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The Mask · 1994 — Chapter 4 of 8 · 4'02" · B1

Peggy Questions Stanley, Explained: you can quote me

A reporter asks what happened and is shut down with "No, and you can quote me." Rubbernecks are cleared. At the office, a picture of his girlfriend is called "the same as stealing," and a coworker warns she only wants "the bigger, better deal." Then Peggy Brandt arrives, asking about an '89 Civic he just denied.

What happens

Someone is late and begging the dog for keys. Elsewhere someone wants a proctologist standing by. A reporter is told "No, and you can quote me," and rubbernecks are ordered out. At work Stanley is scolded over a picture called "the same as stealing," then warned that one girl wants "the bigger, better deal." Peggy Brandt arrives asking about an '89 Civic.

Office chatInvestigationSaying noWarningCoworkersB1american
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down to earthnarrowed it downrubberneckyou can quote me

00:00 / 04:02
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Phrase of the scene

you can quote me

used to say that you are willing to have your words repeated publicly

记者问一个似乎有内幕的女士能否透露情况，她一句都不肯说，还撂下这句让记者随便引用。

This is the best deal on the market, and you can quote me on that.

Also in this scene

  • down to earth

    practical, grounded, unpretentious

  • narrowed it down

    reduce the options to a short list

  • rubberneck

    a person who stares at an accident or scene, a curious onlooker

Everything marked in this scene

28 notes across 80 lines

SoundGet 'em

elision

Get 'em. Find 'em.
Phrase · A1good boyGood boy. Good boy!
Phrase · A2drop itDrop it.
SoundDrop it

liaison

Drop it.
Phrase · B1be standing byI want a proctologist standing by.
Grammar · C1a proctologist standing by

participial complement

I want a proctologist standing by.
Phrase · B1you heard meYou heard me. The best one you can find.
Phrase · B2you can quote me

used to say that you are willing to have your words repeated publicly

No, and you can quote me.
Phrase · B2break the caseThere it is, boys. She broke the case.
SoundThere it is

liaison

There it is, boys. She broke the case.
Slang · C1rubbernecks

gawkers who crane their necks to watch

Get these rubbernecks out of here.
Phrase · B1look all over for someoneThe girls and I were looking all over for you.
Phrase · B1happen to do somethingDid you happen to look outside... In the gutter?
Grammar · B2Did you happen to look

auxiliary question

Did you happen to look outside... In the gutter?
Phrase · B1get a reviewYour girlfriend got a great review.
Phrase · B1the same as somethingThat's the same as stealing.
Phrase · B1never happen againIt'll never happen again. I've been a...Jerk.
Phrase · B1get some work doneWell, if you weren't busy oogling girlie pictures, you might actually get some work done around here.
Grammar · B2if you weren't busy

unreal conditional

Well, if you weren't busy oogling girlie pictures, you might actually get some work done around here.
Slang · B2betcha

a folksy way to say you bet

Oh ho. You betcha.
Slang · B2creep

an unpleasant or creepy person

Then I could be a rich little creep, too.
Phrase · B2the bigger, better dealA girl like that is always looking for the b.B.D.-- the bigger, better deal.
Phrase · B1be down to earth

practical, grounded, unpretentious

You need somebody a little more down to earth,
Grammar · B1a little more down to earth

modified comparative

You need somebody a little more down to earth,
Phrase · B2narrow something down

reduce the options to a short list

Boy, you really narrowed it down.
Phrase · B2be takenToo bad she's already taken.
Phrase · C1be of assistanceHel-lo there. May I be of some assistance?
Phrase · B1ask someone a few questionsActually, I just want to ask you a few questions.

Peggy Questions Stanley, explained

What's really going on

The night leaks into the morning. Someone is late, coaxing a dog to drop the keys. Another one says to watch the bump and demands a proctologist "standing by." A reporter who asks what happened gets "No, and you can quote me." "It looks like a mob tactic" is mocked with "She broke the case," and the rubbernecks are pushed aside. Nobody gives a real account. At the office the story gets thinner. Someone asks where Stanley was last night, gutter included. The paper has given his girlfriend "a great review." A boss treats her picture as "the same as stealing," then asks that she be sent to his office. "A girl like that is always looking for the bigger, better deal." Someone still calls her an artist. The "down to earth" alternative, red hair and a name tag, stops being a joke when Peggy Brandt walks in asking about Ripley Auto Finishing and an '89 Civic. "It's all coming back to me" comes too late.

Theme

SecretsA reporter is told "No, and you can quote me," while coworkers ask where he was last night, down to the gutter.
RomanceOffice talk warns that one girl wants a bigger, better deal, while someone still insists she is an artist.

What you'll learn

  • Use broke the case in the same situation
  • Hear down to earth as pressure, not small talk
  • Catch who the line is aimed at

Listen for

  • Get 'em — elision
  • Drop it — liaison
  • There it is — liaison
No, and you can quote me.

A reporter asking what happened gets nothing but this. The refusal is the only sentence they are allowed to print.

A girl like that is always looking for the b.B.D.-- the bigger, better deal.

A warning that she will leave the moment a richer prospect shows up. The initials are defined in the same breath as the bigger, better deal.

Stanley, forget her. That girl will tear out your heart, put it in a blender, and hit "frapee."

The same warning, pushed into a joke. She will not merely reject him; she will tear his heart out, blend it, and hit frapee.

That's the same as stealing.

Looking at the girlfriend's picture at work is treated as theft. The line is what the apology to Mr. Dickey answers.

Questions about this scene

Why does the reporter get "No, and you can quote me"?

Someone from the Evening Star asks what happened. The reply offers no story, only permission to print that refusal. "It looks like a mob tactic" is brushed off with "She broke the case," and the rubbernecks are ordered out.

Why does he deny having a car?

Asked if he is a Ripley Auto Finishing customer, the answer is that he does not even have a car, because cars pollute. When an '89 Civic is named, he answers "Oh, that car. Yeah" and "It's all coming back to me."

What does B.B.D. mean in the warning?

The line defines it on the spot: the bigger, better deal. It is the claim that a girl like that is always hunting a step up, which is why she should be forgotten. The blender and "frapee" image says the same thing as a joke.

Is that warning fair to her?

The lines never prove it. One voice says she wants the bigger, better deal and will tear his heart out. The answer is "You don't know that. She's an artist" and "She's sensitive." The argument stops there.

Why does Peggy Brandt walk in?

Her introduction is Peggy Brandt from the Tribune. She only wants a few questions, and they are about Ripley Auto Finishing and an '89 Civic. Red hair, a green jacket, and a name tag were someone else's description a moment earlier, not her assignment.

The Mask · 8 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 5beat him to the punchPolice Grill Ipkiss Over Pajamas
Chapter 1crème de la crèmeStanley Hands Over the TicketsChapter 2school is outArguing the Plan Against NikoChapter 3put downStanley Becomes the MaskWatching · Chapter 4you can quote mePeggy Questions StanleyChapter 5beat him to the punchPolice Grill Ipkiss Over PajamasChapter 6written in the starsThe Mask Cornered by PoliceChapter 7I'm historyStanley Confesses He's the MaskChapter 8one hell of a timeStanley at the Police Station
Chapter 4 of 8 · about 16 min to go