# Things in songs, movies,etc.. that shocked you others missed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699 "2018-02-12T18:05:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/21 "2018-02-13T02:13:36Z")
> [@Graymalkin](#): > > nor what the fuck La Grande means. La Grange is the site of the Chicken Ranch, a brothel in Texas that was made famous in “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/22 "2018-02-13T02:49:13Z")
That Ariana Grande song “side to side” is about (and confirmed by Grande herself) having so much sex that you can’t walk straight the next day. But was apparently a nice little pop diddy that was even used in a t-mobile commercial. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/23 "2018-02-13T04:06:40Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In _The Avengers_, while he’s being interrogated by Black Widow, Loki calls her a “mewling quim.” When I heard that in the theater, my jaw hit the floor. I started looking around but it seems that nobody else either noticed or understood or cared. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/24 "2018-02-13T04:14:42Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > That Ariana Grande song “side to side” is about (and confirmed by Grande herself) having so much sex that you can’t walk straight the next day. Despite having just learned this, I still think it’s a terrible song. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/25 "2018-02-13T05:14:43Z")
I was once in a religious girls dorm room arguing with her about trash played on the radio…meanwhile “Sugar Walls” is blaring from her stereo. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/26 "2018-02-13T10:44:45Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > That Ariana Grande song “side to side” is about (and confirmed by Grande herself) having so much sex that you can’t walk straight the next day. But was apparently a nice little pop diddy that was even used in a t-mobile commercial. Yep, was discussing this with my daughter in the car. The song came on and I heard it. My daughter said it was dumb, a chorus about walking side to side. I flatly reported what the song was about - I got less than halfway through before she said “Oh. Ew. Sigh. Glad I don’t like the song anyway.” As for ZZ Top, yeah, once I figured it out, I knew to listen to pretty much all of their songs for the horniness factor. I remember when Under Pressure was on constant rotation and realizing that the basic point of the song was that his girlfriend is too kinky for him, and likes flippin’ out with Great Danes. Oh. Ew. Sigh. ETA: As for “mewling quim” from The Avengers, it is like “shagged” for Americans, too. A Brit slang word we know is dirty but don’t know the details about or how severe it is meant to be in context. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/27 "2018-02-13T13:03:12Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > [**Boldness** added for emphasis.] > > I don’t think _La Grange_ belongs on that list. Nearly everybody in Texas knew what the town was famous for when the song came out. It was also the subject of successful Broadway musical and movie starring Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton. I think the lyrics are pretty clear, too. It spells out where it is, what they have, and that you’ll be paying. ---
**Author:** ![Tread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Tread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tread)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/28 "2018-02-13T21:25:11Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I like that it’s supposed to be super clear but we’ve got two different responses as to what “That” is. No we don’t there are multiple " That’s" I listed a few, and then added and so forth. the other response was the last “that” It is the thing he says He won’t do right before the---- I’ll do anything… but I won’t do that Yes. This is why I started this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/29 "2018-02-13T21:33:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In _The Avengers_, while he’s being interrogated by Black Widow, Loki calls her a “mewling quim.” **By using an obscure, dated term that most U.S. viewers wouldn’t recognize** , Joss Whedon got away with having him call her a: > > whining cunt Bolding for Emphasis. If the phrase is both “obscure” and “something most US viewers won’t recognize” then why are you shocked? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/30 "2018-02-13T21:54:01Z")
Is this where we talk about Jar Jar the sith overlord? But there was the time I was watching _The Men Who Stare At Goats_ with 5 other people, all aged mid-thirties to late-forties. Ewan McGregor has occasion to observe, “Timothy Leary’s dead” but totally within context of the dialogue. Not particularly shocking I guess, but I was howling. My pals were wondering if I needed a straight jacket. I was shocked nobody else recognized the line, given the overall tone of the film. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/31 "2018-02-13T22:08:52Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > When I heard that in the theater, my jaw hit the floor. I started looking around but it seems that nobody else either noticed or understood or cared. Huh, “mewling quim,” eh? Learn something new every day. Is this a common expression, as far as vulgar expressions can be “common”? Somehow, I never came across it living half a year in the UK and having British and Irish friends for many, many years. But I suppose they probably never heard me say “whiny cunt,” either, so it could be the company I keep. 🙂 Still, I’m surprised I never heard it – though I suppose it’s possible the because it sounds so innocuous and just so _delightfully_ British to my ears, that I just wrote it off as some charming Shakespearean turn-of-phrase. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/32 "2018-02-13T22:34:43Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Huh, “mewling quim,” eh? Learn something new every day. Is this a common expression, as far as vulgar expressions can be “common”? Somehow, I never came across it living half a year in the UK and having British and Irish friends for many, many years. But I suppose they probably never heard me say “whiny cunt,” either, so it could be the company I keep. 