• Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    17 days ago

    Asking “so what do you do for a living?” when meeting someone new as if their job defines them. It’s one of the first questions Americans will ask someone when meeting them for the first time. I am American, but as I understand it, this question is far less common elsewhere in the world.

    • saltesc@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      I ask, “So what do you do?”

      If they answer with hobbies and interests, they’re more my kind of person. If they answer with their job stuff, well that’s just their main life thing.

      • morphballganon@lemmy.world
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        17 days ago

        If you ask an American they will assume you MEAN their job, whether it’s their “main life thing” or not, because that’s how people talk here

    • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      I just ask, in a screaming tone, WHO DOES NUMBER TWO WORK FOR???

      They usually just look at me, and assume there’s been some kind of language barrier. Nope. I’m just referencing an obscure scene that nobody remembers from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. A film that came out in 1997. So a lot of people these days weren’t even BORN when that movie came out.

    • Pavidus@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      This has always gotten under my skin as well. I generally downplay it to make my job sound as common as possible, and I do not return the question. What I do for money has very little influence on who I am or what I enjoy.