“This is a unison recitation.”
Why it's great
Calling a robbery a unison recitation exposes the whole act as memorized schoolwork.
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Informal
Use it yourself
This is a unison recitation, not a real discussion.
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Butch Robs a Bank in Spanish, Explained
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid · 1969
Chapter 10 of 12 · 4'02"
On the surface it's a bank robbery: Butch has memorized a set of Spanish commands and is working through them out loud. Underneath, it's a language class gone wrong, with Etta feeding lines and Sundance losing patience. "This is a unison recitation," someone says — the crime sounds like homework.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:54–1:29
Butch's Robbery Sounds Like a Recitation
35s - 1:55–2:30
Etta Coaches Butch Through the Holdup
35s
Butch Robs a Bank in Spanish, explained
What happens
Inside a Bolivian bank, Butch, Sundance, and Etta pull a robbery. Butch delivers his Spanish lines as if reciting them from memory, stumbling over the words while Etta prompts him from the sidelines. A teller's greeting, a customer's confusion, and the pair bickering turn the holdup into a comedy.
What's really going on
The robbery is staged as a language test, and Butch keeps failing it. He has the whole script in his head but can't get it out under pressure — "It's on the tip of my tongue, Etta," he insists, and she answers by feeding him the next line. Sundance, meanwhile, treats the whole plan as a waste of time. What makes it funny is the mismatch: real guns, real fear, and a man rehearsing vocabulary like a schoolboy, so that even the people being robbed start grading his performance.
Key lines & what they mean
- “This is a unison recitation.”
- Someone watching Butch deliver his memorized Spanish lines says it sounds less like a holdup than a class reciting together. The line frames the robbery as an awkward performance.
- “We've been over this before. Your line of work requires a specialised vocabulary.”
- The schoolteacher's note in the middle of a robbery: they've rehearsed this already, and by the nature of his job, Butch should already know these words.
- “You ain't any good without a crib sheet.”
- A jab at Butch's method: he can only do the robbery by copying someone else's words, and the moment the prompt is gone he falls apart.
- “I'm not doing this. He claimed he knew the damn language!”
- The partner wants out: Butch boasted he could speak Spanish, and now the plan is collapsing line by line. The complaint turns a robbery into a quarrel between the people pulling it.
Theme
- Dark humor — Armed robbery played for laughs: the danger stays real while the robbers fumble their lines and bicker like students.
- Absurdity — Two famous outlaws reduce a bank holdup to a memorized vocabulary drill, and the customers judge it like a performance.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level0/6
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“We've been over this before. Your line of work requires a specialised vocabulary.”
Why it's great
It lectures a robber like a language tutor, and the mismatch is the joke.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
Your line of work requires a specialised vocabulary, so learn the jargon.
“You ain't any good without a crib sheet.”
Why it's great
It reduces a holdup to cheating on a test, which is exactly what the scene is.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
You ain't any good without your flashcards.
“I'm not doing this. He claimed he knew the damn language!”
Why it's great
A robbery collapses into a language class, and he blames the partner who bragged.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
I'm not doing this. He claimed he booked the tickets!
Up next · 11one way or the otherThe scene: Butch and Sundance Take a Payroll JobTakeaways
What you walk away with- The humor comes from treating crime as homework.
- Butch's confidence depends entirely on a script.
- Etta coaches the robbery like a language lesson.
- Sundance blames the language instead of himself.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does Butch use Spanish to rob a Bolivian bank?
Because they're in Bolivia and the locals speak Spanish. He and Sundance can't pass as locals, but Butch thinks reading memorized commands will get the job done.
Who taught Butch the Spanish lines?
Etta. He calls her a good teacher right after getting a phrase right, and she's the one feeding him the next line whenever he gets stuck.
Why does the robbery keep stalling?
Butch has to deliver his lines in Spanish, and under pressure he keeps forgetting or mangling them, so the pair have to stop and coach him in the middle of the holdup.
What does 'crib sheet' mean here?
A crib sheet is a cheat sheet — a page of notes you copy from when you haven't really learned something. The insult is that Butch's crimes only work when someone hands him the words.