# Lines/jokes in plays/movies you never understood: feel free to ask for help **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627 "2008-02-21T21:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/1 "2008-02-21T21:56:53Z")
In the play (I don’t know if it’s in the movie) _You Can’t Take it With You_, a stuffed shirt banker named Mr. Kirby is droning on about his orchids and has the following exchange with his free-spirited dinner hostess, Penny: > [@](#): > > Alice (Penny’s daughter): You know, an orchid can take six years to blossom. Just think of that! > > Kirby: Oh some of them take longer than that. I’ve got one coming along now that I’ve waited _ten_ years for. > > Penny (making a joke): Believe it or not, I was waiting for an orchid! I’ve been in two productions of this play and seen a couple of others and most of its humor still holds up, but nobody has ever known what this line means. It’s kept in all productions, but it never gets a laugh, so apparently nobody else does. Anybody have a clue? If not, feel free to ask for help with any line that you’ve never understood from a play/movie/book/poem/etc. (and all are forbidden to mock you on penalty of enemas). ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/2 "2008-02-21T23:11:18Z")
I saw a college production of the play during my undergrad years, but can’t remember if the line was kept and, if so, what kind of response it got. At any rate, if anyone thinks additional context would help decipher the intent of the playwrights, the scene is [here](http://books.google.com/books?id=mABOPXgQa0sC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=%22waiting+for+an+orchid%22&source=web&ots=OnYMM4J5Q6&sig=d7q0i08ssNn-HkrtxHwMsN0HuwA). ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/3 "2008-02-21T23:24:02Z")
One I’ve asked about before. From “All About Eve,” Lloyd, Karen and Margo are driving to the train station on icy roads. Lloyd skids on the ice, Karen warns him to be careful, he says he has no intention of having an accident and Margo says it doesn’t matter what his intentions are, “we (she and Karen) are wearing long underwear.” And, um, what? Only line in the film that falls utterly flat. Is the joke related to wearing clean underwear in case you get in an accident? Not wanting to be caught dead in long underwear? Some obscure cultural reference? Fortunately Bette almost immediately becomes maudlin and full of self-pity, and thus magnificent, but it’s still a sore thumb of a line. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/4 "2008-02-21T23:28:06Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] One I’ve asked about before. From “All About Eve,” Lloyd, Karen and Margo are driving to the train station on icy roads. Lloyd skids on the ice, Karen warns him to be careful, he says he has no intention of having an accident and Margo says it doesn’t matter what his intentions are, “we (she and Karen) are wearing long underwear.” And, um, what? Only line in the film that falls utterly flat. Is the joke related to wearing clean underwear in case you get in an accident? Not wanting to be caught dead in long underwear? Some obscure cultural reference? Fortunately Bette almost immediately becomes maudlin and full of self-pity, and thus magnificent, but it’s still a sore thumb of a line. [/QUOTE] Never seen it but it sounds like “If we get stuck out here, our long underwear will keep us warm,” i.e. we didn’t trust you to drive safely, before we even got in the car. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/5 "2008-02-21T23:33:32Z")
Forest Gump…When he is on the bench i never understood one of his lines. I think its when he was telling about his running across the country. The line is in the trailer its something like “For some reason things i was doing make sense to people” I could never understood what he said. My hears would just hear jibberish. Is this what he said? ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/6 "2008-02-22T00:00:51Z")
