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The Proposal · 2009 — Chapter 6 of 14 · 5'52" · B1

Andrew Brings Margaret Home to Sitka, Explained: pulling your leg

The couple has to share a bedroom at Andrew's family home, and nobody believes they're just coworkers. A blanket called "the Baby Maker," a puppy in training, and one blunt line—"we're not under any illusions that you two don't sleep in the same bed"—turn the evening into a test of how well they can fake being together.

What happens

Margaret and Andrew arrive at his family's home in Sitka, Alaska, where they are given one bedroom and no choice. His relatives assume they sleep together, hand them a blanket with "special powers," and mention a rescue puppy that keeps escaping. Late at night, Margaret takes a call about her author's book while chasing the dog.

Small talkPhone callsTeasingPersuadingCoupleB1slowamerican
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Listen for

pulling your legget down to itturn insnatch

00:00 / 05:52
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  70. ❝ MonologueTalk him into Oprah15 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

pulling your leg

teasing or joking with you

奶奶说别让小狗跑出去，不然会被老鹰叼走；玛格丽特赶紧转头对小狗说，她只是在逗你玩，对吧。

Relax, I was only pulling your leg about the boss quitting.

Also in this scene

  • get down to it

    start dealing with the important matter

  • turn in

    to go to bed; also to hand something in

  • snatch

    to grab something suddenly and roughly

Everything marked in this scene

21 notes across 86 lines

Phrase · B2be under any illusionsOh, sweetie, we're not under any illusions that you two don't sleep in the same bed.
Grammar · B2that you two don't sleep in the same bed

appositive clause

Oh, sweetie, we're not under any illusions that you two don't sleep in the same bed.
Phrase · B1be in trainingThat's Kevin. I'm sorry, Margaret. So cute. We just rescued him from the pound and he's still in training. Sorry.
Phrase · B1pull someone's leg

teasing or joking with you

She's just pulling your leg, isn't she?
Phrase · B1extra towels and linensBy the way, there are extra towels and linens and things in here if you need them.
Phrase · A2get chillyAnd if you get chilly tonight,
Phrase · B1special powersIt has special powers.
Phrase · B2turn in

to go to bed; also to hand something in

Margaret uses the phrase to end the awkward night and escape the shared bedroom.

We'd better turn in. It's been quite an evening.
Phrase · B2quite an eveningWe'd better turn in. It's been quite an evening.
Soundturn in

liaison

We'd better turn in. It's been quite an evening.
Phrase · A2stop complainingStop complaining.
Phrase · B1looks like ...Looks like I won't be getting much sleep with the sun streaming in.
Grammar · B2with the sun streaming in

with-complex

Looks like I won't be getting much sleep with the sun streaming in.
Grammar · B1Looks like I won't be getting much sleep

look-like clause

Looks like I won't be getting much sleep with the sun streaming in.
Phrase · B1horrible serviceI have horrible service, Frank. Give me just one minute.
Phrase · A2give someone a minuteI have horrible service, Frank. Give me just one minute.
Phrase · B2get down to something

start dealing with the important matter

Frank, if I may get down to it, OK, I think it would be a mistake to back out.
Sounddown to

weak form

Frank, if I may get down to it, OK, I think it would be a mistake to back out.
Phrase · B1be up to someoneAnd I think it's up to you to present your legacy to the world.
Soundup to

flap

And I think it's up to you to present your legacy to the world.
Phrase · B1be on all the timeAnd my phone is on all the time. OK, bye-bye.

Andrew Brings Margaret Home to Sitka, explained

What's really going on

Everyone in this house is performing a version of the couple, so the room turns into a stage. The family plays along with a wink—one line, "we're not under any illusions that you two don't sleep in the same bed," makes clear they have already decided the relationship is real. That is the joke and the pressure at once: the two of them must now act like a couple in private, on a mattress, with no audience and no script. The phone call late at night pushes it further. While one of them soothes a nervous author, the other fumbles in the dark and the dog runs loose, so the professional and the personal collide in the same tiny space. The comedy comes from how hard they are both working to keep the lie afloat.

Theme

LiesThe couple must keep performing a relationship for an audience of relatives, and the shared bedroom makes the performance inescapable.
Family loveAndrew's family welcomes Margaret with warmth and teasing, treating her as one of their own long before she has earned it.

What you'll learn

  • Use pull someone's leg to tease
  • Understand under any illusions
  • Use back out for withdrawing
  • Persuade someone with sell someone on something

Listen for

  • turn in — liaison
  • down to — weak form
  • up to — flap
Oh, sweetie, we're not under any illusions that you two don't sleep in the same bed.

A polite way of saying the family already assumes they are sleeping together, so pretending otherwise is pointless.

Looks like I won't be getting much sleep with the sun streaming in.

A dry complaint about the midnight sun in Alaska, and an excuse for the awkward night ahead in the same room.

I don't want to sell you on anything, but this is your legacy, this book.

On the phone, one person insists they are not pressuring the other, then immediately argues the book is too important to refuse.

We'd better turn in. It's been quite an evening.

A gentle way to end an exhausting gathering and escape to bed—here, an escape into the most awkward part of the night.

Questions about this scene

Why do Margaret and Andrew have to share a bedroom?

The family never considers that they might sleep apart. Say they are a couple, and the household simply treats the bedroom arrangement as settled, which leaves them no polite way to object.

Why does Andrew's family tease them so much?

They are delighted that Andrew has finally brought someone home, and the teasing is how they test the couple. The blanket and the shared room are all part of the same warm but pointed welcome.

Who is on the phone late at night?

It is a nervous author whose book Margaret is trying to publish, and he seems close to backing out. She talks him down while the room falls apart around her.

Why is the dog running around during the call?

The rescue puppy is still in training and does not stay put. Its escape during the phone call adds to the chaos and forces Margaret to juggle the dog and the call at once.

How does the night end?

After the call and the chase, the two finally settle into the shared room under the midnight sun, with neither able to sleep and the awkwardness fully intact.

The Proposal · 14 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 7from the ground upAndrew Turns Down the Family Business
Chapter 1let someone goMargaret Fires BobChapter 2turn operations over toMargaret Announces a Fake EngagementChapter 3out of your hairMargaret Fakes a Marriage InterviewChapter 4with cherries on topAndrew Makes Margaret ProposeChapter 5a meal ticketMargaret Meets the Paxton FamilyWatching · Chapter 6pulling your legAndrew Brings Margaret Home to SitkaChapter 7from the ground upAndrew Turns Down the Family BusinessChapter 8called it offMargaret Meets Andrew's ExChapter 9take this the wrong wayMargaret and Andrew Trade SecretsChapter 10a shamThe Paxtons Plan a Barn WeddingChapter 11burst into tearsAnnie Gives Margaret the Heirloom DressChapter 12off the hookThe Sham Marriage ExposedChapter 13get my head on straightMargaret Confesses at the WeddingChapter 14dawned on meAndrew Proposes to Margaret
Chapter 6 of 14 · about 38 min to go