# "Princess Bride" nitpick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2014, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709 "2014-05-19T02:08:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/21 "2014-05-19T16:27:51Z")
Anybody want a peanut? ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/22 "2014-05-19T17:18:11Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Good Lord, woman! That’s liek suggesting somebody skip over the serwers of Paris parts of Le Miserables! > > Those chapters are essential in understanding Humperdinck’s motivations, why he dropped the “c” from the spelling of his name, and why nothing about pudding made it into the movie. I disagree. Sure, his failure to fully toilet train until he was 7 clearly has implications that play out with his need to control as much of his life as possible, but other than that the minutiae covered in those pages overwhelms the tale. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/23 "2014-05-19T17:46:35Z")
Life imitating art: My nephew had a “boy’s night” with his sons, and he wanted to introduce them to the wonders of TPB. Upon hearing the title, they said, “we don’t want to watch a _princess movie_”! After reluctantly starting the movie, they came around so much, they wanted to see it again the next day. New converts! Have fun storming the castle! ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/24 "2014-05-19T18:08:08Z")
It took months to convince my son and husband to watch it and of course, it is now a favorite for both of them and they can recite almost every line! ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/25 "2014-05-19T18:17:45Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > It took months to _ **convince** _ my son and husband to watch it and of course, it is now a favorite for both of them and they can recite almost every line! Just so you know … I read the word “convince” as “conceive.” Made the first half of your sentence something of a head-scratcher until I realized my mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/26 "2014-05-19T18:52:50Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > Just so you know … I read the word “convince” as “conceive.” Made the first half of your sentence something of a head-scratcher until I realized my mistake. Inconvincable! ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/27 "2014-05-19T19:12:28Z")
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what I think it means. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/28 "2014-05-19T20:24:41Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Have fun storming the castle! It would take a miracle… ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/29 "2014-05-19T20:34:42Z")
I always feel a little sorry for the ROUSes. I mean, what did they ever do. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/30 "2014-05-19T21:15:41Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > All this talk about wuv, twue wov, and no one cares that Westley became a man of means by mass murder? Remember, the Dread Pirate Roberts takes no prisoners. By the time Westley inherited the business from the Dread Pirate Roberts poser, they didn’t have to attack. From his reputation, they surrendered all their treasure immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/31 "2014-05-19T21:27:15Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I always feel a little sorry for the ROUSes. I mean, what did they ever do. Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don’t think they exist. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/32 "2014-05-19T22:19:43Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > Anybody want a peanut? See the keyboard? Clean it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/33 "2014-05-19T22:28:41Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don’t think they exist. Wham! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/34 "2014-05-19T23:40:59Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Hey, what happened to the other 87 posts in this thread? I didn’t log in to read just the “good parts” version! Congratulations! You have won one (1) Internets. Unfortunately, as this thread takes place after Internets were invented but before delivery service, you will have to come pick it up yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/35 "2014-05-20T00:41:20Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I’d always assumed based on the movie alone that Buttercup’s parents owned the farm - based on her being too young to own it herself - and the parents are just not shown for the sake of brevity. Course that’s probably completely wrong based on the book but that’s how I’d rationalised it myself. Buttercup’s elderly parents play a pretty minor role in the book (at least in the abridged version), but they’re there. As to the OP, I don’t think it’s stated in the book whether Buttercup’s parents actually _own_ the farm or if they’re tenants. In Ye Olden Times Buttercup would not necessarily have been able to inherit the farm even if her parents did own it\*. In any event, it’s not a very successful farm. Buttercup is an only child, and by the time she’s in her teens is starting to attract a lot of attention due to her looks. While her parents didn’t dream that the prince himself would take an interest in her, they presumably were hoping she’d make a decent match and have both a better life for herself and be able to provide for them in their old age. \*This is the situation of the more prosperous Bennett girls in _Pride & Prejudice_. Their family estate is entailed on a male heir, so when their father dies their cousin will inherit everything. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/36 "2014-05-20T00:52:26Z")
She doesn’t get eaten by the mods at this time. If you want to nitpick _The Princess Bride_, there’s the scene where Inigo hears someone making the sound of ultimate suffering. He says it has to be the man in black, because his true love is marrying another. How would he know that? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/37 "2014-05-20T00:56:43Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > He says it has to be the man in black, because his true love is marrying another. How would he know that? He heard about it from the Brute Squad? ---
**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:** [May 20, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/38 "2014-05-20T01:15:48Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > He heard about it from the Brute Squad? He’d know about the wedding, since that would probably be big news in Florin. He wouldn’t know that the man in black was Buttercup’s true love. It didn’t come up the first time they met, nor when Westley fought with Fezzik. It’s interesting how Inigo does figure out that the man in black must have out-thought Vezzini, having beaten himself and Fezzik in their own specialties. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/39 "2014-05-20T02:15:21Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > He’d know about the wedding, since that would probably be big news in Florin. He wouldn’t know that the man in black was Buttercup’s true love. It didn’t come up the first time they met, nor when Westley fought with Fezzik. It may not have been a key topic of conversation, but surely Inigo knew enough to deduce the truth. The man in black had pursued them when they had captured Buttercup with skill and determination that could not be matched by any mere mercenary or rogue, and his manner and bearing were not of such a man. A soldier would not be so devoted, and would bear the colors of his lord. A kinsman would try first to bargain with the captors; family is always the first to pay a ransom. There is one other possibility still remaining, that the man in black is some sort of Hero, a doer of good deeds, perhaps on some sort of Quest. This would account for his bearing and his skill, and also for some part of his determination, for Heros are known sometimes to be very determined, obstinate even, in their pursuit of honor and justice (though they generally show such qualities in the highest degree only when rescuing the object of their true love—or at least their libidinous intent). He might have sworn an oath to protect the innocent or the beautiful (or the innocent and beautiful, which would explain more of his determination, as there would be so few others likely to qualify for his services of protection). But what then would explain the cry? It sounded like the man in black, and only the loss of one’s true love could produce such anguish. (And even if it had not sounded like him, what are the odds of two men with such bravery, devotion and passion as only heroism or true love can produce being found in one kingdom on one day?) And who else could the man in black truly love than the lovely Buttercup, set soon to marry another whom she herself could not possibly love. It was obvious. Even the Brute Squad should have been able to figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709/40 "2014-05-20T03:21:55Z")
The very best part (for me) was the excruciatingly detailed instructions on creating iocane powder. Such an amazingly easy process. I was hoping for at least a montage in _the movie_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princess-bride-nitpick/688709.md?page=3)