Practice got to talk with one clear stress group.
- What are you doing here? - Lenny? Lenny, I got to talk to you.Mighty Aphrodite · 1995 — Chapter 9 of 15 · 2'18" · B2
Linda Asks Lenny for a Favor, Explained: a way with words
Linda turns up at Lenny's apartment with a problem: her business representative Ricky has threatened her for wanting to quit, and he blames Lenny too. She begs Lenny to talk him down, insisting he is the smarter, better man. Lenny does everything he can to avoid the job.
What happens
Linda shows up at Lenny's home under an alias, asking for help. She says she told her 'business representative' Ricky she wants to phase out, and he now threatens to hurt her and Lenny both, because he thinks quitting was Lenny's idea. She wants Lenny to reason with him; Lenny, terrified, refuses.
Listen for
phase outqualms abouta way with wordsreason with him
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Phrase of the scene
a way with words
skill at talking people around
She hires his mouth as the weapon against Ricky.
Get her to call. She has a way with words.
Also in this scene
- phase out
withdraw by stages
- qualms about
moral hesitation about an act
- reason with him
talk a violent man into sense
- conglomerate
a giant combined company
- caliber
gun size; a pedant's spec
Everything marked in this scene
27 notes across 44 lines
"takes a percentage of" is useful here.
Ricky threatened to-- to-- to hurt me. He-- - Who's Ricky? - He takes a percentage of my work.threaten infinitive: The phrase threatened to-- to-- to hurt shapes the meaning of the line.
Ricky threatened to-- to-- to hurt me. He-- - Who's Ricky? - He takes a percentage of my work.a man who lives off sex work — Harsh label; people dodge it with softer job titles.
- He's a pimp, right? - No, he's like a business representative."cut me up" is useful here.
Lenny, he said he was going to cut me up...withdraw by stages
He applauds a staged exit that a pimp will not allow.
Well, I think it's a great idea that you want to phase out.that-clause: The phrase that you want to phase out shapes the meaning of the line.
Well, I think it's a great idea that you want to phase out.Practice want to phase with one clear stress group.
Well, I think it's a great idea that you want to phase out.moral hesitation about an act
Murder is described as something he will not flinch from.
- He has no qualms about killing me. - Ohh."not a big deal" is useful here.
Listen, we'll call the police. That's not a big deal.Practice call the police with one clear stress group.
Listen, we'll call the police. That's not a big deal.your current racket or arrangement — Vague on purpose when the work will not stand daylight.
How can I call the police with my setup?"hazardous business" is useful here.
you're in a hazardous business.skill at talking people around
She hires his mouth as the weapon against Ricky.
- Me? What, are you nuts? - Yeah, because-- Because you're smart and bright and you got a way with words.because clause: The phrase Because you're smart and bright and you got a way with words shapes the meaning of the line.
- Me? What, are you nuts? - Yeah, because-- Because you're smart and bright and you got a way with words.crazy, out of your mind — Spoken pushback, half joke, half panic.
- Me? What, are you nuts? - Yeah, because-- Because you're smart and bright and you got a way with words."get out of the business" is useful here.
Yeah, well, he knows it was your idea that I get out of the business.Practice put a bullet with one clear stress group.
He's gonna cut up my face and put a bullet between your eyes.talk a violent man into sense
The ask stays: reason with a man who promised a bullet.
Listen, I just thought maybe you could just reason with him.Land slight and heart; keep a light.
No, I can't. I-- Listen, I never told you this, but I got a-- a slight heart murmur..."in actuality" is useful here.
Only in actuality. Um, this is not for me.elliptical reply: Only in actuality grants the charge, then steps back.
Only in actuality. Um, this is not for me.emphatic do: The phrase I do want to quit shapes the meaning of the line.
Lenny, I do want to quit like you said, but he said he's not gonna let me!comparative clause: The phrase because you're smarter than he is and stronger than he is shapes the meaning of the line.
- Well, okay. You just-- - I-- You just talk because you're smarter than he is and stronger than he is.Practice than he is with one clear stress group.
- Well, okay. You just-- - I-- You just talk because you're smarter than he is and stronger than he is."a little bit intimidating" is useful here.
