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The Trip · 2011 — Chapter 18 of 20 · 6'21" · B2

Mock Eulogy at the Grave, Explained: stick the knife in

Two friends stand on a grave and treat burial like a petty booking: cremated or buried, and would anyone even turn up. The mock eulogy is the real sport. "behind every little, pithy, vaguely amusing joke is a cry for help" sounds almost tender, until it lands as a roast the dead man cannot answer.

What happens

Standing on a grave, the pair ask whether they would rather be buried or cremated, and whether anyone would turn up. A pretend eulogy for Rob praises his one-liners and calls each joke a cry for help. Somebody later slips into the water and gets told they looked at home there. Over a fried breakfast, one of them admits they are looking forward to being home.

Goodbyes & funeralsTeasingTeasingPromisingFriendsB2british
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Listen for

a cry for helpbrown breadat home in the waterstick the knife in

00:00 / 06:21
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Phrase of the scene

stick the knife in

落井下石、趁机捅刀、往伤口上撒盐

两人在墓地开着葬礼的玩笑，史蒂夫向罗布表态，说自己绝不会真在对方死后补上一刀、说狠话。

He was already upset, and she still stuck the knife in about his old job.

Also in this scene

  • a cry for help

    a hidden plea for attention or support

  • brown bread

    Cockney rhyming slang for dead

  • at home in the water

    feeling relaxed and competent in the water

Everything marked in this scene

32 notes across 106 lines

Grammar · B1so that I have a headstone

so that for purpose

I think I would like to be buried, so that I have a headstone, like Elvis,
Phrase · B2put pressure on someonebut I think that when you have a headstone and you're in a place, it puts great pressure on your family, your surviving family, to visit you.
Phrase · B1be happy with eitherI'm happy with either.
Phrase · B2suit someone fineIf they buried you or cremated you, they would both suit me fine.
Phrase · C1pad out the numbersIf only to pad out the numbers, you know.
Grammar · C1He would have loved this

would have done

He would have loved this."
Phrase · C1no riposte from someoneNo riposte from you, 'cause you're dead.
Phrase · B2a man in a boxI would literally be a man in the box.
Phrase · C1be safe in the knowledge that ...I know, it would have been great, but I'd be safe in the knowledge that
Slang · C1brown breadI could do that, and he won't come back with his man in a box, which would have been brilliant, but he can't, 'cause he's brown bread.
Grammar · B2he has asked specifically to come up

present perfect

you'll know him, of course, as TV's Alan Partridge, and he has asked specifically to come up and take 25, 30 minutes to talk about his friend Rob.
Phrase · B2art house filmsOh, you may also know Steve from some of his very good art house films that have been very well reviewed by some of the broadsheet newspapers.
Phrase · B2broadsheet newspapersOh, you may also know Steve from some of his very good art house films that have been very well reviewed by some of the broadsheet newspapers.
Phrase · C1our good departed friendVery much alive compared with our good departed friend Rob Brydon.
Phrase · B2a cry for help

a hidden plea for attention or support

Although he made me laugh and made us all laugh, I think, there was something about him that was lost, something about him that seemed unable to confront the reality of life, and so when I think of Rob, I think of him with both a smile at some of the funny, pithy one-liners he would come out with on Radio 4 panel shows, but also for the man inside, because behind every little, pithy, vaguely amusing joke is a cry for help.
Grammar · C1behind every little, pithy, vaguely amusing joke is a cry for help

fronting inversion

Although he made me laugh and made us all laugh, I think, there was something about him that was lost, something about him that seemed unable to confront the reality of life, and so when I think of Rob, I think of him with both a smile at some of the funny, pithy one-liners he would come out with on Radio 4 panel shows, but also for the man inside, because behind every little, pithy, vaguely amusing joke is a cry for help.
Sounda cry for help

liaison

Although he made me laugh and made us all laugh, I think, there was something about him that was lost, something about him that seemed unable to confront the reality of life, and so when I think of Rob, I think of him with both a smile at some of the funny, pithy one-liners he would come out with on Radio 4 panel shows, but also for the man inside, because behind every little, pithy, vaguely amusing joke is a cry for help.
Phrase · B2confront the truthwho was lost, desperately trying to legitimize his life by doing silly voices constantly and not confronting the truth.
Phrase · C1give levity to somethingthe Rob Brydon who gave some levity to our life and helped us avoid confronting the harsh realities and helped us avoid looking at the brutal reality of what life is.
Phrase · B1who can forget ...Who can forget his Tom Jones impression?
Phrase · B2stick the knife inI'd... I would never stick the knife in.
Phrase · B2good sportThat's all good sport.
Phrase · B2go the other wayShould it go the other way.
Slang · C1Fucking hellFucking hell.
Phrase · B2get stuck halfwayYou've got stuck halfway towards your destination!
Phrase · B2be stuck in somethingYou're stuck in a metaphor!
Grammar · B2looked at home in the water

look + adjective

You looked at home in the water.
Soundat home in the water

liaison

You looked at home in the water.
Phrase · B2branch out into somethingI could see you perhaps branching out into more action roles.
Phrase · A2how come ...How come you've left your black pudding?
Phrase · A2look forward to somethingThis is nice, but if I'm being very honest with you, I'm looking forward to being home now.
Soundlooking forward to

liaison

This is nice, but if I'm being very honest with you, I'm looking forward to being home now.

