Writers are notorious eavesdroppers--where do you think we get our dialogue?--so I was tickled to find the Overheard in New York blog. It's full of tantalizing, often hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking (and, I should warn you, regularly obscene) snippets of overheard conversation. The same people also host Overheard at the Beach and Overheard in the Office.

A few examples:

Crazy: So I had to get fillings in all of my teeth.
Passenger: Uh huh.
Crazy: But I figured, why let them do that to me after they drilled holes in my brain, ya know?
Passenger: Sure.
Crazy: But I figured, might as well! Although if they were going to fill my teeth, I'd want them to use jelly.
Passenger: Yep.
Crazy: But the guy at the counter said they were out of jelly. So I got a blueberry muffin.

--R train

Girl #1 As Shakespeare once said "Thou shall not kill."
Girl #2 No, that would be God.

--11th & University

Older woman: Excuse me, miss?
Younger woman: Yeah?
Older woman: Your veil, your burqa is very beautiful. I didn't know your people were allowed to wear it in bright colors.
Younger woman: It's not a burqa, it's a poncho. I'm Jewish. It's for the rain. I got it at TJ Maxx.

--53rd & 7th