Folks, I have great news for ya.The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 16 of 19 · 3'08" · B2
The Staff Choose Christmas Gifts, Explained: ruin Christmas
The staff are choosing Christmas presents: a gift for their hospitalized boss, and one for Pirovitch's wife's uncle. The comedy is in the second gift — Pirovitch admits he despises the man, and picks something deliberately bad on purpose: "it's worth it to ruin my wife's uncle's Christmas."
What happens
On Christmas Eve the staff of Matuschek and Company learn their boss is recovering in hospital and debate a gift for him. One says the best present is a sold-out shop with money in the register. Later a clerk tries to buy a cigarette box for his wife's uncle, finds the only good one already taken, and the two coworkers settle on another gift.
Listen for
on one's word of honorkeep a secretruin Christmasan empty shop
00:00 / 03:08Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
ruin Christmas
to spoil someone's Christmas
皮罗维奇对诺瓦克小姐说，与其心疼烟盒的价钱，不如想想它能让妻子舅舅过一个糟心的圣诞节。
He bought the ugliest gift on purpose to ruin Christmas.
Also in this scene
- on one's word of honor
a solemn promise you stake your reputation on
- keep a secret
to not tell anyone what you have been told
- an empty shop
a shop stripped bare of goods
Everything marked in this scene
29 notes across 53 lines
weak form
Folks, I have great news for ya.I talked to the hospital, and Mr. Matuschek is much better.Oh, let's all get together and buy him a nice Christmas present.superlative for the extreme
Well, that's all very nice, but I think the biggest Christmas present we could give him tonight is an empty bare-looking shop with nothing in it except money in the cash register.Let's make this the biggest Christmas Eve in the history of Matuschek and Company.And it's going to be tough. But don't overdo it.And it's going to be tough. But don't overdo it.Now, Miss Novak, I wonder if I could ask a little favor of you?could for a polite request
Now, Miss Novak, I wonder if I could ask a little favor of you?With pleasure, Mr. Pirovitch.to not tell anyone what you have been told
Mr. Pirovitch, can you keep a secret?a solemn promise you stake your reputation on
On my word of honor.liaison
On my word of honor.Maybe, you never know.Then let's drop the whole thing.I hate to spend a nickel on him.to spoil someone's Christmas
But it's worth it to ruin my wife's uncle's Christmas.Oh, no, no, Mr. Pirovitch. Speak freely.Tell me, if, uh, you were in my position what would you give him?second conditional
Tell me, if, uh, you were in my position what would you give him?That's hard to say.What would you say to the idea of uh, well, let's say, maybe, a wallet?elision
What would you say to the idea of uh, well, let's say, maybe, a wallet?Uh, you mean, uh, one of those imported pig skins?- That's what I was thinking of. - You can't miss.If I would get such a wallet, I would be one of the happiest men in the world.I'll think it over.liaison
I'll think it over.The Staff Choose Christmas Gifts, explained
What's really going on
The staff's first instinct is a warm gesture: a little tree for the boss's hospital room. The reply reframes the holiday in business terms — "the biggest Christmas present we could give him tonight is an empty bare-looking shop with nothing in it except money in the cash register." Devotion to the shop is measured in sales, not sentiment. The second gift is the darker joke. Pirovitch must give his wife's uncle something, but he resents the obligation, and he turns it into a small act of revenge, choosing a present the man will hate: "But it's worth it to ruin my wife's uncle's Christmas." Generosity here is riddled with grudges, and by the end the staff have redirected the gift money toward a wallet — pointedly for Kralik.
Theme
MoneyThe staff treat a sold-out shop and a full cash register as the boss's real Christmas gift, pricing even goodwill.
Dark humorPirovitch buys his despised relative a gift chosen so the man will hate it, calling it worth the money.
What you'll learn
- Use keep a secret for confidentiality.
- Make polite requests with I wonder if I could.
- Hear You can't miss as a confident recommendation.
- Use drop the whole thing to abandon an idea.
Listen for
- for ya — weak form
- word of honor — liaison
- What would you say — elision
- think it over — liaison
Well, that's all very nice, but I think the biggest Christmas present we could give him tonight is an empty bare-looking shop with nothing in it except money in the cash register.The real gift for the boss isn't a tree or a trinket but strong holiday sales: a stripped shop and a full register.
But it's worth it to ruin my wife's uncle's Christmas.He will gladly pay the coin for the box because the point is not the gift but making the man's holiday miserable.
I hate to spend a nickel on him.He resents every cent spent on a relative he dislikes, summing up his stinginess in one blunt line.
Let's make this the biggest Christmas Eve in the history of Matuschek and Company.A rallying cry that turns Christmas Eve into a sales record, treating the shop's takings as the holiday's true meaning.
Questions about this scene
Why does the staff decide the best Christmas gift for Matuschek is a full cash register?
Because a packed, sold-out shop means the business he rebuilt is thriving while he recovers. They read his pride as tied to the store's success, so strong sales feel more meaningful than any object.
Why does Pirovitch want a gift his wife's uncle will hate?
He dislikes the man and must give him something anyway, so he wants the present to fail. The box costs 2.29, and for him that price is worth it if it spoils the uncle's Christmas.
What does Miss Novak mean by a ring on her finger?
She hints that the man she is buying the cigarette box for will propose over Christmas. Earlier she says he is coming to celebrate Christmas Eve, so the box is meant for her suitor, not a relative.
Why is it a problem that Miss Novak bought the only Ochi Tchornya box that works?
Pirovitch needs it as a gift, but Kralik tells him she took the only one that really works, so he has to ask her to give it up. She bought it for her boyfriend, which sets up the wallet idea instead.
The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 17from the bottom of my heartMatuschek Returns on Christmas Eve
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
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
Watching · 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 16 of 19 · about 11 min to go