More deliberately ambiguous dialogue I wrote and some interpretations it elicited in February 1993:
A: That was, um...really something.
(B plops down nonchalantly into a chair.)
B: It was a hell of a performance, wasn't it?
A: Such as it was...
B: You didn't like it?
A: Um...Well, it was...interesting, I guess.
B: Interesting?! It was brilliant!
A: Well...Maybe if you think taste is a relative term...
B: I know what I like.
A: You mean, you like what you know.
B: This was a lot different!
A: No, it wasn't!
B: It blew me away...
A: I give up...
Questions: Who are A and B? What performance have they just seen? Why was B impressed while A wasn't?
Responses:
...A is "Jim," and B is "John." A chick just conned A, using feminine wiles, out of some money, then took off. A is mad because he fell for it. B is smarter than that. (Karen B.)
...A is my friend, Becky. B is me. We have just seen the latest "American Scream." Becky has couth; therefore, she would not be impressed. I have none. (Laura W.)
...These two people have just watched a prominent Republican deliver a speech. A is nonplussed because he still takes politics very seriously. B is so disillusioned that he now views politics as sport/theater and is impressed with this person's manipulative talents. I know a lot of As and a lot of Bs, and of course, they're often the same people. (Michael M.)
