BALTIMORE, MD - In a move designed to gain acceptance with his peer, local homeschooled teen Adam Weisman recently pretended to understand several pop culture references while hanging out with a friend at a neighborhood park, sources confirmed Friday.

The Christian teenager "really laid it on thick," declaring, "I understand that reference!" and fake-laughing for several minutes after each phrase or statement he suspected to be a reference to a film, TV show, or meme.

"Oh yeah, I know that line. From those classic Simpsons people. Hilarious!" he reportedly said after his friend quoted Anchorman. "I enjoy partaking in the hijinks of Marta, Homester, Bert, Linda, and Mandy as well! 'Come take a bite of my shorts!' Ha!"

Later on, a neighbor girl told Weisman that he "kinda looks like Dean from Gilmore Girls," causing the sheltered Christian youth to nod as though he knew what she was talking about. "Ah, yes, The Gilmore Girls, that American comedy-drama television series, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel," he said, obviously reciting a Wikipedia entry he had read in preparation for meeting non-Christian teens. "Classic!"

Weisman assumed his ploy had worked and later told his parents he's integrating nicely with the neighbor kids.

At publishing time, Weisman had told his peers how much he enjoyed looking at "may-mays" on his "late-model smart phone device."