# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 183
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3643 "2020-05-20T21:17:31Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Lee was a huge Tolkien fan. [He was also the only cast member to have actually met Tolkien:](http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Christopher_Lee) > [@](#): > > We were sitting there talking and drinking beer, and someone said, “Oh, look who walked in.” It was Professor Tolkien, and I nearly fell off my chair. I didn’t even know he was alive. He was a benign looking man, smoking a pipe, walking in, an English countryman with earth under his feet. And he was a genius, a man of incredible intellectual knowledge. He knew somebody in our group. He (the man in the group) said “Oh Professor, Professor…” And he came over. And each one of us, well I knelt of course, each one of us said “how do you do?” And I just said “Ho… How… How…” ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3644 "2020-05-20T21:35:50Z")
I’m not sure I’m if this could be considered “obvious”, but I was probably in my 30s before I learned that a Deuce Coupe, as in the Beach Boys’ “Little Deuce Coupe”, means a 1932 Ford Coupe. Apparently that was a highly sought after car for turning into a hot rod. It wasn’t obvious to me, but I’m guessing that term was well known to teenagers in the 1960s, since the Beach Boys wrote a song about it. Actually when I was a kid I misheard the lyric as “goose scoop”. I probably figured out the real words in middle school from the track listing on a Beach Boys cassette, but it still took decades after that before I figured out what a Deuce Coupe was. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3645 "2020-05-21T02:01:34Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I’m not sure I’m if this could be considered “obvious”, but I was probably in my 30s before I learned that a Deuce Coupe, as in the Beach Boys’ “Little Deuce Coupe”, means a 1932 Ford Coupe. Apparently that was a highly sought after car for turning into a hot rod. It wasn’t obvious to me, but I’m guessing that term was well known to teenagers in the 1960s, since the Beach Boys wrote a song about it. Actually when I was a kid I misheard the lyric as “goose scoop”. I probably figured out the real words in middle school from the track listing on a Beach Boys cassette, but it still took decades after that before I figured out what a Deuce Coupe was. I used to think the line in the ELO song was “Don’t bring me down…Bruce”. But the final word is actually groos. Which doesn’t mean anything; it’s a nonsense word that Jeff Lynne uses when he’s writing a song to fill a gap in the lyrics. But in this case, he decided to keep it in the final song. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3646 "2020-05-21T02:47:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I used to think the line in the ELO song was “Don’t bring me down…Bruce”. But the final word is actually groos. Which doesn’t mean anything; it’s a nonsense word that Jeff Lynne uses when he’s writing a song to fill a gap in the lyrics. But in this case, he decided to keep it in the final song. Huh. I always thought the word was Bruce, too, and never understood it. I never liked the song enough to look up the words either. Now I really hate it. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3647 "2020-05-21T12:32:51Z")
I love the song, but …groos? That’s a pretty serious flaw. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3648 "2020-05-21T13:15:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, but you had to go up to the counter and ask. > > See Amazon Women on the Moon > > > a little racy. That scene is even better once you realize that the hapless boy and his poor date are named after George and Mary Bailey from _It’s A Wonderful Life_. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3649 "2020-05-21T23:22:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I used to think the line in the ELO song was “Don’t bring me down…Bruce”. But the final word is actually groos. Which doesn’t mean anything; it’s a nonsense word that Jeff Lynne uses when he’s writing a song to fill a gap in the lyrics. But in this case, he decided to keep it in the final song. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Huh. I always thought the word was Bruce, too, and never understood it. I never liked the song enough to look up the words either. Now I really hate it. > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I love the song, but …groos? That’s a pretty serious flaw. I too have always heard it as “Bruce.” ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3650 "2020-05-22T00:04:49Z")
