You know, in the bottom of my heart after thinking it all over, you're so right.The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 8 of 19 · 4'42" · B2
Klara Asks Kralik for a Night Off, Explained: call it a day
On the night everyone must stay late, Klara asks Kralik for the evening off. He refuses, she pushes back, and an old grudge turns into war. What looks like a scheduling spat is two proud people keeping score. 'Well, you're out of luck,' he tells her; by the end he is the one walking out.
What happens
In Matuschek's Budapest shop, the staff must stay after closing to dress the windows. Klara Novak asks her colleague Kralik for the night off, and he turns her down flat; the exchange becomes a fight about everything they have resented for months. When Kralik then asks Matuschek for the same night off, the owner erupts, and Kralik offers to call it a day.
Listen for
fell for itcall it a dayset an examplehave the nerve
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Now
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Phrase of the scene
call it a day
to stop working and finish for the day
克拉利克和老板越说越僵，他撂下一句也许该收工了，把这场谈不下去的对话画上句号。
We've done enough for today—let's call it a day.
Also in this scene
- fell for it
to be tricked by something
- set an example
to behave in a way others should copy
- have the nerve
居然有脸、竟敢（做某事）
Everything marked in this scene
42 notes across 106 lines
You know, in the bottom of my heart after thinking it all over, you're so right.Of course, I wouldn't admit it at the time but what woman would? We hate to admit we are wrong....you know, this is the first time you've shown a little sense.Quite a change in you, Miss Novak.Now, if you just keep this up and I think we'll be able to get along much better.Do you think you could spare me tonight?And then maybe Mr. Matuschek would let me off.Well, you're out of luck.liaison
Well, you're out of luck.Oh, that was such an obvious trick.to be tricked by something
- I almost fell for it, too. - Please, Mr. Kralik.You know, for the last six months, you've done everything you could to antagonized me and now you have the nerve-- You haven't been very nice to me either.You know, for the last six months, you've done everything you could to antagonized me and now you have the nerve-- You haven't been very nice to me either.No matter what I do, it's wrong.If I make a suggestion and some of them are very good..When I first came into this shop I was full of life and enthusiasm and now I'm nothing!You've taken my personality away!Well, let me tell you, Mr. Kralik any day now I may be in a position where I don't have to work anymore.And then Mr. Kralik, I'll really tell you what I think of you.As for that blouse, I think it's beautiful and I'm going to wear it tonight!Can you get along without Miss Novak tonight?Well, yes, sir. I'd appreciate it very much.Is this the interest you show in my shop?Once a year, I ask you to stay.I'm sorry, sir, if I'd only known yesterday.unreal if-clause
I'm sorry, sir, if I'd only known yesterday.Well, next time, I'll send you an engraved announcement.I have talked everything over with Mr. Kralik.Did I ask you for your advice?I think we can manage without you.Mr. Matuschek, this is the first time in years I have asked a favor. If it weren't so very important-- I've given you your evening. What more do you want?Do you want a brass band to see you off?liaison
Do you want a brass band to see you off?be being for temporary behavior
Mr. Matuschek, I think you're being unjust!Six people I ask, one day a year to be so kind as to redecorate a window.to behave in a way others should copy
And you have the nerve, Mr. Kralik the oldest employee in the place who should set an example.Maybe I have more reason than you think.comparative more ... than
Maybe I have more reason than you think.Well, you can draw your own conclusions.to stop working and finish for the day
Perhaps we'd better call it a day.flap
Perhaps we'd better call it a day.Klara Asks Kralik for a Night Off, explained
What's really going on
The night off is only the trigger. Klara and Kralik have spent months needling each other, and the request gives both of them a chance to settle scores. She flatters him first — 'this is the first time you've shown a little sense' — and he is pleased enough to say they might get along better, then refuses her anyway. She calls it an obvious trick; he calls her out of luck. Matuschek's own resentment is older and pettier still: he counts the gas, the rent, the taxes and their salaries, and treats one annual request for help as betrayal. 'Perhaps we'd better call it a day' is not about a window — it sounds like a resignation dressed as a casual suggestion. Everyone in the shop is keeping a private ledger.
