Found in the Wild
From one of my favorite websites, Not Always Right:
An old lady asks me:
Customer: “Where is the meat? I have guests coming for dinner, and I need to make them meat.”
I point to the sections that have chicken and pork.
Customer: “No, no, no. The meat. I’m looking for meat!”
I gesture again to the pork and chicken.
Me: “This is all meat.”
Customer: “No! Meat!”
She tuts and storms down the aisle a little further, reaching the beef.
Customer: “Here! See? Meat!”
Me: “Oh, you wanted beef?”
Customer: “Yes! Meat!”
Me: “I got confused because you only said meat; you didn’t specify beef.”
Customer: “The only meat is beef! Beef means meat! Don’t you know that?”
Me: “Uh, ma’am, meat is anything that comes from an animal, cows included.”
Customer: “That’s not true because I don’t eat beef, only chicken and pork, so that makes me a vegetarian.”
I’m about to correct her when I see a supervisor standing close by. He’s shaking his head vigorously, which is his way of saying ‘drop it’.
I let the customer hum along with her shopping, and I get back to what I was doing.