“I have nothing to hide.”
Why it's great
A plain claim of innocence lands hard in a room full of guilty faces.
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Neutral
Use it yourself
Check my files, I have nothing to hide.
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Unexpected Guest Asks to Use the Phone, Explained
Clue · 1985
Chapter 11 of 17 · 3'00"
A stranger at the door says he found an abandoned car and asks to use the phone. The household's answers can't keep straight, 'No,' then 'Well, actually, yes,' and he notices. "You all seem to be very anxious about something," he says, before they hustle him into the library.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:01–1:35
The Chandelier Excuse and the Cognac Warning
33s
Unexpected Guest Asks to Use the Phone, explained
What happens
A motorist arrives at the front door of a large house and tells the butler he found an abandoned car near the gates. He asks whether the driver came inside for help. The household stumbles over its answer, then lets him in to use the phone and leaves him in the library.
What's really going on
Nobody at the house wants the stranger inside, and the way they fumble the simplest question gives them away. They insist no one came in, then instantly reverse; the visitor clocking it is what makes the scene tense. "There seems to be some kind of disagreement," he observes, a polite way of saying he doesn't believe a word of it. They steer him away from the phone, park him in the library, and offer a fallen chandelier as the reason for their nerves. The man at the door, meanwhile, keeps testing them: he mentions an abandoned car, the Hoover call, and finally 'murder,' then claims he only said it to get the door opened. Whatever the truth, the panic in the room reads like people guarding a secret.
Key lines & what they mean
- “I have nothing to hide.”
- Said while agreeing to open the door, it's a claim of innocence: there's nothing embarrassing or incriminating to be found.
- “You all seem to be very anxious about something.”
- The visitor politely names the tension in the room, letting them know their nervousness is obvious without directly accusing anyone.
- “It's the chandelier, fell down and almost killed us.”
- A ready-made excuse for why everyone is on edge: an accident that explains both the nerves and the mess.
- “I don't know. He's on everybody else's. Why shouldn't he be on mine?”
- A deadpan answer about J. Edgar Hoover calling; the gag is that this house treats a call from the FBI as perfectly routine.
Theme
- Secrets — Everyone at the house is guarding something, and the visitor's polite questions keep poking at the gap between their answers.
- Deception — The household's story changes mid-sentence, and even the visitor admits his 'murder' charge was a bluff to get the door open.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
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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“You all seem to be very anxious about something.”
Why it's great
The visitor does not accuse anyone, yet the observation exposes the whole room.
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Formal
Use it yourself
You all seem to be very quiet about the news.
“It's the chandelier, fell down and almost killed us.”
Why it's great
The invented excuse is oddly specific, which is exactly what makes it funny.
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Informal
Use it yourself
It's the cat, it knocked the whole shelf over.
“I don't know. He's on everybody else's. Why shouldn't he be on mine?”
Why it's great
He defends the absurd with the logic that everyone else has him, and the deadpan makes it funny.
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Informal
Use it yourself
All the other flats have a cat. Why shouldn't we have one?
Up next · 12step by stepThe scene: Wadsworth Reconstructs the EveningTakeaways
What you walk away with- A visitor sees more than the guests want him to.
- By any chance makes a nosy question sound polite.
- Just in case hides a nervous exception in plain words.
- Legal jargon becomes a weapon through a locked door.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy do the people in the house lie about the driver coming in?
They don't want a stranger inside and don't want questions about what they're hiding. Their answer flips from 'No' to 'Well, actually, yes,' which is exactly what makes the visitor suspicious.
Who is the unexpected visitor at the door?
A man who says he found an abandoned car near the gates and needs to use the phone. He later turns the accusations back on the house, threatening to book them for false arrest and even murder.
Why is J. Edgar Hoover on the phone?
It's a running joke in the film: the butler acts as if a call from the head of the FBI is routine, 'He's on everybody else's. Why shouldn't he be on mine?'
Why is the visitor locked in the library?
The household needs to keep him out of the way while it deals with the night's crisis. He pounds on the door and shouts that they have no right to shut him in.