# I know all the dialog to The Princess Bride... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841 "2007-10-24T18:16:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Smith8762](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Smith8762](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smith8762)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/21 "2007-10-25T13:19:11Z")
I think all of the same ideas above can apply with certain authors or books as well. Take Douglas Adams for instance. I only got around to reading the _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ in the last couple of years but my god is it filled to the brim with memorable and quotable lines. Unlike any other book I’ve read before. “It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.” ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/22 "2007-10-25T14:06:19Z")
My mother quoted _Princess Bride_ to me once. _ **ONCE** _! ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/23 "2007-10-25T14:15:05Z")
[QUOTE=Reno Nevada] My mother quoted _Princess Bride_ to me once. _ **ONCE** _! [/QUOTE] Get outta here, Vermin. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/24 "2007-10-25T14:43:17Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > “Surely, you can’t be serious.” > “I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.” > > As text on a page, that sucks. HEY! That’s it, we’re fighting. (I wish it hadn’t been so long since I’ve fought just one person at a time.) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/25 "2007-10-25T14:54:39Z")
[QUOTE=Bosstone] Oh, well _said_, **storyteller0910** old chap. The dialogue in _Princess Bride_ is also written in such a way that much of it is applicable outside the context of the movie itself. Look at _Pirates of the Caribbean_. The rhythm and cleverness of the writing is superb IMO, but nearly all the lines are in service of the plot, even the memorable ones, like:As neat as I think it is, there’s just no easy way to quote it except when talking about the movie. [/QUOTE] Seconded. **storyteller0910** , that was a most excellent post, thank you! Re: PoTC, I also agree with you, **Bosstone**. About the only line that gets quoted around here (and my friends and I are crazy about that movie) is “Hello? _Pirate!_” whenever we jokingly call one another on our shit. “Tammy’s cleaning again? How’s that OCD going, Tammy?” “Hello? _Pirate!_” “Greg, you gonna share that wine, or keep it all to yourself?” “Hello? _Pirate!_” PoTC’s got some great dialogue, but much of it is simply too long, and it takes too long to build on itself, to be really quotable. And, as you say, much of it is very plot specific. You couldn’t use even the “Hello? Pirate!” line on someone who hasn’t seen the movie. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/26 "2007-10-25T15:04:10Z")
[QUOTE=Don’t Call Me Shirley] HEY! That’s it, we’re fighting. (I wish it hadn’t been so long since I’ve fought just one person at a time.) [/QUOTE] Why should that make such a \ difference? ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/27 "2007-10-25T15:11:13Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Seconded. **storyteller0910** , that was a most excellent post, thank you! [/QUOTE] Thanks! As my post probably made clear, I really love that movie and may have given it too much thought over the years. I think the screenplay is incredibly under-rated, actually. I think it might be one of the very best screenplays of all time. It has limited ambition, perhaps, but it sure does every single thing it sets out to do, doesn’t it? There’s not a bad line, a false moment. Should have won an Oscar. Stupid Oscars. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/28 "2007-10-25T18:20:44Z")
Such a simple thing, **storyteller** , and yet that aspect never occurred to me until you put in words. You’re a credit to your name. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/29 "2007-10-25T18:21:50Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Seconded. **storyteller0910** , that was a most excellent post, thank you! Re: PoTC, I also agree with you, **Bosstone**. About the only line that gets quoted around here (and my friends and I are crazy about that movie) is “Hello? _Pirate!_” whenever we jokingly call one another on our shit. “Tammy’s cleaning again? How’s that OCD going, Tammy?” “Hello? _Pirate!_” “Greg, you gonna share that wine, or keep it all to yourself?” “Hello? _Pirate!_” PoTC’s got some great dialogue, but much of it is simply too long, and it takes too long to build on itself, to be really quotable. And, as you say, much of it is very plot specific. You couldn’t use even the “Hello? Pirate!” line on someone who hasn’t seen the movie. [/QUOTE] Not to piss on your in-joke, but I don’t think that line is preceded with “Hello?”. It’s simply “_Pirate._” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/30 "2007-10-25T19:09:35Z")
[QUOTE=JSexton] Not to piss on your in-joke, but I don’t think that line is preceded with “Hello?”. It’s simply “_Pirate._” [/QUOTE] It’s possible. There’s great contention among the group, no matter how often we watch it, and I’m generally in the “Pirate!” camp. However for that post I googled it to be sure, and found two cites for “Hello…pirate!” instead. [cite](http://www.moviequotes.com/fullquote.cgi?qnum=92428) and [cite.](http://www.metroactive.com/metro/12.27.06/2006-movies-0652.html) Hmm…Google. That’s the beauty of it…it doesn’t DO anything! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/31 "2007-10-25T20:03:14Z")
Another vote for the beauty of **storyteller** ’s analysis. Also, I wanted to second **Robot Arm** ’s commentary about _Airplane!_ by contrast. That movie is almost ALL about delivery. There are very few lines I can quote from the film that would make someone laugh if they didn’t know it was from _Airplane!_ Fortunately for that film, the delivery is brilliant in all cases, and quoting from the film to someone who has seen it will immediately evoke memories of the scene. **F.U. Shakespeare** mentioned _Dr. Strangelove_. While I really, really enjoy this movie and will sit down to watch it any time it’s on, I’ve never thought of it as being an overly quotable film. There are a couple of one-liners that stand out in my head, but it’s just not the same sort of thing to me (in terms of quotability, mind you – generally speaking, I think it’s one of the most brilliant films ever made). ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/32 "2007-10-25T20:32:42Z")
Not to mention: “My preciousssssssssssss” and “Is it secret? It is safe?” ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841/33 "2007-10-25T20:42:26Z")
“Not all who wander are lost”, **ivylass**. 😉 I quote Princess Bride, LOTR, Discworld novels, and the WB cartoons. I’m hopeless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-all-the-dialog-to-the-princess-bride/423841.md?page=1)