# "What we have here... is failure to comunicate." **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2005, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340 "2005-12-27T12:32:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/1 "2005-12-27T12:32:15Z")
So in “Cool Hand Luke”; was that little excerpt made famous BEFORE or AFTER Guns-n-Roses used it in their song? (Cival War I think?) Oh and in case anybody cares; You guys are settling a bet for me. My friend says after I say before. Not that I’m trying to play favorites here or anything. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/2 "2005-12-27T12:35:44Z")
I say before. My parents used to say it all the time when I was a kid. I promise you they never listened to G&R. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/3 "2005-12-27T12:37:07Z")
Before. My pals and I were using it while Axl was in junior high. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/4 "2005-12-27T12:50:32Z")
Before, easily. That was a popular movie, and filled with quotable quotes. Among others. . . “I can eat fifty eggs.” “Sometimes nothing is the coolest hand.” Something about rules in a knife fight. (or was that butch cassidy.) Anyway, “what we have here is failure to communicate.” (or wrongly, “_a_ failure to communicate”) was a widely quoted line before the GnR song, and people knew what it was from, as opposed to “we don’t need no stinking badges.” It helps that “what we have here is failure to communicate” is applicable to lots of situations. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/5 "2005-12-27T12:53:50Z")
Toss you another quote. “XXX…a night in the box” My pals and I twisted that in all directions. “Fail a midterm? A night in the box!” “Puke on your girlfriend? A night NOT in the box!” And so forth ad nauseum. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/6 "2005-12-27T13:11:42Z")
Before. Was Axl Rose out of preschool when Cool Hand Luke was filmed, let alone written? ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/7 "2005-12-27T13:37:07Z")
_Cool Hand Luke_ was released in 1967. Axl Rose was born Feb. 6, 1962. That tends to support the contention that the phrase used in the film by Strother Martin (wonderful character actor seen in other films such as the _Wild Bunch_ and _True Grit_) preceeded the song. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/8 "2005-12-27T13:46:05Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Something about rules in a knife fight. (or was that butch cassidy.) It was _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ said by Paul Newman just before kicking Ted Cassidy in the nads (Cassidy is better known as Lurch from the TV series _The Adams Family_). ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/9 "2005-12-27T14:03:18Z")
> [@TV time](#): > > _Cool Hand Luke_ was released in 1967. > > Axl Rose was born Feb. 6, 1962. > > That tends to support the contention that the phrase used in the film by Strother Martin (wonderful character actor seen in other films such as the _Wild Bunch_ and _True Grit_) preceeded the song. Not the question, reread the OP. The question was when was the quote made famous. The answer is of course what you said however. The phrase was already famous and often heard before Guns-n-Roses. ---
**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:** [December 27, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/10 "2005-12-27T20:20:09Z")
Strother Martin was guest host of an early episode of _Saturday Night Life_ (19 April 1980 according to IMDb, not long before his death). In one sketch, Bill Murray was at a French language summer camp and it was a direct parody of _Cool Hand Luke_. “All berets must be worn at a slant. Anyone not wearing his beret at a slant spends a night in le box.” Murray runs away at one point and is brought back by two guards. Martin tries to get Murray to speak French by showing him a picture of a small cat. “Le chat et petit! What we’ve got here is failure to communicate _bilingually_!” ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/11 "2005-12-27T20:21:09Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Anyway, “what we have here is failure to communicate.” (or wrongly, “_a_ failure to communicate”) Actually, it’s not exactly wrong. The phrase is first said by Captain early in the film, sans the “a”. However, Luke mocks Captain with the line while trapped in the church near the end and includes the “a”. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/12 "2005-12-27T20:31:39Z")
The phrase was promoted as part of [the trailer for the film](http://www.reelclassics.com/Gallery/video.htm#coolhandluke) (click on the film reel), which made it a catchphrase even before the film came out. People started picking up on it even if they haven’t seen the movie. To be precise, according to the trailer, it’s “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/13 "2005-12-27T23:44:14Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Anyway, “what we have here is failure to communicate.” (or wrongly, “_a_ failure to communicate”) was a widely quoted line before the GnR song, and people knew what it was from, as opposed to “we don’t need no stinking badges.” Now _that_ one is actually “We don’t need **to show you** no stinkin’ badges!” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/14 "2005-12-28T00:09:28Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > Toss you another quote. > > “XXX…a night in the box” > > My pals and I twisted that in all directions. > > “Fail a midterm? A night in the box!” > > “Puke on your girlfriend? A night NOT in the box!” > > And so forth ad nauseum. Or… Adding “boss” on the end of whatever you’re talking about: “Changing the channel here, boss”. “Starting a new thread here, boss.” ---
**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:** [December 28, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/15 "2005-12-28T00:14:57Z")
“Wavin’ at the Pope here, boss.” ---
**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:** [December 28, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/16 "2005-12-28T00:30:24Z")
I had an English teacher in high school who, when someone answered a question incorrectly, would shout, “What we have here is a failure to communicate!” To which the class would shout back, in unison, “My mind’s right, boss!” ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/17 "2005-12-28T00:42:39Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > Toss you another quote. > > “XXX…a night in the box” > > My pals and I twisted that in all directions. > > “Fail a midterm? A night in the box!” > > “Puke on your girlfriend? A night NOT in the box!” > > And so forth ad nauseum. Courtesy of the good reverend 😉 : [http://lyrics.doheth.co.uk/songs/reverend-horton-heat/spend-a-night-in-the-box/spend-a-night-in-the-box.php](http://lyrics.doheth.co.uk/songs/reverend-horton-heat/spend-a-night-in-the-box/spend-a-night-in-the-box.php) - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/18 "2005-12-28T00:49:14Z")
Lookin’ at my sandles… that’s a paddlin’. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/19 "2005-12-28T01:41:56Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Lookin’ at my sandles… that’s a paddlin’. Paddlin’ the school canoe…you better believe that’s a paddlin’. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340/20 "2005-12-28T01:51:13Z")
“Takin’ it off here, Boss!” I have yet to find a woman willing to use that line in the particular way I would like. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-we-have-here-is-failure-to-comunicate/337340.md?page=2)