A couple of times when I was buying a car I would play the stupid routine just like Columbo does. I would say stuff to the salesman like "uh...where was I?" Or "I just lost my train of thought. Make him think I'm dumber than dirt! It was fun.

And if course I have used "just one more thing" countless times. I have also made reference to the point that I don't even like being this tall. Things like that. Fun topic!

I like the "just one more thing", too.

Great topic! As a teacher (now retired) and actor (local theater) I used dramatic license all the time in my classes (Science and English) in order to make a point or deliver a lesson. And one of my favorite characters to use was Columbo (and his assorted guest stars). I've always loved the way Abigail Mitchell (Ruth Gordon) delivered the lines, "However, however..." and I used that often in class when I wished to emphasize a point. Sometimes when deep in thought and it looks like I'm trying to figure something out, I like to mumble, "Going to get the nut off the self-steering vane and the mizzen boom jibed. Blood on the port." On the physical side, I like to pretend to hit every pocket (jacket, vest, pants, etc.) while looking for something. I haven't yet used, "This is what I've been lookin' for all the time", as Columbo did in THE CONSPIRATORS when he removed the LA 213 piece of paper, but I probably will when the opportunity presents.

Every time I'm a cheapskate - especially when it's only partly deliberate - I feel like Columbo.
In particular, it makes me think of the moment between him and Arlene Martel in "A Friend In Deed."

I hit a awful shot on the golf course when i was playing with my son ( who is 28 yo now...and was force fed Columbo when he was growing up...lol)and he said " uh oh, another bad one , doc?" and i responded with my best Dr . Kepple voice .." yes, that's a bad one".

I laughed to myself and i thought how my Columbo obsession/impressions over the years and think my boys thought it was cool....hopefully not thinking i'm too geeky.

LOL - Great story, Mark. I think only my wife knows when I'm using a "Columboism".

My wife and I just off the tennis court here in our development. A guy, who I later found out is named Fred, came to the fence to ask me how much longer he thought we'd be. I told him, "in about three seconds," after we collected our tennis balls. We did so and chatted with him for a few moments. As we turned to walk home, I noticed we'd missed a ball on the court. The guy got to the ball first and tossed it across the court to me.

I responded, in my best Columbo voice, "Thank you, Fred", making sure to run the words together as he did in "Last Salute to the Commodore".

Maybe I've never done it out loud, but when I think someone is making big assumptions, I think of that as "cigar ashes" (after Milo Janus).