Eavesdrop

Back then, when people were so trusting as to not even lock their gates, one could easily sneak in, stand under the eaves, and listen to the conversation going on in the room inside. 

Because human nature doesn't change, one can still find plenty of unguarded eaves to stand under and listen in from. At some point in antiquity, such behaviour wasd eclared unwelcome and, therefore, every schoolteacher worth their salt would wag their fingers in one's faces and declare:

Eavesdroppers never hear any good about themselves.

Scout Finch, for one, will heartily disagree with that statement but it's somewhat true that eavesdroppers often get to hear things that are befuddling at best and unpleasant at worst. 

I recount below snippets of conversations I've happened to chance upon. Without the correct context, these conversations can be puzzling. Or, hilarious.


=== Conversation 1 === 
"No, no, no, you don't sort the children. Just fetch them and send them to me. I'll put them on the tree."


=== Conversation 2 === 
"Which part is the most difficult to cut?" 
"The neck." [Pause] "You must press very carefully and cut. A little bit this side or that, and the whole thing becomes useless." 


=== Conversation 3 === 
"Don't forget to kill before you unmount."


=== Conversation 4 ===
Man 1, pointing to a black phone: "Is that a red phone?"
Man 2, on whose desk the phone sits, and who was addressed by Man 1: "No, it's a green one."

=== Conversation 5 === 
"Okay, so do I have to wear something and come?"
"No, no, no need to wear anything. You can come just like that only."

 
===

engage

(Source:Oxford dictionary)

In the sense of meaning #2, one can engage in two ways:

• Sit with a computer, get on to Twitter, and pontificate on any issue. All utterances during the course of this engagement are either sarcastic or preachy.


• Roll up one's sleeves and do something every time one sees something like this:

Those who can, do. Those who cannot, twitter.

exile

(source: Oxford dictionary)

Exiles can deal with their situations in two ways:

• Like the Tibetans in exile in India. They stay together, keep themselves away from the Indian mainstream, go about their business every day after reminding themselves of their homeless situation, nurture their anger, and build up a very effective international lobby in their favour.  They stand united for a single cause - Free Tibet.


• Like the Kashmiri Hindus in India. They stay dispersed in the metros, blend in with the Indian mainstream, doff their jeans and suits and go to work daily.  Every now and then, they remember the home they left behind, sigh, and then whine - mostly on social networks. They stand divided - both on who they are (Kashmiri Pandits or Kashmiri Hindus) and what they want (go back to existing Kashmir or create a separate Panun Kashmir).