He's a little bit intimidating. He's got a bald head and an earring.Practice good man, Lenny with one clear stress group.
- But you'll win. I know you will. - Jesus, I-- I-- You're a good man, Lenny. You'll win.Linda Asks Lenny for a Favor, explained
What's really going on
The scene mixes a real threat with a comedy of cowardice. Linda is frightened and genuine — 'He's gonna cut up my face and put a bullet between your eyes' — but she also believes Lenny can save her because of who he is: 'you're smart and bright and you got a way with words.' Lenny, for his part, does everything to get out of it, citing a heart murmur and insisting that violence is not his world. The humor comes from the gap between his gentle self-image and her total faith in him, and from how easily he admits he is a coward. Underneath, though, both are alone: she has nobody else to ask, and he has to choose between safety and being the man she thinks he is.
Theme
CourageLinda trusts Lenny to face a dangerous man for her, while Lenny openly admits he is too afraid to do it.
FriendshipTheir bond is tested: she has no one else to ask, and he weighs his own safety against her need.
What you'll learn
- Use phase out to describe leaving gradually
- Use reason with someone to persuade them
- Hear no qualms about as strong indifference
- Spot flattery turning into pressure
- Notice how "phase out" changes the exchange.
Listen for
- got to talk — Practice got to talk with one clear stress group.
- want to phase — Practice want to phase with one clear stress group.
- call the police — Practice call the police with one clear stress group.
- put a bullet — Practice put a bullet with one clear stress group.
- Me? What, are you nuts? - Yeah, because-- Because you're smart and bright and you got a way with words.The exchange that shows the two sides of the request: Lenny's panic at being asked, and Linda's reason for believing he is the right person to go.
and right now it's murmuring "hide."Lenny's joke about his heart murmur: instead of beating faster, it is telling him to run away, which is his way of admitting fear.
You're a much better man. So just remember that when you talk to him.Linda's pep talk: she insists Lenny is morally superior to Ricky, hoping that will give him the nerve to face him.
He's gonna cut up my face and put a bullet between your eyes.Her blunt report of Ricky's threat, which turns an argument about quitting into a genuine danger for both of them.
He's a little bit intimidating. He's got a bald head and an earring.Her description of Ricky, meant to prepare Lenny, though the details sound almost childish next to the threat.
Questions about this scene
Why does Linda come to Lenny's apartment?
Her pimp Ricky has threatened her after she said she wants to quit, and she thinks Lenny can talk him out of it. She has no one else to turn to.
Why is Ricky angry at Lenny?
He believes quitting was Lenny's idea, so he blames Lenny for the lost income and threatens him as well as Linda.
Why does Lenny refuse to talk to Ricky?
He is genuinely afraid of violence, admits he is a coward, and says a fight with a threatening man is simply not his world.
What does Lenny mean by his heart murmur?
He uses a real or invented heart condition as a way to say his body is telling him to hide, which is his excuse for not getting involved.
How does the scene end?
Linda keeps insisting Lenny will win because he is the better man, and he keeps resisting, so the favor she needs is left hanging.
Mighty Aphrodite · 15 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 10level with youLenny Negotiates With Ricky
Chapter 1out of left fieldLenny and Amanda Debate a Baby
Chapter 2put my foot downLenny and Amanda Name the Baby
Chapter 3old passionLenny and Amanda's Hamptons Fight
Chapter 4Let sleeping dogs lieLenny Wants to Find Max's Mother
Chapter 5in the ballparkLenny Meets Linda Ash
Chapter 6gone straightLinda Tells Lenny Her Backstory
Chapter 7long shotLenny and Linda at the Races
Chapter 8a hundred percent definiteLinda Reveals She Gave Up a Child
Watching · Chapter 9a way with wordsLinda Asks Lenny for a Favor
Chapter 10level with youLenny Negotiates With Ricky
Chapter 11gave up on youLinda Says She's Starting Over
Chapter 12killer instinctLenny Visits the Boxing Gym
Chapter 13drove me up the wallLenny Sets Linda Up With a Farmer
Chapter 14superfluousLinda and Kevin's Blind Date
Chapter 15flew off the handleKevin Blows Up at LennyChapter 9 of 15 · about 20 min to go