“Are you a parking ticket? Cuz you got ‘fine’ written all over you.”
Is the deliverer of this pick-up line saying:
A) I feel like I could get into trouble with you.
B) You look like you have expensive tastes.
C) I literally view you as a fee I’m going to have to pay.
D) You literally have the word “fine” written all over you.
E) None of the above
REAL ANSWER: this pick-up artist wanna-be is trying to be funny by playing off two different meanings of the word “fine.”
DEFINITIONS for the word FINE:
- NOUN: A fee you have to pay for a legal infraction (like a parking ticket)
- ADJECTIVE: A favorable description of someone’s physical appearance
What this Pick-up Pun Tells You about Your Date
In truth, a bad pick-up line is funny between good friends for the same reason it’s not funny on a first date, because when you deliver a doozy like this to someone with whom you’re already in relationship, you’re making fun of those who throw out lines like this in the hopes of starting a relationship.
Having conveyed that disclaimer, let’s address this particular “fine” pick-up line.
Because, though this little introductory pun communicates a higher level of interest in you than last week’s opening zinger, “OK. Let’s get this over with,” it still communicates a similar level of disrespect.
That’s in addition to revealing your date has the maturity level of a middle schooler on a Mountain Dew high.
What’s so disrespectful, ask ye? Isn’t this is a compliment?
Hmmm. Well yes and no.
On the one hand, who doesn’t want to look fine?
On the other hand, they didn’t just say you look fine.
They said, “You have ‘fine’ [key words coming here]…
written
all
over
you.
I can see them body-scanning you as they say it. (Motion sickness bag, please.)
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with looking “fine as a parking ticket.” Physical attraction is GOOD!
At the very least, your date should appreciate how the Creator of the universe created you. So they shouldn’t be critical of your appearance or trying to change it to please themselves. At the same time…
Your date should view you as a person of inestimable value and not as a piece of meat with a cost per pound.
And that value shouldn’t come primarily from how you look, but from who you actually are.
That said, do you even know who you are?
And how do you measure your self worth? If it shouldn’t be about how fine or hot you are, on what should it be based? We address that in the follow-up to this post.
Want a good laugh first? Check out our light-hearted LoveEd series, How to Flirt Like a Christian, on our FMUniversity YouTube channel.
Date Night Advice (DNA) series: TOP10 Signs You’re on a Bad First Date
TOP10 Sign #10B: You’re date’s opening line is “… you got ‘fine’ written all over you!”
Click here to read the next post in the series.
Dug this weekend’s Date Night Advice (DNA)? Be a good friend and share with your friends on the social media platform of choice: Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, or Twitter.
Want to grow beyond our DNA blog?
Our LoveEd discipleship series, Beyond Sex & Salvation, will empower you to grow spiritually and date wisely, so you can marry well.
This discipleship series is NOT for couples, but for the wise individual who wants to prepare for their future marriage like a successful career: intentionally, intelligently and IN ADVANCE!
This discipleship series is NOT about dos and don’ts. It’s about learning the life lessons, mastering the life disciplines, and making the life decisions necessary for relational success.
Check out all three study guides. You can walk through them on your own, but it’s more fun with friends (that and it kinda makes sense to grow in relational success in actual relationships with others), so consider putting together an FMU LoveEd small group study.
Even better? And ask a rock star married couple you respect to lead it! [originally published: 5/12/12]
