Three Stooges Experts: a dialog question

Cafe Society
1

In “Disorder in the Court”, there’s a scene where Larry pulls the toupee off a court officer’s head (and thinks it’s a tarantula). The Stooges jump on it and ultimately shoot it. Moe realizes it is a hairpiece and slaps Larry.

The court officer takes the damaged piece away from Moe and says “I’ll sue you for this”. Moe replies “Superstitious, eh?”. Then, off camera, Curly chimes in.
What it sounds like doesn’t make any sense to me, so obviously I’m hearing it wrong. To my ears it sounds like “Oh, vice eye kid”.

Anyone out there have any ideas?

2

“Ohhh…wise-guy kid?”

3

Hm. Somebody’s got it posted on Youtube. At 1:48.

You’re right, he does say, “Vice eye kid”. No clue, sorry.

4

Does it mean something, though no doubt spelt differently, in Yiddish? It sounds like Curly is reacting to and commenting on Moe’s horrid little bit of wordplay.

5

In a “Cool Cat” cartoon, Col. Rimfire’s teeth/dentures get yanked out of his mouth, and land on the ground, still a-clickin’ and a-clackin’. Col. Rimfire sees them, and, surprised, shrieks “A TARANTULA!” and shoots his teeth. Wonder if this is some old vaudeville shtick or something

6

Geez, people, learn to use Google. From this webpage, we learn that the dialogue in question goes:

Glad to help. Oh, you’re welcome.

7

This is the closest thing I’ve found.

From a 1997 post at the bottom of this page.

Looks like it’s an actual mystery.

8

After re-watching it: Wow, that is a mystery.

I’d also just like to add that I love the Stooges. I was pretty sure I’d be able to come in and answer any 3S question there is. No idea on this one, though.

Definitely sounds like “vice eye kid”. My only thoughts are that vice might have something to do with the vice squad, and eye might be like in private eye? I’ve got nothing.

9

I have two DVD versions of DitC. The original Columbia/Sony DVD from around 1999 had subtitles - your quote was what the subtitles showed.
The newer “year” boxset just came out last week. They dispensed with subtitles.

10

I remember that very well from when I was a kid, and I used to think he was saying “Oh, bite-size kid!” (like saying he is very small).

11

I watched the youtube clip a couple of times, it sounds to me like he’s saying, “Oh, but I kid”. But that makes no more sense in context than “vice eye kid” so what do I know?

12

Nothing to add except to say, this is what I love about the SDMB.

13

I would just add that just before that, Curly calls the toupee a field mouse. Moe calls it a divot. Then Curly, off camera, calls it something else. To me, it sounds like “vye sigh kid,” which, again, doesn’t mean anything.

14

I hear “Vise-Eye(d) Kid.” As in Moe shot so straight it seemed like he was using a vise.

15

Well, there is a vise in that short. . . .

16

An (unconvincing) theory is that it is a botched reading of “As if I cared.”

I think it’s probably some extremely obscure Yiddish pun or wordplay.

17

That’s what I thought at first but then I thought that if that’s what it was, someone would have figured it out by now.

My Mom speaks pretty good Yiddish so I asked her. She said that the closest thing that it sounded like if it were Yiddish would translate to “a white kid” which, of course, doesn’t make much sense. I am going to forward her the link the the short and she’ll try to watch it tonight and report back.

Also, I don’t get the Moe’s joke. How is “Superstitious, eh?” a pun?

18

Sue-perstitious

19

:smack:

20

Mom watched the clip and said that it’s definitely not Yiddish.