[QUOTE=lobotomyboy63] Never seen it but it sounds like “If we get stuck out here, our long underwear will keep us warm,” i.e. we didn’t trust you to drive safely, before we even got in the car. [/QUOTE] Just a wild guess. Maybe it’s a play on a man’s typical intentions with women and the fact that long underwear will hinder those attempts ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/7 "2008-02-22T00:08:04Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] One I’ve asked about before. From “All About Eve,” Lloyd, Karen and Margo are driving to the train station on icy roads. Lloyd skids on the ice, Karen warns him to be careful, he says he has no intention of having an accident and Margo says it doesn’t matter what his intentions are, “we (she and Karen) are wearing long underwear.” And, um, what? Only line in the film that falls utterly flat. Is the joke related to wearing clean underwear in case you get in an accident? Not wanting to be caught dead in long underwear? Some obscure cultural reference? Fortunately Bette almost immediately becomes maudlin and full of self-pity, and thus magnificent, but it’s still a sore thumb of a line. [/QUOTE] I take it to be a sex reference too. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/8 "2008-02-22T00:13:50Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] One I’ve asked about before. From “All About Eve,” Lloyd, Karen and Margo are driving to the train station on icy roads. Lloyd skids on the ice, Karen warns him to be careful, he says he has no intention of having an accident and Margo says it doesn’t matter what his intentions are, “we (she and Karen) are wearing long underwear.” [/QUOTE] I’ve never seen the movie, but this looks like a pun on the word “intentions.” Have you ever heard the cliche of the woman’s father asking her boyfriend, “And what are your intentions concerning my daughter? Are your intentions honorable?” So Margo is making a joke about Lloyd wanting to have sex with them, and how it’s not going to happen. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/9 "2008-02-22T00:50:49Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] I’ve been in two productions of this play and seen a couple of others and most of its humor still holds up, but nobody has ever known what this line means. It’s kept in all productions, but it never gets a laugh, so apparently nobody else does. Anybody have a clue? [/QUOTE] I’ve got an idea, but it’s just a hint in the right direction. Orchids have a long history of being associated with vaginas. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/10 "2008-02-22T00:58:19Z")
Orchids are also associated with testicles, for what it’s worth. > **[Orchis Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/orchis)** > > Orchis definition, any orchid. See more. Has Penny known Kirby for years? It kind of sounds like if he would have given her flowers (or otherwise expressed “intentions”) she would have, uh, blossomed. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/11 "2008-02-22T01:05:53Z")
Can anyone explain the purpose of the song “Little Bird” in Man of La Mancha? It just doesn’t fit at all. The one time I’ve actually seen the play it really felt like it was just stuck in there (but that wasn’t the only problem, so maybe it was just that group) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/12 "2008-02-22T01:13:43Z")
Maybe the orchid is a metaphor for how long she has been waiting for the right guy? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/13 "2008-02-22T01:16:58Z")
[QUOTE=Silver Tyger Girl] Can anyone explain the purpose of the song “Little Bird” in Man of La Mancha? It just doesn’t fit at all. The one time I’ve actually seen the play it really felt like it was just stuck in there (but that wasn’t the only problem, so maybe it was just that group) [/QUOTE] I think it may have been an incidental song (sometimes happens- the lyricist/music people write a song for another show that doesn’t work so they reincarnate it, or one for a scene that gets deleted\*). I’ve heard it referred to as a double entendre song but I don’t really see it (little bird=penis? cinnamon tree=…nah, just doesn’t work). I know that they sing it half seriously and half mockingly to Aldonza, then it’s sung ominously when she’s abducted. (Most chilling production I’ve seen was when the innkeeper’s wife sang it during the abduction scene as Aldonza was being dragged away.) But no, doesn’t really work. Catchy, though. \*Example: the song _Say a Prayer for Me Tonight_ was written for _My Fair Lady_ as Eliza waits to go to the embassy ball, but the scene was cut, so Lerner & Leowe incorporated it instead into _Gigi_ (their tribute to the romance of teen sex slavery). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/14 "2008-02-22T01:25:35Z")
