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American Hustle · 2013 — Capítulo 8 de 20 · 2'27" · C1

A $75,000 Bribe for the Mayor, Explained: grease someone

A briefcase with $75,000 is meant to secure casino licenses, but the pitch keeps sliding from paperwork to personal loyalty. The offer is dressed up as straight talk and shared roots; the tell is the line "I like you, eye to eye, we can do business together."

Qué pasa

In a hotel, Agent Richard DiMaso is introduced and $75,000 is laid out in a briefcase for Mayor Carmine Polito, framed as money to procure casino licenses and building permits. The setup draws a baffled reaction. Someone follows the mayor out, apologizes for the offense, and turns the pitch into a story about the Bronx, family, and dealing directly.

NegotiationPersuasionPersuadingExplainingC1fastamerican
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procurebullshitdiplomamouths to feed

00:00 / 02:27
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Expresión de la escena

grease someone

bribe someone; pay to smooth things

The speaker turns a direct cash payment into shop talk, as if greasing someone were just the efficient way to work.

They tried to grease the inspector to skip the safety check.

También en esta escena

  • procure

    obtain or secure something

  • bullshit

    nonsense or petty crap

  • diploma

    a diploma; a school credential

  • mouths to feed

    dependents who need support

  • thrown by

    unsettled or confused by

Todo lo marcado en esta escena

28 notas en 52 frases

Expresión · C1procure a license / permit

obtain a casino license

I'm placing $75, 000 in this briefcase for Mayor Carmine Polito to procure casino license and building permits for Atlantic City.
Sonidofor Mayor

Let for blur into a quick syllable; stress Mayor.

I'm placing $75, 000 in this briefcase for Mayor Carmine Polito to procure casino license and building permits for Atlantic City.
Expresión · B1very weird to someone

feels very strange to me

I don't know what that is, but this is very weird to me.
Sonidowhat that is

In fast speech the t's in what that is can blur together; listen for one cluster.

I don't know what that is, but this is very weird to me.
Jerga · B2prick

jerk; unpleasant man — Insulting and informal; avoid it at work or with strangers.

I apologize if that prick offended you.
Expresión · B2be embarrassed to be associated with someone

ashamed to be linked to someone

I'm okay. No, no, no, no, no. I'm fucking embarrassed to be associated with that guy at all. It's okay.
Expresión · B1lose an opportunity

miss this chance

Don't lose this opportunity to fucking Florida,
Expresión · B1get into a school

be admitted to a school means be admitted, not physically enter

all right, because of some bullshit from that punk advisor, all right, with his "diploma," all right, who could never get into the school that we come from.
Gramática · B2who could never get into the school that we come from

relative clause: The who-clause insults the adviser by comparing schools; the that-clause anchors the comparison.

all right, because of some bullshit from that punk advisor, all right, with his "diploma," all right, who could never get into the school that we come from.
Jerga · B2punk

worthless jerk — Dismissive and confrontational; not for polite company.

all right, because of some bullshit from that punk advisor, all right, with his "diploma," all right, who could never get into the school that we come from.
Jerga · B2bullshit

nonsense; crap — Vulgar and informal; use only with people you know well.

all right, because of some bullshit from that punk advisor, all right, with his "diploma," all right, who could never get into the school that we come from.
Expresión · B2something is to die for

extremely good means extremely good, not literally fatal

Oh, they're fucking to die for, those things. Yeah.
Jerga · B2fucking

vulgar intensifier — Strong profanity used for emphasis; avoid in formal settings.

Oh, they're fucking to die for, those things. Yeah.
Expresión · B1can I call you + first name

may I use your first name

Tell me, can I call you Carmine?
Expresión · B1not be used to doing something

not accustomed to doing something

I'm not used to running.
Expresión · C1deals float through someone

deals pass through you for a cut deals pass through your hands and you take a cut

all right, and all the deals would float through you.
Expresión · C1get a piece on both ends

a big cut from both sides piece means a cut of the profits, not a physical piece

You get a serious piece on both ends, all right?
Expresión · B2do with something what you will

handle it however you like

You do with it what you will.
Expresión · B1live in the real world

face how things really work

I mean, I live in the real world, all right?
Expresión · B2have mouths to feed

dependents who need support

The speaker frames the money as family need, using mouths to feed to soften the ask.

