“Oh, I tell you, my dear, this is the only way to travel.”
Por qué es buena
A tipsy boast that turns a cramped train berth into the height of luxury.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
After a week of this, I'd say this is the only way to work.
00:00 / 04:56
00:00 / 04:56
Sugar's Weakness for Sax Players, Explained
Some Like It Hot · 1959
Capítulo 8 de 19 · 4'56"
A quiet drink for two becomes the whole band's party the moment someone whispers, "Party in Upper 7." After the girls are finally cleared out, Sugar stays behind and admits, "I have this thing about saxophone players"—never guessing the new girl she's telling is one.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:27–1:38
The Girls Crash the Party
71s - 4:18–4:54
❝ Monólogo · 15 frases Sugar on sax players
Her voice softens line by line, turning a joke into a confession.
36s
Sugar's Weakness for Sax Players, explained
What happens
Josephine and Daphne smuggle a bottle into berth 7 for a quiet nightcap, but word spreads and the entire band piles in with cocktails, cheese, and crackers. The two try to clear the room; once the girls leave, Sugar lingers and opens up about her weakness for saxophone players—unaware that the "girl" listening plays tenor sax.
What's really going on
The party is a gag, but it leaves the two fugitives more exposed than ever: a train full of women now knows exactly where to find them, and the noise nearly wakes the whole car. The real turn comes after everyone leaves. Sugar, half-drunk and blunt, tells the new girl everything—"If I had any brains, I wouldn't be on this crummy train with this crummy girls' band"—then confesses her soft spot: "I have this thing about saxophone players." Josephine has just told her, "You know, I play tenor sax." Sugar laughs it off because she thinks Josephine is a woman, and the audience gets the joke Joe is already planning: the very desire she just described is about to be used against her.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Oh, I tell you, my dear, this is the only way to travel.”
- The smug satisfaction of drinking in a private berth: fancy drinks, no lights, and the feeling that this is how travel ought to be.
- “You fall for 'em, you really love 'em.”
- Sugar's admission that the saxophone-player weakness isn't casual—she has fallen hard every time, which is why she ran from those bands.
- “If I had any brains, I wouldn't be on this crummy train with this crummy girls' band.”
- Sugar blaming her own judgment for her situation: she sees the train and the band as the fruit of bad choices, not bad luck.
- “I have this thing about saxophone players.”
- The confession that drives the scene: sax players are Sugar's specific weakness, and she says it to someone who is secretly a tenor sax player.
- “Thirteen girls in a berth. It's bad luck.”
- A superstitious joke about the crowded party: the speaker counts thirteen women in one berth and treats the number itself as an omen.
Theme
- Romance — Sugar's confession about saxophone players is really about her pattern of falling for the wrong men, and it lands on the disguised man sitting beside her.
- Identity — The whole scene runs on hidden identities: the girls think Josephine is a woman, and Sugar describes her dream man to the man pretending to be one.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel4/5
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“You fall for 'em, you really love 'em.”
Por qué es buena
The repetition makes the confession sound fond and helpless at once.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
You fall for 'em, you really spend for 'em.
“If I had any brains, I wouldn't be on this crummy train with this crummy girls' band.”
Por qué es buena
Self-mockery and a doubled crummy show exactly how trapped she feels.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
If I had any brains, I wouldn't be working this late.
“I have this thing about saxophone players.”
Por qué es buena
Owning a weakness as a quirky thing makes a confession sound charming.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
I have this thing about old bookshops.
“Thirteen girls in a berth. It's bad luck.”
Por qué es buena
A superstitious number joke lands because the count itself is the punchline.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
Nine in a tiny elevator. It's bad luck.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ Sugar on sax players
I have this thing about saxophone players. Especially tenor sax. Really? I don't know what it is, but they just curdle me. All they have to do is play eight bars of "Come to Me, My Melancholy Baby" and my spine turns to custard. I get goose-pimply all over, and I come to 'em. - That so? - Every time. You know, I play tenor sax. - But you're a girl, thank goodness. - Oh. Yeah. That's why I joined this band. Safety first. Anything to get away from those bums. Yeah. You don't know what they're like. You fall for 'em, you really love 'em.
Her voice softens line by line, turning a joke into a confession.
Siguiente · 09the natives are getting restlessLa escena: Sugar Dreams of a Rich HusbandIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- A party is how the band girls let off steam.
- Sugar's sax confession is a quiet warning.
- Bienstock's arrival ends the fun fast.
- Trouble follows whoever breaks the rules.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy does a party for two turn into a whole-band party?
Because word travels fast in a sleeping car. Someone lets slip that there's a party in Upper 7, and each girl passes it on until the entire band arrives with bottles and snacks.
Why are the girls so hard to get rid of?
They're bored, off duty, and eager for a drink. Warnings about being fired and Bienstock catching them barely register, and every attempt to clear the room draws more jokes instead of compliance.
What is Sugar revealing when she talks about saxophone players?
She's describing the pattern behind her bad luck: she can't resist sax players, has followed that weakness from band to band, and joined an all-girl group partly to put the temptation out of reach.
Does Sugar know Josephine is really a man?
No. She assumes the new girl is a woman, which is exactly why she speaks so freely—and why the confession lands as a joke on the audience rather than on her.
What does Sugar mean by "Safety first"?
She means the all-girl band is her way of avoiding saxophone players altogether. It's a joke about self-protection: join a band with no men, and temptation can't find her.