# The Great Escape: What is Ives saying? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2000, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525 "2000-06-26T02:30:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DippyMonger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@DippyMonger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DippyMonger)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/1 "2000-06-26T02:30:04Z")
On The Great Escape, there is a scene when Ives and Hilts are in the cooler. Hilts (Steve McQueen) asks Ives (Some guy) “How much do you think you could get through in say, 8 hours?”. Ives then replies with, “I could … But you know its not the ticket, …” Can someone fill in the two sets of “…” for me? I can’t make out what the hell he is saying! Thankyou! ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/2 "2000-06-26T02:43:36Z")
**"I could cut through this stuff here, like the bit on the end of an auger. But you know, it’s not the digging. It’s the shoring up with wood, and getting the dirt out. That’s what you have to worry about."** ---
**Author:** ![DippyMonger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@DippyMonger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DippyMonger)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/3 "2000-06-26T02:45:43Z")
Holy sh!t Kilgore, how did you reply so fast?!? ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/4 "2000-06-26T02:48:12Z")
**Angus Lennie** played Ives. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/5 "2000-06-26T02:49:19Z")
i put in the dvd, and watched it with subtitles on. ---
**Author:** ![DippyMonger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@DippyMonger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DippyMonger)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/6 "2000-06-26T02:50:03Z")
Do you love the movie as much as I do or something? And what is an auger? More to the point, what’s the bit on the end of it? ---
**Author:** ![DippyMonger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@DippyMonger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DippyMonger)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/7 "2000-06-26T02:51:16Z")
Aha, so you cheated! Could you make what he was saying without the subtitles? ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/8 "2000-06-26T02:53:26Z")
an auger is a tool used for boring. yes, i love that movie. it wasn’t cheating. i knew the auger line, and i knew he said **digging** , and not **ticket**. i checked the dvd to be accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/9 "2000-06-26T02:59:16Z")
Auger–sometimes known as a brace and bit. Don’t let him fool ya with the “aw shucks” routine, he won $34,000 on Final Jeopardy last year with that question. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DippyMonger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@DippyMonger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DippyMonger)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/10 "2000-06-26T03:02:15Z")
“Don’t let him fool ya with the “aw shucks” routine, he won $34,000 on Final Jeopardy last year with that question.” errr… come again? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/11 "2000-06-26T03:21:09Z")
**Kilgore Trout** is actaully, in real life, Angus Lennie. That was his big moment in Show Business, and he’s still bitter about not parlaying it into larger roles. He now lives alone in Malibu, in a house with no ocean view, and drinks a lot at night. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-escape-what-is-ives-saying/23525/12 "2000-06-26T03:24:07Z")
aye, 'tis true.