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The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 3 of 19 · 2'23" · B2

Matuschek's Singing Cigarette Box, Explained: make up your mind

Matuschek wants to stock a cigarette box that plays 'Ochi Tchornya,' and asks his staff for an honest opinion. One employee flatters him, another hedges; Kralik gives real reasons to say no. But it isn't about leather and glue — it's about who may disagree with the boss. 'You just sell things and let me do the buying, huh?'

What happens

In Matuschek's Budapest shop, the owner brings out a cigarette box that plays 'Ochi Tchornya' and wants his clerks' verdict. Vadas calls it sensational; Novak says anyone who smokes and likes the tune will approve. Kralik alone objects: at twenty cigarettes a day, the customer would hear the song twenty times a day, and the imitation leather will fall apart. Matuschek phones the supplier and cancels.

Talking to the bossMeetingsSaying noExplainingBoss & employeeB2fastamericanClean
IMDb ↗

Listen for

make up your mindnot quite sure aboutfall apartin reference to

00:00 / 02:23
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Now
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Phrase of the scene

make up your mind

to decide firmly

克拉利克刚把烟盒贬得一文不值，马图谢克当着众人夸他拿主意快，这句话是反着说的。

You should make up your mind before we book the tickets.

Also in this scene

  • not quite sure about

    to be not entirely certain about something

  • fall apart

    to break into pieces or collapse

  • in reference to

    regarding or concerning something

Everything marked in this scene

34 notes across 47 lines

Phrase · A2what do you think of somethingI can buy two dozen of these cigarette boxes at Miklos Brothers. What do you think of it?
Soundlistened to

liaison

But you haven't listened to it. It plays "Ochi Tchornya."
Phrase · B1even if ...Well, even if it played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony I'd still say no. No, I just don't like the idea.
Phrase · B1not like the ideaWell, even if it played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony I'd still say no. No, I just don't like the idea.
Phrase · A2make up one's mind

to decide firmly

It's wonderful the way you can make up your mind so quickly.
Phrase · B1be in the businessI've been in this business for 35 years.
Phrase · B1it took someone time to do somethingIt took me a whole hour to decide that I like this box.
Grammar · B1It took me a whole hour to decide

it takes someone time to do something

It took me a whole hour to decide that I like this box.
Phrase · B2someone is a geniusBut, of course, you're a genius.
Phrase · B1so much more than someoneYou know so much more than I.
Phrase · B1look here- Yes, Mr. Matuschek? - Look here.
Phrase · B1someone's honest opinionNow, I want your honest opinion.
Phrase · B1all I want is something'All I want is your honest opinion.'
Slang · B2sensationalI think it's sensational!
Phrase · B1think something overYeah, well, Mr. Kralik have you thought it over?
Phrase · B1give someone one reasonWell, give me one reason!
Grammar · B1let's say that a man smokes

let's say for a hypothetical

Well, let's say that a man smokes 20 cigarettes a day.
Phrase · B1that means ...That means that 20 times a day he has to open this box and 20 times a day he has to listen to "Ochi Tchornya."
Phrase · B1a terrible ideaIt's a perfectly terrible idea.
Phrase · B1and besidesAnd besides, it's imitation leather,
Phrase · B1fall apart

to break into pieces or collapse

the glue's no good in two weeks the whole thing will fall apart and all you'll have left is "Ochi Tchornya."
Phrase · B2all someone has left is somethingthe glue's no good in two weeks the whole thing will fall apart and all you'll have left is "Ochi Tchornya."
Grammar · B1You don't have to tell me

don't have to for lack of necessity

You don't have to tell me that-that-that it's imitation leather. I know that.
Sounddo the

weak form

You just sell things and let me do the buying, huh?
Slang · B1huhYou just sell things and let me do the buying, huh?
Phrase · B2in reference to something

regarding or concerning something

Excuse me, Mr. Matuschek. Miklos Brothers on the telephone in reference to the cigarette box.
Phrase · A2call someone backCan I call you back in about five minutes? I..
Phrase · A2think about something...I'd like a little more time to think about it.
Soundabout it

liaison

...I'd like a little more time to think about it.
Phrase · B1not quite sure about somethingIt's just that I-I'm not quite sure about the whole idea.
Phrase · B2can't expect someone to do somethingYou can't expect me to make up my mind in five minutes!
Grammar · B2can't expect me to make up my mind

expect someone to do something

You can't expect me to make up my mind in five minutes!
Phrase · B1if that's the caseWell, if that's the case, then I'll have to say no.
Phrase · B1have to say noWell, if that's the case, then I'll have to say no.

