“This one tasted like a goodbye kiss.”
Why it's great
Instead of naming the sadness, he tastes it, and the whole hunch lands in one image.
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literary
Use it yourself
That hug felt like a goodbye, not a hello.
00:00 / 02:13
00:00 / 02:13
Linus Changes All the Plans, Explained
Sabrina · 1954
Chapter 17 of 18 · 2'13"
In one morning Linus tears up his own business plan — tankers turned back, the plant stopped, the merger scrapped, the wedding called off — and books David onto the Paris boat with Sabrina. Then Fairchild undercuts it: "This one tasted like a goodbye kiss." The man who arranged everything finally adds it all up.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:23–1:06
❝ Monologue · 6 lines Linus Reverses His Own Deal
43s - 1:33–2:12
Fairchild Reads the Kiss
38s
Linus Changes All the Plans, explained
What happens
Linus arrives late and immediately starts rewriting everything: tankers bound for Puerto Rico are ordered back, the new plant stops, the plastics merger is scrapped, and the wedding to Elizabeth is called off. He then sends David to Paris on the boat with Sabrina. Fairchild, who drove Sabrina home, tells Linus the kiss she gave him tasted like goodbye.
What's really going on
For once Linus isn't calculating — or rather, he's calculating for someone else. Reversing the merger, the plant, and the wedding means giving up the business victory he spent the film engineering, and he does it without hesitation. But he still misreads the situation: he thinks he's sending Sabrina away to Paris with David, exactly as planned, when Fairchild tells him the goodbye kiss had "a few tears in it." Linus dismisses it — "You're just imagining things" — and Fairchild answers, "I may know nothing about Dow Jones Averages, but I do know something about kisses." That's when the man who moves tankers finally "adds two and two together," and the real reason for all the rearranging lands.
Key lines & what they mean
- “This one tasted like a goodbye kiss.”
- Fairchild's verdict on the kiss Sabrina gave him: not a casual peck but a farewell. It's the clue that tells Linus her feelings have changed.
- “Well, I may know nothing about Dow Jones Averages, but I do know something about kisses.”
- Fairchild can't read a stock table, but he can read a kiss — a servant's knowledge against the businessman's. It's the film's neatest reversal of expertise.
- “Tell them to radio all our tankers bound for Puerto Rico to turn back.”
- The first order of the day: reverse the fleet heading to the Puerto Rico deal. It signals that Linus is dismantling his own merger before anyone can stop him.
- “Aren't you pleased with the news? What's the matter with you?”
- Linus expects David to be thrilled about the Paris trip; instead David is troubled. The line marks how far apart the brothers' understanding of the situation is.
- “I've been calling the house for an hour, and he isn't there.”
- The search for David has been going on all morning. It sets up the rush to get him onto the boat before it sails at noon.
Theme
- Romance — Linus gives up the deal and the wedding he engineered, and a single kiss finally tells him why.
- Power — He can reverse tankers, plants, and a merger in one morning — but he can't order a kiss to mean something else.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level4/7
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“Well, I may know nothing about Dow Jones Averages, but I do know something about kisses.”
Why it's great
He shrugs off the market and claims the one expertise that matters here, and the contrast is charming.
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Neutral
Use it yourself
I may know nothing about cars, but I do know something about engines.
“Tell them to radio all our tankers bound for Puerto Rico to turn back.”
Why it's great
One order turns a whole fleet around, and the casual scale of it shows exactly who he is.
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Formal
Use it yourself
Tell them to hold all orders until Monday.
“Aren't you pleased with the news? What's the matter with you?”
Why it's great
Two quick questions press him, half teasing and half worried, which is how brothers really push.
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Informal
Use it yourself
Aren't you excited about the offer? What's the matter with you?
“I've been calling the house for an hour, and he isn't there.”
Why it's great
An hour of failed calls and one flat absence turn a small report into visible worry.
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Neutral
Use it yourself
I've been waiting at the gate for an hour, and nobody came.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Linus cancels everything
First, call Larrabee Shipping. Tell them to radio all our tankers bound for Puerto Rico to turn back. Next, call Larrabee Construction, tell them to stop work on the new plant. We're cancelling the Larrabee Plastics merger. We are? Next, I want Mr Larrabee, Sr, Mr Tyson and Miss Elizabeth Tyson here in this office as soon as possible.
He issues one cancellation after another like a checklist, and the calm hides how much it costs him.
Up next · 18if it's any consolationThe scene: Sabrina Says Goodbye to Her FatherTakeaways
What you walk away with- One set of orders cancels a merger, a wedding and a shipment.
- Miss McCardle's We are? is the only resistance in the room.
- Linus reads a goodbye kiss where others see affection.
- The whole morning is run like a checklist.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does Linus cancel the plastics merger?
Because he's given up on the plan to marry David to Elizabeth Tyson. Once the wedding is off, the merger built on it no longer serves him, so he reverses the whole scheme.
Why is Linus sending David to Paris?
He wants David to go with Sabrina, so the trip she thought she'd take alone becomes a trip for the two of them. It looks like a gift, but it's also Linus handing her over.
Why does Fairchild think the kiss was a goodbye?
His daughter kissed him on the way out and said nothing. To Fairchild, the kiss felt like farewell — and, as he says, he knows something about kisses.
What does Linus fail to understand at first?
He thinks the trip will fix everything and brushes off Fairchild's warning: "You're just imagining things." Only when Fairchild describes the goodbye kiss does Linus grasp what it means.
What clue makes Linus realize the truth?
Fairchild's description of the kiss, added to the champagne glasses and the plastics deal. Linus finally 'adds two and two together' and understands his own feelings.