Mock Eulogy at the Grave, explained

What's really going on

The funeral talk is a contest dressed up as intimacy. Agreeing to attend "If only to pad out the numbers" offers affection and withdraws it in the same breath. The eulogy repeats the move: Rob is "very funny, very entertaining," and every joke is then filed as "a cry for help." Praise does the cutting. "I would never stick the knife in" shows up only after that speech, and the next line, about being tickled with a knife, admits the attack is the game. "brown bread" and the coffin bit keep death as a punchline. Even a fall into the water is turned into material on the spot: not a soaking but "a metaphor," then a remark that someone looked "at home in the water" and might take action roles. Breakfast calls the sunny fry-up as good as England gets, and someone still adds, "I'm looking forward to being home now."

Theme

Dark humorBurial, cremation, and a full mock eulogy are played as banter, right down to calling a dead man brown bread.
FriendshipShowing up at the funeral is promised, then immediately priced as padding the numbers, and the knife is offered only as a tickle.

What you'll learn

  • Stick the knife in as a verbal stab
  • Stuck in a metaphor as mud plus rhetoric
  • Pad out as filling a crowd

Listen for

  • a cry for help — liaison
  • at home in the water — liaison
  • looking forward to — liaison
I don't dislike it, but I'm never sure about it.

Said of the black pudding left on the plate. Not a real dislike, and not a yes either: the person simply never reaches for it, because the choice feels risky.

I'd... I would never stick the knife in.

A promise not to attack a friend after he is gone. It lands in the middle of a roast, and the very next line turns the knife into a tickle, so the promise is the joke.

If they buried you or cremated you, they would both suit me fine.

The flat answer to buried or cremated. Either one would be fine, which sounds loyal until you notice how little feeling is in it. Comfort, with the warmth left out.

This is nice, but if I'm being very honest with you, I'm looking forward to being home now.

The sunny breakfast has just been praised as unbeatable. This keeps the praise and steps away from it: the day is nice, and the speaker would still rather be home.

Questions about this scene

Why are they talking about burial while standing on a grave?

Someone notices they are standing on a grave and apologizes, and the talk jumps straight to cremation or a headstone. One of them wants a marker like Elvis, then worries a grave would pressure the family to keep visiting. Nobody is making arrangements. A bit of scenery has turned into a game about who would show up.

What does brown bread mean here?

Cockney rhyming slang. Brown bread rhymes with dead, so saying someone is brown bread means he is dead. It comes up in a bit about a man in his coffin who cannot answer back. The rhyme lets them swing at each other without saying the blunt word.

Is the mock eulogy a tribute or an attack?

It wears the shape of a tribute. Rob is called interesting, funny, and entertaining, and the other side of him is said to have given people levity. The same speech says he was lost, dodged the truth, and that every little joke is a cry for help. Steve is announced as the friend who will talk for half an hour. The man in the box is not around to answer.

Why shout that someone is stuck in a metaphor?

One of them is told not to run because there will be moss, and then he is in the water, short of wherever he was headed. The friend still on the bank treats the slip as a gag: stuck halfway, therefore stuck inside a metaphor. The person in the water says it is not a metaphor at all. The slip is played as a bit, not as an accident.

Why does breakfast end with wanting to go home?

A sunny day and a fried breakfast get called as good as it gets. The following line keeps the compliment and drops it: this is nice, and the speaker is looking forward to being home. The answer is "You and me both." The food can be glorious and the trip can still be over in their heads.

The Trip · 20 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 19if push came to shoveHiring Divers for the Gesture
Chapter 1have someone down asSteve and Rob Set OffChapter 2part of its charmSteve and Rob Share a RoomChapter 3take a long, hard look in the mirrorThe Michael Caine Impression DuelChapter 4in a troughSteve Calls From the TroughChapter 5put someone on the back footCalls on the Road to CartmelChapter 6the king of understatementBond Impressions Over DinnerChapter 7living the dreamTelling Steve He's Living the DreamChapter 8method in my madnessSteve and Rob at Greta HallChapter 9contend withSteve and Rob Rank Their CareersChapter 10not unlikeTurned Away at Dove CottageChapter 11at first lightSteve and Rob's Costume DramaChapter 12not a lot of people knowThe Michael Caine ImpressionsChapter 13Cut to the chaseSteve Takes His Agent's CallChapter 14don't come running to meShushed on the B RoadsChapter 15a wee bitA Phone Call by the LakeChapter 16an albatross around my neckCoogan and Brydon Compare CareersChapter 17as empty experiences goDad Phones Joe About DrinkingWatching · Chapter 18stick the knife inMock Eulogy at the GraveChapter 19if push came to shoveHiring Divers for the GestureChapter 20as broad as it's longSteve Leaves His Parents
Chapter 18 of 20 · about 9 min to go