I am a family man. I got mouths to feed and everything like that, but, you know, you got...
Expresión · B2no X, no Y

no go-betweens, no nonsense frames blunt dealing as a rule

No middlemen, no bullshit, it's the Arab way.
Expresión · B2end up doing something

turn out to be absent

You understand, it's just... I got a little thrown by going to have a meeting with somebody that ended up not being there, so...
Gramática · B2going to have a meeting with somebody that ended up not being there

gerund phrase: The by + gerund phrase names the cause of feeling thrown; the relative clause identifies the person.

You understand, it's just... I got a little thrown by going to have a meeting with somebody that ended up not being there, so...
Sonidogot a little

In American speech got a can flap into a soft d-like sound; keep it light.

You understand, it's just... I got a little thrown by going to have a meeting with somebody that ended up not being there, so...
Expresión · B2deal with someone directly

work with you with no go-between

I'll deal with you directly.
Expresión · B1do business together

work together commercially

I like you, eye to eye, we can do business together.
Sonidoeye to eye

Reduce to to a quick syllable; put the beat on both eye.

I like you, eye to eye, we can do business together.
Gramática · B1how long you known this guy

ellipsis: The auxiliary have is dropped in speech, a common shortcut in casual questions.

Yeah, how long you known this guy?

A $75,000 Bribe for the Mayor, explicado

What's really going on

What looks like a cash offer is really a lesson in how to make a bribe sound like common sense. The money is introduced as paperwork — cash "to procure casino license and building permits" — then the pitch shifts to shared geography: the Bronx, Arthur Avenue, a favorite clam house. That move turns a stranger into a neighbor and a transaction into loyalty. The line "I got mouths to feed" supplies the moral cover: everyone has obligations, so the deal is just life. The reply "No middlemen, no bullshit, it's the Arab way" pushes the same idea: direct payment is sold as honesty, not corruption. The line "I'll deal with you directly" shows the frame has taken hold.

Theme

CorruptionA public official is offered cash for permits, and the scene makes the exchange sound like straight talk between neighbors.
TrustThe pitch sells direct dealing as honesty, turning "no middlemen" into a reason to trust the man offering money.

Escucha con atención

  • for Mayor — Let for blur into a quick syllable; stress Mayor.
  • what that is — In fast speech the t's in what that is can blur together; listen for one cluster.
  • got a little — In American speech got a can flap into a soft d-like sound; keep it light.
  • eye to eye — Reduce to to a quick syllable; put the beat on both eye.
I don't know what that is, but this is very weird to me.

A baffled reaction to the cash and the setup: the speaker does not recognize what is being offered and finds the whole situation wrong.

You do with it what you will.

Once the money is in the mayor's hands, how he uses it is his business—an invitation to take it without further explanation.

No middlemen, no bullshit, it's the Arab way.

The offer is framed as direct and honest: no intermediaries, no excuses, just cash passed straight to the official.

I like you, eye to eye, we can do business together.

The pitch turns the deal into a personal bond: face-to-face, without intermediaries, they can work together.

Preguntas sobre esta escena

Why does the offer mention the Bronx and Arthur Avenue?

Soon after the money is introduced, the talk turns to the Bronx, Tomaso's on Arthur Avenue, and the clams there. Those details make the two parties sound like locals from the same world rather than strangers discussing a cash deal.

Why does the pitch insist on dealing directly with the mayor?

The offer explicitly rejects middlemen: "No middlemen, no bullshit, it's the Arab way," and later "I don't want any middleman or any of that bullshit." Direct access is presented as the condition of the deal.

What is the $75,000 supposed to pay for?

One line says the $75,000 is in the briefcase for Mayor Carmine Polito to procure casino license and building permits for Atlantic City. The cash is tied to licenses and permits.

Is there an agreement by the end of the scene?

Yes. The scene includes "I'll deal with you directly" and then "Done. Done. You and me." There is also a request to meet the sheik, but the scene ends with agreement to deal directly.

Why does the speaker mention having mouths to feed?

The line "I got mouths to feed" frames the offer as a family necessity rather than greed: it gives the request a respectable, everyday reason.

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