacher conference I started falling asleep during the blah blah blah. Afterwards Mrs Cad brought it up and I said that I wish it had been a coma. So person or people do you believe you should never start a conversation with? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/2 "2016-10-17T20:34:15Z")
A vocal Trump supporter. A conspiracy theorist. A reality TV fan, like Big Brother. (I’ll give Survivor fans a pass, as long as it’s just that subgenre). ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/3 "2016-10-17T20:40:36Z")
My wife used to teach English (and French and Russian) and her conversation is anything but banal. Don’t start conversations with people who are too quick to generalize. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/4 "2016-10-17T20:50:36Z")
Never start a sentence with a negative. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/5 "2016-10-17T21:08:25Z")
Anyone over age 75. They have opinions on everything and plenty of time to talk about them. People under age 75 also have opinions, of course, but they’re generally more active and have less time to talk. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/6 "2016-10-17T21:10:51Z")
Any “sovereign citizen”; “freeman on the land”; or tax protesting dipshit. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/7 "2016-10-17T21:17:10Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Any “sovereign citizen”; “freeman on the land”; or tax protesting dipshit. So true. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/8 "2016-10-18T00:23:33Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Never start a sentence with a negative. > > Dennis Nor without a verb or a preposition at the end of. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/9 "2016-10-18T00:26:05Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Nor without a verb or a preposition at the end of. Which results in constructions up with which one should not put. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/10 "2016-10-18T01:52:56Z")
The Washington Post has a humor contest and years ago it asked readers for the conversation opening people would least want to hear. The winner was, “Sir? Uh, me and you daughter…” ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/11 "2016-10-18T04:57:43Z")
A middle-aged lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/12 "2016-10-18T05:00:59Z")
A fan from one of the big sports clubs, unless you happen to like that sport. Being a fan of Barça or Real Madrid is like being bipolar by proxy; they go from “we’re the best and pity the rest of you who are not” to “OMG there is one trophy we’re not winning! Fire the coach!”. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/13 "2016-10-18T06:55:00Z")
Mormon missionaries. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/14 "2016-10-18T08:26:42Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Mormon missionaries. I was shoveling gravel in front of my old house and two missionaries came peddling up, wearing suits in ~100 degree weather. “Got another shovel there, neighbor? We’d _love_ to help!” “You can take turns with this one. I’m going in for a beer.” They didn’t stay. ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/15 "2016-10-18T16:51:10Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > A fan from one of the big sports clubs, unless you happen to like that sport. Being a fan of Barça or Real Madrid is like being bipolar by proxy; they go from “we’re the best and pity the rest of you who are not” to “OMG there is one trophy we’re not winning! Fire the coach!”. So do Pittsburgh Steeler fans. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/16 "2016-10-18T18:48:33Z")
. . . with an idiot. Bystanders will not be able to tell which of you is the idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/17 "2016-10-18T18:50:57Z")
. . . with my sister, a world-class Munchausen-by-Self/hypochondriac. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/18 "2016-10-22T19:26:07Z")
“So, tell me about your PhD thesis.” ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/19 "2016-10-22T22:50:42Z")
“Tell me about your kids.” ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866/20 "2016-10-24T14:07:38Z")
“So what exactly is wrong with vaccines?” Regards, Shodan [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-start-a-conversation-with/768866.md?page=2)