I’d always heard “groos”, but I figured I was mishearing “Bruce”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3651 "2020-05-22T00:08:56Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I’d always heard “groos”, but I figured I was mishearing “Bruce”. If I had heard “groos,” I would have thought I was mishearing “goose.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3652 "2020-05-22T02:20:58Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I’d always heard “groos”, but I figured I was mishearing “Bruce”. They now sing \*Bruce. \* ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3653 "2020-05-22T02:48:10Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I’m not sure I’m if this could be considered “obvious”, but I was probably in my 30s before I learned that a Deuce Coupe, as in the Beach Boys’ “Little Deuce Coupe”, means a 1932 Ford Coupe. Apparently that was a highly sought after car for turning into a hot rod. It wasn’t obvious to me, but I’m guessing that term was well known to teenagers in the 1960s, since the Beach Boys wrote a song about it. Actually when I was a kid I misheard the lyric as “goose scoop”. I probably figured out the real words in middle school from the track listing on a Beach Boys cassette, but it still took decades after that before I figured out what a Deuce Coupe was. Don’t feel bad. There are plenty of people out there that think the lyric says “big slip” instead of “pink slip.” These are the same people who jack-light deer, use Clamato for their Bloody Marys and talk in the theater. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3654 "2020-05-22T03:16:33Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I love the song, but …groos? That’s a pretty serious flaw. A groos error, you’d say? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3655 "2020-05-22T05:38:05Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > That scene is even better once you realize that the hapless boy and his poor date are named after George and Mary Bailey from _It’s A Wonderful Life_. And the pharmacist is Mr. Gower (at 1:38). The girl isn’t Mary, but another character from IAWL: Violet. The boy clearly calls her by that name near the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3656 "2020-05-22T09:54:06Z")
In _The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul_, Dirk Gently is obviously key in solving the case and bringing about the ultimate outcome, even though he keeps taking damage, is by the end of the book reduced to recuperating in a hospital bed, and never talks to Thor or Odin. (Even Kate’s actions can be indirectly traced back to Dirk’s impetus.) This is a consequence of the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3657 "2020-05-22T13:46:19Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I too have always heard it as “Bruce.” > [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I’d always heard “groos”, but I figured I was mishearing “Bruce”. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > If I had heard “groos,” I would have thought I was mishearing “goose.” > [@DrDeth](#): > > They now sing \*Bruce. \* I always thought it was “roose,” as in Charlotte Russe, IOW French for Russian. Although why he would be saying that, I had no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3658 "2020-05-22T15:39:42Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I always thought it was “roose,” as in Charlotte Russe, IOW French for Russian. Although why he would be saying that, I had no idea. I always thought it was “Oops!” ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3659 "2020-05-22T16:46:48Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > > [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > > > I’d always heard “groos”, but I figured I was mishearing “Bruce”. > > If I had heard “groos,” I would have thought I was mishearing “goose.” But “goose” wouldn’t make any sense. “Bruce” would have… kinda. Jeff Lynne was also rolling his Rs pretty heavily. For once in my life I heard something correctly. I just didn’t believe it. Figures. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3660 "2020-05-22T17:17:34Z")
Here’s Wiki on the subject: [Don't Bring Me Down - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Bring_Me_Down#Misheard_lyric) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3661 "2020-05-22T20:38:49Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > But “goose” wouldn’t make any sense. “Bruce” would have… kinda. Jeff Lynne was also rolling his Rs pretty heavily. For once in my life I heard something correctly. I just didn’t believe it. Figures. “Goose” would make a heckuva lot more sense than “groos.” ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/3662 "2020-05-24T18:36:29Z")
SO I have no idea how many times I have seen The Godfather. I was watching it today while I was on my elliptical. Tom Hagan goes to Hollywood to intervene with Jack Woltz for Johny Fontaine. Tom is walking through Woltz’s castle and gardens and Woltz shows him his 600,000 dollar racehorse. It is all class and opulence. In the scene where Jack Woltz and Tom Hagan are eating dinner in the flawlessly decorated dining room and being waited on, the camera angle is from behond Tom Hagan and on Jack Woltz. At Woltz’s place setting, there is a bottle of ketchup… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=182) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=184)