Buffy: Synchronized
slaying.
Faith: New Olympic category?
Together these lines are a play on synchronized
swiming which is in fact a new Olympic event. Synchronized swiming
is a team event of dance like moves in the water. There was in fact a certain
grace and beauty to Buffy and Faith's team slaying.
Faith: Excuse me Mary
Poppins, you don't seem to be listening.
Faith compares her new watcher's British accent to that of the character
Mary Poppins from the 1964 Disney film
of the same name.
Buffy: You think they make a patch
for this?
Other bad habits (namely cigarette smoking) have a medicinal patch
that can be worn to help break the habit.
Buffy: What's with the tragedy
masks?
Buffy likens the sad faces of her friends to the tragedy
mask of classic Greek drama. The smiling comedy mask and frowning
tragedy mask have become symbols of theater in general.
Willow: I opened my S.A.T.
booklet 5 minutes early.
Another reference to the Scholastic Aptitude
Test. Willow's comment relies on the fact that S.A.T. tests are
timed and the test takers are not supposed to open their booklets before
being signaled by the proctor.
Xander: I leaned toward the postal.
Another play on the idea of disgruntled postal workers and their over-reactions.