carry out a survey about something the survey is just a pretext to hit on her
Hey. We're doing a lunchtime survey of new students.Mean Girls · 2004 — Chapter 2 of 10 · 2'11" · B1
Jason Gets Dressed Down at Lunch, Explained: scam on
A lunchtime survey turns into a public takedown, then the same group offers a lunch invitation: “we don't do this a lot, so this is, like, a really huge deal.” The shift from mockery to a flattering invitation is the point — the invitation is framed as a rare honor, not simple friendliness.
What happens
At lunch, a group approaches a new student with a lunchtime survey, asks a crude question about “buttering your muffin,” and then turns on Jason for hitting on someone in front of them. After he leaves, the group compliments the new student, asks for a moment of privacy, and then invites her to sit with them for the rest of the week — with a Wednesday pink rule.
Listen for
butter your muffinjust being friendlybitchhome-schooled
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Phrase of the scene
scam on
to hit on someone, often with a predatory or disrespectful edge
Someone publicly calls Jason out for bringing Gretchen to a party and then scamming on another girl in front of everyone.
He tried to scam on a girl at the party and got called out.
Also in this scene
- butter your muffin
a crude sexual double entendre
- just being friendly
only trying to be friendly
- bitch
a sexist insult
- home-schooled
taught at home instead of school
- fetch
stylish, in this film's teen slang
Everything marked in this scene
26 notes across 47 lines
reply to a few questions
Can you answer a few questions?In fast speech, can is barely voiced and you glides into answer.
Can you answer a few questions?appoint someone to do something
Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?bother or harass someone
- My what? - Is he bothering you?a creepy, sleazy guy — A casual insult for a creepy guy; avoid in formal settings.
Jason, why are you such a skeez?be expected to do something
You were supposed to call me last night.In fast speech, supposed to compresses into one blur; catch the stress on supposed.
You were supposed to call me last night.directly in someone's presence
Jason. You do not come to a party at my house with Gretchen and then scam on some poor, innocent girl right in front of us three days later.to hit on someone, often with a predatory or disrespectful edge
Someone publicly calls Jason out for bringing Gretchen to a party and then scamming on another girl in front of everyone.
Jason. You do not come to a party at my house with Gretchen and then scam on some poor, innocent girl right in front of us three days later.not romantically interested she is not romantically interested in him
She's not interested.have sexual relations with someone
Do you wanna have sex with him?it is decided
- No, thank you. - Good. So it's settled.relocate here from a place
I'm new. I just moved here from Africa.was formerly something
- What? - I used to be home-schooled.offensive term for intellectually disabled — Offensive; do not use it to insult anyone.
I know what home-school is. I'm not retarded.have never visited a place
So you've actually never been to a real school before?no way; stop it — Fine among close friends in disbelief; rude with strangers.
Shut up.create something for someone
- Where did you get it? - Oh, my mom made it for me.object clause: The question is packed into a clause after ask, so the word order stays why they're white.
Oh, my God, Karen, you can't just ask people why they're white.ask others to step away for a moment
After an awkward question, one girl politely asks the new student to step away so the group can talk alone.
Could you give us some privacy for, like, one second?The three words blur together; let the question stress fall on doing.
What are you doing?result clause: So turns the rarity into a conclusion: the invitation is a big deal.
OK, you should just know that we don't do this a lot, so this is, like, a really huge deal.for the remaining days of the week
We wanna invite you to have lunch with us every day for the rest of the week.eat lunch together with someone
We wanna invite you to have lunch with us every day for the rest of the week.cool; okay then — Dated casual slang for cool; avoid in formal settings.
- Oh, it's OK... - Coolness.Jason Gets Dressed Down at Lunch, explained
What's really going on
The scene keeps changing registers: a lunchtime survey, a crude innuendo, a public scolding, then an invitation. The harsh line “So you can go shave your back now” is played for a laugh, but it also sets the group’s currency: whoever gets to define the joke holds the room. When the invitation comes, it is wrapped in rules — “we don't do this a lot, so this is, like, a really huge deal” and “On Wednesdays, we wear pink.” The invitation is flattering, but it is also a rule book. The new student is not simply being welcomed; she is being measured and recruited.
Theme
PowerIn a few minutes, a lunch table becomes a test of who can joke, scold, and invite on their own terms.
IdentityA new student is invited only after being sized up, and the pink rule marks belonging as a dress code.
Listen for
- Can you — In fast speech, can is barely voiced and you glides into answer.
- supposed to — In fast speech, supposed to compresses into one blur; catch the stress on supposed.
- What are you — The three words blur together; let the question stress fall on doing.
Jason. You do not come to a party at my house with Gretchen and then scam on some poor, innocent girl right in front of us three days later.A public accusation: Jason brought one girl to a party and then hit on another in front of everyone, which is being called out as brazen and disrespectful.
So you can go shave your back now.A dismissive punchline that turns the confrontation into mockery; it tells Jason to leave after he has been publicly rejected.
We wanna invite you to have lunch with us every day for the rest of the week.A special invitation: daily lunch for the rest of the week is offered as a privilege, not a casual plan.
Questions about this scene
Why does Jason get called out at lunch?
He is accused of coming to a party with Gretchen and then, three days later, scamming on another girl right in front of them.
What does “fetch” mean in this scene?
It is used to praise a bracelet, then explained as slang “from England.” The follow-up question — what is “fetch”? — shows the word is not treated as ordinary English; it is a group-specific compliment.
Why does the group ask for privacy?
They want a moment to talk among themselves; the next lines say they do not do this often and invite the new student to lunch every day for the rest of the week.
Is the lunch invitation a casual offer?
The line calls it “a really huge deal,” and it comes with a rule: “On Wednesdays, we wear pink.” The invitation is framed as a special exception, not a casual lunch plan.
Mean Girls · 10 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 3hump dayCady Visits Regina's House
Chapter 1queen beeReading the Cafeteria Map
Watching · Chapter 2scam onJason Gets Dressed Down at Lunch
Chapter 3hump dayCady Visits Regina's House
Chapter 4huge crush onCady's Crush Gets Exposed
Chapter 5getting on my last nerveTalent Show Rap and a Formation Switch
Chapter 6You didn't hear it from meThree-Way Call Gossip
Chapter 7the word had gotten outThe Party Gets Out of Hand
Chapter 8girl-on-girl crimeRegina George Gets Called Out
Chapter 9can't help itStudents Confess at Apology Assembly
Chapter 10sudden-death roundCady Wins the Mathletes ChampionshipChapter 2 of 10 · about 22 min to go