a polite way to ask permission
Do you mind if I sit here?Uncle Frank · 2020 — Chapter 4 of 17 · 1'53" · B1
Bruce and Beth Meet at College, Explained: try me
Two students kill time before class with the usual getting-to-know-you questions, but the small talk has an edge. "Well, try me," one says, daring the other to prove a tiny hometown exists; later, "Something tells me that you and I are gonna be spending a lot of time together" turns a chance meeting into something more deliberate.
What happens
Before class on a college campus, a young man asks to share a stranger's table. They trade names and hometowns, then compare favorite authors. When the professor's name, Bledsoe, comes up, one of them turns out to be family, and the other asks for an introduction. The chat ends on a warm, flirty note.
Listen for
try medictatedo you mind if ...something tells me ...
00:00 / 01:53Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
try me
go ahead and test me
贝丝说那是你没听过的小地方，布鲁斯回一句 try me，意思是尽管说，我可能真知道。
You think I cannot name all fifty states? Try me.
Also in this scene
- dictate
to order or control something
- do you mind if ...
a polite way to ask permission
- something tells me ...
I have a strong feeling or hunch that ...
Everything marked in this scene
22 notes across 39 lines
do you mind if
Do you mind if I sit here?liaison
Do you mind if I sit here?No, a tiny little town you've never heard of, I'm sure.liaison
No, a tiny little town you've never heard of, I'm sure.go ahead and test me
Well, try me.I'm from Bismarck, North Dakota, but I tell people I'm from Greenwich.I've decided I'm gonna be who I want to beinstead of letting other people dictate who I am.instead of + gerund
instead of letting other people dictate who I am.Other people or facts, apparently.I can't pick just one.elision
Actually, I want to take this, um...Uh, I think the professor's name is Bledsoe.I hear he's amazing. Frank Bledsoe?Uh, he's my uncle.Seriously?Would you mind introducing me to him? I mean, at some point.Would you mind introducing me to him? I mean, at some point.I have a strong feeling or hunch that ...
Something tells me that you and I are gonna be spending a lot of time together.Something tells me that you and I are gonna be spending a lot of time together.that-clause as object
Something tells me that you and I are gonna be spending a lot of time together.Bruce and Beth Meet at College, explained
What's really going on
Underneath the book talk, both are performing a version of themselves. One hides where he's really from, then declares he'll decide who he is: 'instead of letting other people dictate who I am' — a manifesto disguised as small talk, which the other instantly pricks with 'Other people or facts, apparently.' The favorite-author lists work as a personality test: women on one side, men on the other, each noticing. When the professor's name finally comes up, the banter turns into an opening — 'Would you mind introducing me to him?' — and the reply, 'Something tells me that you and I are gonna be spending a lot of time together,' makes the interest mutual and almost flirtatious.
Theme
IdentityOne student reframes his whole background as self-invention, insisting he'll decide who he is rather than let others do it.
Coming of ageTwo young people test each other through small talk, turning a classmate's relative into a reason to stay in touch.
What you'll learn
- Use Do you mind if to ask for a seat
- Hear instead of letting as refusing a label
- Catch the jab in Other people or facts
- Use Something tells me for a hunch
- Soften a favor with Would you mind
Listen for
- mind if I — liaison
- never heard of — liaison
- want to take — elision
instead of letting other people dictate who I am.He wants to define himself on his own terms, rather than let anyone else decide who he is.
Something tells me that you and I are gonna be spending a lot of time together.A playful prediction that this chance meeting will grow into something more; it turns a request for an introduction into an almost flirtatious invitation.
I've decided I'm gonna be who I want to beA statement of self-invention: he presents his identity as a choice, not something handed to him by where he comes from.
No, a tiny little town you've never heard of, I'm sure.She expects her hometown to mean nothing to a stranger, half apology and half a test of whether he'll bother to ask.
Questions about this scene
Why does Bruce say he's from Greenwich when he's really from North Dakota?
He's trying on an identity he'd rather have. Naming a polished, well-known place is part of his claim that he gets to decide who he is. The joke is that the other person instantly catches the gap between the story and the facts.
What does "try me" mean when one of them says their town is too small to know?
It's a light challenge: go ahead, test me. He doubts the town is so obscure that he couldn't have heard of it, and it keeps the small talk playful instead of awkward.
Is the request to meet the professor just an excuse to keep talking?
It works as both. The introduction gives a practical reason to stay in touch, and the closing line makes clear the interest is personal.
Why does the professor's name change the mood of the conversation?
Until then it's friendly chitchat about hometowns and books. Once the name Bledsoe comes up, it turns out one of them is family, and the other suddenly has a concrete reason to keep the conversation going.
Uncle Frank · 17 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 5take no for an answerFrank Comes Out to Beth
Chapter 1pick on someoneDaddy Mac Mocks Frank's Gift
Chapter 2get to chooseFrank Lets Beth Rename Herself
Chapter 3slave awayCharlotte Meets Frank's Family
Watching · Chapter 4try meBruce and Beth Meet at College
Chapter 5take no for an answerFrank Comes Out to Beth
Chapter 6in my bloodWally Pushes Frank to Come Out
Chapter 7push someone awayFrank Pushes Wally Away After the Call
Chapter 8worth the troubleBeth Opens Up to Frank
Chapter 9there for meWally Shows Up at Frank's Door
Chapter 10Nice always hides somethingWally Asks Beth About Frank
Chapter 11kept in touchMike Apologizes to Frank
Chapter 12make up her own mindBeth Defends Staying at the Motel
Chapter 13turn his back on youMac Bledsoe's Eulogy and Threats
Chapter 14the female frontAunt Butch Grills Frank at the Wake
Chapter 15nothing but disgustThe Will Humiliates Frank
Chapter 16say it to my faceFrank Breaks Down at the Graveside
Chapter 17so much in commonFrank Introduces Wally to the FamilyChapter 4 of 17 · about 35 min to go