The British queue up and the Americans wait in line, except for New Yorkers, who wait on line. No one seems to know the reason for this social idiom. It is something to ponder while waiting in／on line. Queues are a grim reality of city life. While there seems to be no consensus on the city's worst line, the ones mentioned most often in talks here and there were lunchtime lines at banks and post offices and, among younger people, movie lines and college-registration lines. “Bank lines.” said Mark Sloan, an investor.” No matter what time of day you bank, the number of tellers is inadequate to the number of patrons. Even when the bank is open you see long lines in front of the money machine outside.” “Supermarkets,” said Ed Frantz, a graphic artist, who once abandoned a full shopping cart in the middle of a long checkout line. It was not a political act.” The line was filled with coupon clippers and check writers,” he recalled. “And suddenly I had to walk away. Food no longer mattered.”