Yeah, the Tinder pick up line from Master of None? It probably won't work for you.
Be honest: you’ve thought about stealing that genius Whole Foods line from Master of None, right?
You’re not alone. The world first witnessed Aziz Ansari’s character Dev deploy his go-to dating app opener, “Going to Whole Foods, want me to pick up anything?,” in the "First Date" episode. It’s pure genius, a perfect combination of being disarming and just goofy enough to work.
It was an actual line a friend of the show's creators used to get a massive response. So it's no surprise that a lot of people are now giving it a shot IRL... and bummer alert: they're having a lot less success than Dev or its real life creator.
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Since the episode premiered a few weeks ago, the line has been spotted more and more in the wild. Perhaps you yourself have been Whole Foods'd? Or at the very least your friend has told you about an incident with eyes firmly rolled back in their head.
Lizzy Nahum-Albright, 26, told Mashable she’s gotten it twice on OKCupid in the last week. She hadn’t actually seen the show, so the first time she got it she didn’t give it a second thought. She thought about replying with a grocery list, but ultimately didn’t.
By the second time she knew something was up. She posted about it on Facebook -- as she does with all her ridiculous messages -- and a friend explained the line’s origins. She docked that person points for unoriginality and never wrote back.
Mishka, a 23 year old in Ann Arbor, Michigan, told us she’s also gotten it twice on Tinder within the last week or two. She also hadn’t seen the show, and said, “I just thought maybe Whole Foods was having some sort of summer sale.” She didn’t respond either. Whomp whomp.
So who are the people brave enough to make such a brazen copycat move? Justin, 23, tried it out and did actually get a response. Clearly the guy he messaged was a fan because he replied back with “Is that your line for everyone?” which is exactly what Dev gets asked in the show. He even followed it up with this lovely gif.
Despite their matching taste in television shows, the pair sadly didn’t end up meeting up and falling in love. That’s a shame because a Master of None-themed wedding would probably be pretty fun -- at least the food would be delicious.
If you insist on using the line, probably the best way to do it is as a clear reference to reveal your love of the show, not as a straight up theft. Fair warning, though: even that might not be a great idea. One 23-year-old guy in Los Angeles told us he'd put it in his Tinder bio, but he’s gotten zero reaction since dropping it in there a few days. Sadface.
All evidence points to using this line as a lose-lose proposition. If you drop someone the line and they’ve seen the show, you just seem lazy. And if they don't know what you're ripping off? It still doesn’t work.
The magic of the line has clearly faded, so you're far better off putting on your thinking cap and coming up with an original line of your own. And now, changing it to "Target" or "drugstore" or any other store isn't good enough.
Still, there is one real winner here: Whole Foods. They've gotten a priceless amount of free promotion via dating apps thanks to all of this.
Cassie Murdoch is Mashable's Culture Editor.. Before coming here, Cassie was Senior Culture Writer at Vocativ. She previously wrote for Jezebel and The Hairpin. Cassie spends most of her time thinking about and consuming cheese in all its glorious forms.