🙂 Still, I’m surprised I never heard it – though I suppose it’s possible the because it sounds so innocuous and just so _delightfully_ British to my ears, that I just wrote it off as some charming Shakespearean turn-of-phrase. The only places I’d heard/read it prior to _The Avengers_ were in Chaucer and John Valby. It is hard to call Chaucer obscure in a strict sense, but I wouldn’t say his use of the term was commonly known, though its definition would be readily apparent from context in _Canterbury Tales_. If you’re not familiar with John Valby…oh, boy, where do I start? Let’s just say that, over his 40+ years as performer, I doubt that there is any obscenity in the Anglophone world that has escaped his notice. I would rate the term as lesser-known, but perhaps not truly obscure. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/33 "2018-02-14T00:17:32Z")
With “I Would Do Anything for Love” I think a couple of things made it hard to be sure what the song was saying. One was, it was all over the airwaves in the fall of 1993, which was still very much a pre-Internet era for all practical purposes. You couldn’t do a Web search for the lyrics, so if you didn’t have the CD, you had to make sense of them when the song happened to be playing on the radio. Which, for another, usually meant you were doing something else, like driving, so you couldn’t always be paying attention to the parts you were having trouble making sense of when they came on. And a third thing was that there were two different versions of the song on the radio, a short version and a long version. If the pop stations in your area were playing the short version almost exclusively, then you were missing a lot of the lyrics right there. Sometimes we forget just how different so many things were before the Web became a thing. But it was like a different reality. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/34 "2018-02-14T00:20:04Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > The only places I’d heard/read it prior to _The Avengers_ were in Chaucer and John Valby. It is hard to call Chaucer obscure in a strict sense, but I wouldn’t say his use of the term was commonly known, though its definition would be readily apparent from context in _Canterbury Tales_. If you’re not familiar with John Valby…oh, boy, where do I start? Let’s just say that, over his 40+ years as performer, I doubt that there is any obscenity in the Anglophone world that has escaped his notice. > > I would rate the term as lesser-known, but perhaps not truly obscure. Wait, “mewling quim” was in Canterbury Tales? I took an entire semester class on that and I somehow don’t remember it. Where was it? (I do remember some variant of “cunt” there, though. Maybe spelled with a “qu” like “queynte” or something like that. ETA: [Yes, that one I remember right](https://skepticalhumanities.com/2011/01/18/chaucers-cunt/).) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/35 "2018-02-14T00:23:02Z")
I thought everyone had noticed Doc “Emmett” Brown has a first name that is the word “time” pronounced backwards. I find a lot of people didn’t notice this about Back to the Future. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/36 "2018-02-14T00:25:53Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I thought everyone had noticed Doc “Emmett” Brown has a first name that is the word “time” pronounced backwards. I find a lot of people didn’t notice this about Back to the Future. Interesting. I’ve never noticed that. Was that intentional, or coincidence, like HAL and IBM (HAL being a one-letter shift of IBM)? ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/37 "2018-02-14T01:36:13Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Sometimes we forget just how different so many things were before the Web became a thing. But it was like a different reality. I think the thing that really stopped people from understanding the song is that it’s badly written, and they are expecting that the ‘that’ refers to something which actually might be done ‘for love’, rather than things which are only **not** done for love. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/38 "2018-02-14T02:03:54Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > With “I Would Do Anything for Love” I think a couple of things made it hard to be sure what the song was saying. I thought he wanted to have sex with her, but was not willing to marry her. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/39 "2018-02-14T02:52:12Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Yep, was discussing this with my daughter in the car. The song came on and I heard it. My daughter said it was dumb, a chorus about walking side to side. I flatly reported what the song was about - I got less than halfway through before she said “Oh. Ew. Sigh. Glad I don’t like the song anyway.” > > As for ZZ Top, yeah, once I figured it out, I knew to listen to pretty much all of their songs for the horniness factor. I remember when Under Pressure was on constant rotation and realizing that the basic point of the song was that his girlfriend is too kinky for him, and likes flippin’ out with Great Danes. Oh. Ew. Sigh. > > ETA: As for “mewling quim” from The Avengers, it is like “shagged” for Americans, too. A Brit slang word we know is dirty but don’t know the details about or how severe it is meant to be in context. I wonder if “mewling quim” is acceptable in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699/40 "2018-02-14T04:08:33Z")
> [@B-Rad](#): > > Is this where we talk about Jar Jar the sith overlord? > > But there was the time I was watching _The Men Who Stare At Goats_ with 5 other people, all aged mid-thirties to late-forties. Ewan McGregor has occasion to observe, “Timothy Leary’s dead” but totally within context of the dialogue. Not particularly shocking I guess, but I was howling. My pals were wondering if I needed a straight jacket. I was shocked nobody else recognized the line, given the overall tone of the film. Why is that shocking? 😕 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-songs-movies-etc-that-shocked-you-others-missed/808699.md?page=3)