# Fawlty Towers ep. The Germans - "...took her to see India"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000 "2011-12-04T02:35:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/41 "2011-12-05T12:33:34Z")
As a life-long American, and with all due respect to fellow American (I think) Eonwe, I can’t imagine anyone saying “I’ve got tickets to see Green Bay.” “I’ve got tickets to see the Muppets movie,” OK. “I’ve got tickets to see _Wicked_,” sure. “I’ve got tickets to see Springsteen,” yes, even though you’re going mainly in order to hear him. But “I’ve got tickets to the Green Bay game,” is the only construction I’ve ever heard. Well, also, “I’ve got Packers tickets,” but that doesn’t apply to this discussion. (Not that logic always applies to language, but the reason you’re going is to see the game, not to see the team.) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/42 "2011-12-05T13:16:47Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Soooooo just to clarify he meant he took the lady to see, what, the Indian national cricket team play there? Referring to them as just ‘India’ like that just sounds odd. Of course here in America aside from the occasional Olympics (and Canadian) we never see any foreign sports teams… About as odd as when I hear Americans refer to sports teams, bands, hell just about any group of people, in the singular. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/43 "2011-12-05T13:26:51Z")
Whereas the fact that Americans like to name their sports teams after random animals and racial stereotypes makes perfect sense. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/44 "2011-12-05T13:31:50Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Whereas the fact that Americans like to name their sports teams after random animals and racial stereotypes makes perfect sense. :rolleyes: [Hey! What could be racist about this?](http://content.sportslogos.net/logos/53/57/full/wnyd2zhh84f50ux4uxyqbktbh.gif) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/45 "2011-12-05T13:32:03Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I know what it is. That doesn’t change the fact that this particular manifestation of metonymy can unfamiliar to a lot of people and can sound strange. Especially if you don’t follow sports, you might not be used to hearing a verbal construction in which going to see a country stands in for being a spectator at a sporting event. I don’t think Cleese was particularly concerned about whether Americans would be able to follow the joke when he wrote it. In the context of the show’s intended audience, the phrasing is not unfamiliar to a lot of people. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/46 "2011-12-05T13:33:00Z")
I watched FT on PBS when I was a teen almost 30 years ago. I remember laughing myself sick. I haven’t seen it since then but just checked and it’s on Netflix streaming. I can’t wait to see how it’s held up for me. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/47 "2011-12-05T13:59:59Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > I don’t think Cleese was particularly concerned about whether Americans would be able to follow the joke when he wrote it. In the context of the show’s intended audience, the phrasing is not unfamiliar to a lot of people. 🙂 I’m not critiquing the writing of the show. I’m responding to the smear on Hail Ants’s intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/48 "2011-12-05T19:11:48Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’m not critiquing the writing of the show. I’m responding to the smear on Hail Ants’s intelligence. It was a slur on his intelligence because it was an “understand this for me” question: if he were genuinely interested in finding out something he didn’t know, googling “The Oval” turns up [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oval) as the first result, and the first sentence of the fourth paragraph yields “…the first ever Test Match in England… was played at the Oval in 1880 between England and Australia”. It really isn’t a strain on the intellect to make sense of the line. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/49 "2011-12-05T19:19:33Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > It was a slur on his intelligence because it was an “understand this for me” question: if he were genuinely interested in finding out something he didn’t know, googling “The Oval” turns up [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oval) as the first result, and the first sentence of the fourth paragraph yields “…the first ever Test Match in England… was played at the Oval in 1880 between England and Australia”. It really isn’t a strain on the intellect to make sense of the line. Then why would anyone ask anything on this forum? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/50 "2011-12-05T19:37:15Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Then why would anyone ask anything on this forum? Because there are loads of questions - and loads of people to answer them - that don’t immediately suggest a quick visit to [lmgtfy.com](http://lmgtfy.com), I’d guess. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/51 "2011-12-05T19:42:21Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > It was a slur on his intelligence because it was an “understand this for me” question The first time I saw that episode, I couldn’t clearly make out what the Major said. “At the O----” what? I guessed it might have been a theatre name like “Orpheum” or “Odeon.” So for a time I assumed, like the OP, that he was talking about something like a Gilbert and Sullivan production. It was when I asked someone else – someone familiar with test cricket – that I learned that it was actually “Oval” and it was a test match. Of course, we didn’t have Wikipedia then, but even if we had, I would not have found that correct entry. So how stupid am I? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/52 "2011-12-05T19:42:39Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > I would like to express a contrary opinion. In “The Germans”, we don’t _just_ get the scenes featuring the German guests. We get: > > - the visiting-Sybil-in-hospital scenes, with great lines such as ‘It’s not a doctor you need, dear, it’s a plastic surgeon…’ > > - Basil’s inability to put the Moose up > > - Basil back at the hotel dealing with Sybil’s incessant calls, including ‘Anything else? Would you like the hotel moved a few inches to the left…?’ > > - the talking Moose, with Manuel’s wonderful ‘I can speeek Eeengleeesh, I learn it from a boook’ and the Major’s total bewilderment > > - the entire fire drill episode, with one of Basil’s greatest ever meltdowns, lines such as ‘I don’t know why we bother we should let you all burn!’ and Basil pushing Manuel back into the kitchen where a very real fire has started > > - the Germans, including ‘Yes you did, you invaded Poland!’ and the silly walk > > All this in approximately 30 minutes of television! It seems clear to me that this is not only the best episode of Fawlty Towers, but the finest 30 minutes of situation comedy ever broadcast. And the “Wir wollen ein auto meiten” question from the Germans, which Basil interprets as “we want to volunteer to go out and get the meat.” “We have meat here! In ze building! Mooooooooo!” ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/53 "2011-12-05T20:00:09Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > So how stupid am I? I don’t know, how are you on bumptious insularity? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/54 "2011-12-05T20:02:06Z")
Enough already. There is to be no more discussion of whether the OP’s question is lazy or stupid or different from any other question asked on millions of message boards. Either discuss Fawlty Towers or something related to the phrasing, or don’t participate in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/55 "2011-12-05T20:08:22Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Never occurred to me anyone would think it sounded odd, but hey ho. > [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > In related news, Australia just beat New Zealand at [the Gabba](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gabba). When I think “hey ho” and “gabba”, I think American, myself 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/56 "2011-12-05T20:23:53Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Enough already. There is to be no more discussion of whether the OP’s question is lazy or stupid or different from any other question asked on millions of message boards. Either discuss Fawlty Towers or something related to the phrasing, or don’t participate in the thread. Okay, everybody read that again. But this time, try to hear it in Basil’s voice after he’s misplaced the key to the fire alarm. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/57 "2011-12-05T20:47:51Z")
That’s genius. I’m going to read EVERY mod instruction in Basil’s voice from now on. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/58 "2011-12-05T21:02:19Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > When I think “hey ho” and “gabba”, I think American, myself 🙂 Ramones ite domum! ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/59 "2011-12-06T02:30:38Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > It was a slur on his intelligence because it was an “understand this for me” question: if he were genuinely interested in finding out something he didn’t know, googling “The Oval” turns up [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oval) as the first result, and the first sentence of the fourth paragraph yields “…the first ever Test Match in England… was played at the Oval in 1880 between England and Australia”. It really isn’t a strain on the intellect to make sense of the line. Like I said I assumed The Oval was a theater. What I think you forget is that although America \*is \*obsessed with sports teams just as much (if not more) as Europe is, we are not at all a _uni-sport_ country. We have \*three \*major league sports: baseball, football and basketball, and all three are equally popular in pretty much every part of the country. And, again, except for I think two Canadian MLB teams all our teams are domestic. The \*\*ONLY \*\*time you’d hear something like _‘India beat Australia’_ would be during the Olympics and they’re only every four years and only occasionally hosted on US soil. So identifying a soccer team by simply referring to them by their country of origin, yeah, sounds really really odd and unspecific and illogical to us! > [@amanset](#): > > About as odd as when I hear Americans refer to sports teams, bands, hell just about any group of people, in the singular. Not sure what you mean. We always say the Yankees or the Giants. In fact all the teams end with ‘s’ except for the Sox teams and they end with an ‘s’ sound! We also say _‘they beat so and so’_ and _‘they’re playing tonight’_. When do we refer to them in the singular? BTW, this is all a little ironic because I am not even remotely a sports fan! P.S. Oops! Posted before reading Marley23’s post. So forget everything I said! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000/60 "2011-12-06T04:27:17Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Not sure what you mean. He means we say: “Cincinnati was the winning team.” instead of “Cincinnati were the victorious club.” As Anglophile as I am, it’s nails-on-chalkboard to me to hear a plural verb used with a singular subject. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-ep-the-germans-took-her-to-see-india/605000.md?page=4)