Have you ever been in a public place and found yourself eavesdropping on a conversation? Perhaps it was at the mall or on a bus or standing in the hall at school. You didn't mean to be nosy, it's just that you were the proper distance away, and you could hear every word.

A few years ago, the Lexington Herald-Leader of Lexington, Kentucky, published a short list called "Classic Conversation Stoppers." If you overheard these phrases, the urge to eavesdrop would be overwhelming:

For example, here's a classic conversation stopper:

"Contagious? Contagious?" I asked the doctor. "Really contagious," he tells me. Now wouldn't that make you want to hear more--or at least move farther back on the bus?

Here's another: "So that's it! As of this morning, I quit my medication! . . . Homicidal tenden…