Theme
PrideKlara and Kralik would rather win the exchange than get what they want, trading barbs until neither can back down.
PowerMatuschek turns one request for an evening off into a test of loyalty and ownership: 'Whose shop is this?'
What you'll learn
- Ask politely with spare me tonight.
- Distinguish let me off from let me go.
- Hear out of luck as a pointed refusal.
- Use call it a day to end work.
Listen for
- out of luck — liaison
- see you off — liaison
- call it a day — flap
Of course, I wouldn't admit it at the time but what woman would? We hate to admit we are wrong.A comic defense of stubbornness: no one likes admitting she was wrong, so refusing to back down is presented as a shared human trait.
Well, you're out of luck.A blunt, slightly mocking refusal. The request is denied with no apology and no room to negotiate.
When I first came into this shop I was full of life and enthusiasm and now I'm nothing!The complaint of a longtime employee who feels the job has worn him down — enthusiasm spent, identity drained, blaming the shop.
Perhaps we'd better call it a day.A gentle way to say 'let's stop here.' In context it lands as more than quitting for the night — a resignation offered as a suggestion.
Questions about this scene
Why does Klara need the night off?
She has a date and wants to wear the blouse she had just apologized for. When she hears the staff must stay to dress the windows, she asks Kralik first, then Matuschek, to be excused.
Why does Matuschek refuse to let anyone go?
The window dressing is an annual event, and he expects all six employees to stay. He resents feeling unappreciated — he pays the rent, gas, taxes and salaries — and treats one request as a test of loyalty.
Is Kralik fair to Klara?
He is provoked, but he also enjoys the upper hand: he needles her, then denies the favor anyway. Still, she flatters him mainly to get what she wants, and dismisses his question as an obvious trick.
What does 'Whose shop is this?' show about Matuschek?
Kralik and Novak have been making plans behind the owner's back, and Matuschek feels his authority undercut. The question reminds everyone who decides — and escalates the fight instead of settling it.
What does 'Perhaps we'd better call it a day' really mean here?
On the surface it means 'let's stop for today.' Coming right after the quarrel, it reads as more than the end of a workday — an offer to quit, made to sound casual.
The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 9of one's own accordMatuschek Fires Kralik
Chapter 1make something out of nothingMorning Gossip at Matuschek's
Chapter 2earn one's daily breadThe Anonymous Letter From Box 237
Chapter 3make up your mindMatuschek's Singing Cigarette Box
Chapter 4go through the whole routineA Job Seeker's Sales Pitch
Chapter 5have a weakness forSelling the Musical Candy Box
Chapter 6knock on woodKralik Reveals His Pen Pal
Chapter 7pick on someoneMatuschek Turns on Kralik
Watching · Chapter 8call it a dayKlara Asks Kralik for a Night Off
Chapter 9of one's own accordMatuschek Fires Kralik
Chapter 10mind your own businessMatuschek Learns of the Affair
Chapter 11had enough bad news for todayKralik's Blind Date Is Miss Novak
Chapter 12instead of a heart, a handbagKralik and Novak Meet at the Cafe
Chapter 13kept in strictest confidenceMatuschek Confesses His Jealousy
Chapter 14a yes manKralik Fires Vadas
Chapter 15not in the same planetKralik Visits a Sick Klara
Chapter 16ruin ChristmasThe Staff Choose Christmas Gifts
Chapter 17from the bottom of my heartMatuschek Returns on Christmas Eve
Chapter 18your whole life ahead of youMatuschek Invites a Lonely Boy Home
Chapter 19swept me off my feetKlara Confesses to KralikChapter 8 of 19 · about 51 min to go