Chapter 30 of 30 · 2'27"
Over tea, Spud lays out the coming exercise: he has gathered intelligence on the Wizard's movements and means to capture him hours before midnight. The friend who gave him the information objects, and Spud's answer is blunt: "Don't be a sissy. In war, anything goes!"
War Starts at Midnight
During a tea break, Spud explains the plan for the exercise: he has the lowdown on the Wizard's movements and will capture him well before the war is supposed to start at midnight. He calls it Nazi methods, and when his friend objects that it is unfair to use the information, he answers that in war anything goes.
The scene is a friendly argument about the ethics of war, played over a cup of tea. Spud has used information given in confidence — "Oh, you would have" — and has no intention of letting fair play get in the way: "Don't be a sissy. In war, anything goes!" His friend is the moral centre, pointing out that the target is a decent old man, and that Spud is exploiting the very information that was handed to him. What makes the scene sting is that Spud wins: the plan goes ahead, and the older man, for all his decency, is caught in his pyjamas. The film keeps this argument unresolved, because it is the argument of the whole war.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“Don't be a sissy. In war, anything goes!”
A jab and a slogan in two beats: he mocks the objection, then declares that no rule applies.
Informal
“War starts at midnight, but we'll bag him hours before that.”
It admits cheating before the whistle and sounds proud of it, which is what makes the prank funny.
Informal
“Yes, and I wish I hadn't told you.”
It admits the truth and regrets the telling in one breath, a feeling almost everyone recognises.
Neutral
“So will I be when I'm over 100. Ah, tea.”
The inverted So will I catches the compliment and cheekily claims it for his future self.
Informal
To teach him a lesson about total war. Instead of waiting for the exercise to begin at midnight, Spud plans to catch him early, using intelligence about his movements.
Because Spud is using information that was given to him in confidence, and because the target is a decent old man. The friend thinks the plan is unfair and mean.
The old commander, known as Sugar Candy. He is the target of the exercise, and the friend clearly admires him, calling him a dear old man.
It means no rules hold in wartime. Spud uses it to justify trickery and unfair tactics, which is exactly the attitude the older man and the friend disagree with.
He is caught by the woman playing Mata Hari and reports that he was got by her, which sends the others rushing to catch her before she warns the Wizard.
