“They'd throw you in jail for a thousand years each!”
Por qué es buena
The absurd sentence length turns a legal threat into pure frontier humor.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
They'd throw you in jail for what you did last night!
00:00 / 02:05
00:00 / 02:05
Butch and Sundance Try to Enlist, Explained
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid · 1969
Capítulo 7 de 12 · 2'05"
On the surface, two outlaws walk into an army office asking to enlist and fight the Spanish. Underneath, they're begging for a way out of the lives they've run out of time for. "It's too late," they're told — their fame is real, but it can't buy them a clean slate.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:02–1:09
Two Outlaws Try to Enlist
67s - 1:29–2:03
❝ Monólogo · 8 frases Ray's parting verdict
Short sentences pile pressure on the two men, then a dry self-mocking line closes it.
34s
Butch and Sundance Try to Enlist, explained
What happens
Butch and Sundance come to an army man named Ray with a plan: they'll enlist, and he can use the arrest to clear their records. To prove they can be trusted, they stage a fake capture, with Butch trussed and gagged. Ray refuses the whole scheme.
What's really going on
This isn't really about joining an army. Butch and Sundance are out of road, and enlisting is less patriotism than a plea to be allowed back into ordinary life. Ray hears it and refuses to pretend otherwise, telling them plainly, 'It's too late.' He grants them their fame and still cuts it down: they may be the biggest thing ever to hit the area, but they're two-bit outlaws on the dodge. He even takes the sting out by apologising for getting mean in his old age. What makes the moment land is that he isn't wrong — he knows them, likes them, and still tells them the truth about how the world sees them. He is delivering a verdict, not an insult.
Key lines & what they mean
- “They'd throw you in jail for a thousand years each!”
- A blunt way of saying the law will never forgive them: their robberies are worth more prison time than they could ever serve, so enlisting won't wipe the slate clean.
- “See, you may be the biggest thing ever hit this area, but you're still two-bit outlaws!”
- Recognition without respect: they're the most famous men around, and it makes no difference. 'Two-bit' cuts them down to cheap, small-time crooks.
- “Your times is over and you're gonna die bloody! And all you can do is choose where.”
- A death sentence delivered as advice: their era is finished, a violent end is coming, and the only freedom left is picking the ground they die on.
- “I'm sorry. I'm gettin' mean in my old age. Come on! Shut me up, Sundance.”
- He apologises for his harshness, then keeps inviting the fight, daring Sundance to shut him up. The kindness and the cruelty come from the same man, at the same moment.
Theme
- Identity — The pair are famous and still dismissed: fame doesn't change what they are in the eyes of the law.
- Survival — They come asking for a way to live on the right side of the law, and are told the only choice left is where to die.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel3/6
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“See, you may be the biggest thing ever hit this area, but you're still two-bit outlaws!”
Por qué es buena
It gives them fame in one breath and strips it to nothing in the next.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
You may be the biggest name on campus, but you're still a two-bit cheat.
“Your times is over and you're gonna die bloody! And all you can do is choose where.”
Por qué es buena
It leaves them one freedom, the place to die, and that is the whole verdict.
Registro
literary
Úsala tú
The game is lost, and all you can do is resign.
“I'm sorry. I'm gettin' mean in my old age. Come on! Shut me up, Sundance.”
Por qué es buena
After the bleak prophecy he backtracks with a self-mocking joke, handing them the gag.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
Sorry, I'm getting mean in my old age. Ignore me.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ Ray's parting verdict
It's too late. Shoulda let yourselves get killed a long time ago while you had the chance. See, you may be the biggest thing ever hit this area, but you're still two-bit outlaws! I never met a soul more affable than you, or faster than the Kid, but you're still nothin' but two-bit outlaws on the dodge. It's over! Don't you get that? Your times is over and you're gonna die bloody! And all you can do is choose where. I'm sorry. I'm gettin' mean in my old age. Come on! Shut me up, Sundance.
Short sentences pile pressure on the two men, then a dry self-mocking line closes it.
Siguiente · 08the way I figure itLa escena: Butch and Sundance Jump Off a CliffIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- A warm compliment can be the setup for a harder cut.
- Ray's verdict lands because every sentence gets shorter.
- Two-bit turns fame into small change in one word.
- The scene is a negotiation that was already lost.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy do Butch and Sundance stage a fake capture?
To show Ray they can be trusted: if he 'captures' them, it proves they came in on their own and aren't trying to trick him, which makes their offer to enlist easier to sell.
Why does Ray refuse to let them enlist?
He knows the law won't drop the charges against two famous outlaws, whatever the paperwork says. He thinks the offer is a fantasy and says so plainly rather than give them false hope.
What does Ray mean by calling them 'two-bit outlaws'?
It's an insult about status, not wealth: no matter how famous they are, in his eyes they're still small-time criminals on the run, not men a government would take seriously.
Why is Ray so harsh when he clearly likes them?
He calls Sundance affable and fast and still gives him the bad news, because he respects them enough not to lie. His apology for 'gettin' mean' shows the harshness isn't contempt.
Is Ray right that it's too late for them?
He says their times are over and their only choice is where to die. The rest of the film treats that as the truth the pair keep trying to outrun, not a bluff.