Matuschek's Singing Cigarette Box, explained

What's really going on

Matuschek asks for an honest opinion, but what he wants is agreement. He pre-empts dissent by announcing that he has been in this business for 35 years, and when Kralik argues against the box, he cuts him off: 'You just sell things and let me do the buying, huh?' The shop works like a small court. One clerk, angling for favor, calls the box sensational; another stays safely noncommittal. Kralik's objection is the only one built on facts — twenty openings a day, cheap glue, imitation leather — and the only one that costs him something. Matuschek hangs up on the supplier saying no, but the point is already clear: the opinions were never the question, the hierarchy was.

Theme

PowerThe boss invites opinions but punishes the one that disagrees, so the real subject is who holds authority.
MoneyA cheap imported novelty — imitation leather, bad glue — stands in for decisions made by rank, not evidence.

What you'll learn

  • Use make up your mind to talk about deciding.
  • Hear think it over as a request for time.
  • Use even if…still… to hold your position.
  • Use fall apart for a product that breaks down.

Listen for

  • listened to — liaison
  • do the — weak form
  • about it — liaison
Well, even if it played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony I'd still say no. No, I just don't like the idea.

A flat refusal. Even Beethoven's Ninth couldn't sell him on it, and he won't dress the no up as economics — he simply dislikes the whole idea.

It's wonderful the way you can make up your mind so quickly.

A sarcastic compliment: admiration for how fast Matuschek decided, aimed at a man who claimed to need time and an hour just to pick a box he liked.

Well, if that's the case, then I'll have to say no.

Matuschek's exit line on the phone: if the supplier won't give him time to think, the answer is no. It mirrors the pressure he puts on his own clerks.

It's a perfectly terrible idea.

Kralik's verdict after doing the math: twenty cigarettes a day means twenty hearings of the tune. A few words, and the scheme is dead.

Questions about this scene

Why does Matuschek ask for opinions if he has already decided?

He wants the decision to feel like the staff's, and he wants to hear agreement. The moment Kralik disagrees, Matuschek's line — 'You just sell things and let me do the buying' — shows the opinion was never really up for debate.

Is Kralik right to object to the cigarette box?

His reasoning is sound: a twenty-a-day smoker would hear the tune twenty times a day, and cheap glue on imitation leather would fail within weeks. The scene lets him be both right and out of line with his boss.

Who is Miklos in this scene?

Miklos Brothers is the supplier offering the cigarette boxes, not a character in the shop. Matuschek calls them back, asks for more time, then declines the order — the box that nearly started an argument is never bought.

How does the phone call change things?

Matuschek asks Miklos Brothers for five more minutes, then bristles at being rushed. When the supplier presses him, he says no — the same impatience he showed Kralik, now turned against him.

The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 4go through the whole routineA Job Seeker's Sales Pitch
Chapter 1make something out of nothingMorning Gossip at Matuschek'sChapter 2earn one's daily breadThe Anonymous Letter From Box 237Watching · Chapter 3make up your mindMatuschek's Singing Cigarette BoxChapter 4go through the whole routineA Job Seeker's Sales PitchChapter 5have a weakness forSelling the Musical Candy BoxChapter 6knock on woodKralik Reveals His Pen PalChapter 7pick on someoneMatuschek Turns on KralikChapter 8call it a dayKlara Asks Kralik for a Night OffChapter 9of one's own accordMatuschek Fires KralikChapter 10mind your own businessMatuschek Learns of the AffairChapter 11had enough bad news for todayKralik's Blind Date Is Miss NovakChapter 12instead of a heart, a handbagKralik and Novak Meet at the CafeChapter 13kept in strictest confidenceMatuschek Confesses His JealousyChapter 14a yes manKralik Fires VadasChapter 15not in the same planetKralik Visits a Sick KlaraChapter 16ruin ChristmasThe Staff Choose Christmas GiftsChapter 17from the bottom of my heartMatuschek Returns on Christmas EveChapter 18your whole life ahead of youMatuschek Invites a Lonely Boy HomeChapter 19swept me off my feetKlara Confesses to Kralik
Chapter 3 of 19 · about 71 min to go