[QUOTE=Silver Tyger Girl] Can anyone explain the purpose of the song “Little Bird” in Man of La Mancha? It just doesn’t fit at all. The one time I’ve actually seen the play it really felt like it was just stuck in there (but that wasn’t the only problem, so maybe it was just that group) [/QUOTE] I read it as an ironic song, showing once more how Quixote didn’t understand her true nature. But I saw it at the ANTA before it went to Broadway for the first time, so my memory is a bit fuzzy. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/15 "2008-02-22T01:27:46Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] In the play (I don’t know if it’s in the movie) _You Can’t Take it With You_, a stuffed shirt banker named Mr. Kirby is droning on about his orchids and has the following exchange with his free-spirited dinner hostess, Penny: [/QUOTE] Remember Grover Cleveland raised a ward for a long time - and then married her as soon as she came of age. Could that have something to do with it? It would make the response make sense. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/16 "2008-02-22T01:38:36Z")
> **[I Was Waiting for... an ORCHID!](https://flickr.com/photos/crayolarabbit/2264773441/)** > > If anyone can explain that joke from "You Can't Take It With You," I'll buy him/her/hir/them a 15-dollar orchid from the vaguely creepy man near the mailboxes. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/17 "2008-02-22T02:35:02Z")
[QUOTE=ChrisBooth12] Forest Gump..When he is on the bench i never understood one of his lines. I think its when he was telling about his running across the country. The line is in the trailer its something like “For some reason things i was doing make sense to people” I could never understood what he said. My hears would just hear jibberish. Is this what he said? [/QUOTE] From [IMSDb.com](http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Forrest-Gump.html) > [@](#): > > _EXT. MISSISSIPPI BRIDGE_ > > NEWSMAN: Sir, why are you running? > > 1ST REPORTER: Why are you running? > > 2ND REPORTER: Are you doing this for world peace? > > 3RD REPORTER: Are you doing this for women’s right? > > NEWSMAN: Or for the environment? > > REPORTER: Or for animals? > > 3RD REPORTER: Or for nuclear arms? > > FORREST (V.O.): They just couldn’t believe that somebody would do all that running for no particular reason. > > 2ND REPORTER: Why are you doing this? > > FORREST: I just felt like running. > > _EXT. BUS STOP - PRESENT_ > > FORREST: I just left like running. > > \*EXT. SMALL EASTERN TOWN > > Forrest runs as a YOUNG MAN runs up to him.\* > > YOUNG MAN: It’s you. I can’t believe it’s really you. > > _EXT. BUS STOP - PRESENT_ > > FORREST: **Now, for some reason what I was doing seemed to make sense to people.** ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/18 "2008-02-22T05:06:20Z")
In the movie “Blazing Saddles”, Howard Johnson talks in a bar about how Louis Pasteur’s research will help eliminate anthrax in sheep. Right afterward, Mongo rushes into the bar. What’s the point of this scence? It’s doesn’t even attempt to make a joke, and it doesn’t seem to be related to anything else in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/19 "2008-02-22T13:57:17Z")
With regard to the “waiting for an orchid” line in_You Can’t Take It With You_, I’m wondering if it might be a reference to this joke: > [@](#): > > A man and his wife check into a hotel. The husband wants to have a drink at the bar but his wife is extremely tired so she decides to go on up to their room to rest. > She lies down on the bed… just then, an elevated train passes by very close to the window and shakes the room so hard she’s thrown out of the bed. > Thinking this must be a freak occurrence, she lies down once more. > Again a train shakes the room so violently she’s thrown to the floor. > Exasperated, she calls the front desk and asks for the manager. > The manager says , “I’ll be right up.” > The manager is sceptical but the wife insists the story is true. > “Look… lie here on the bed – you’ll be thrown right to the floor!” > So he lies down next to the wife. > Just then the husband walks in. “What do you think you’re doing!”, he says. > The manager calmly replies, “Would you believe I’m waiting for a train?” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627/20 "2008-02-22T13:59:09Z")
Rosemary’s Baby–Rosemary has been suffering horrible pains through her 2nd and 3rd months of pregnancy. When her friends convince her to see another doctor, the pains vanish. Were the pains physical from carrying Satan’s child, or were they inflicted by the Satanists to keep her away from other people? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-jokes-in-plays-movies-you-never-understood-feel-free-to-ask-for-help/438627.md?page=2)