“Yes, well, it's as broad as it's long, isn't it?”
Por qué es buena
A classic British shrug that ends an argument by making both options equal.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
Fly or take the train? It's as broad as it's long, isn't it?
00:00 / 04:17
00:00 / 04:17
Steve Leaves His Parents, Explained
The Trip · 2011
Capítulo 20 de 20 · 4'17"
The goodbye keeps turning practical: roadworks, a possible TV job in America, a parent saying to take care. Under it, Mischa was meant to be here. "We're going through a bit of a hiatus" shrinks the gap, and calling Rob the substitute girlfriend makes the gap obvious. In the car, stay-or-go is refused. Later, octave boasts take over.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:08–0:34
Rob the Substitute Girlfriend
26s - 1:22–1:47
Leaving the Mischa Question
25s
Steve Leaves His Parents, explained
What happens
Outside, a warning about roadworks becomes a goodbye. Mischa is in America. Someone calls it "a bit of a hiatus," and a joke names Rob the substitute girlfriend. In the car, a possible TV series comes up, stay-or-go is refused, and later a high note is sung for queen and country.
What's really going on
The useful talk is a cover. Whether to go anti-clockwise is settled with "it's as broad as it's long" — the route doesn't matter, so it's safe to discuss. Mischa does. She was expected along and she's in America. "We're going through a bit of a hiatus" keeps that small, then someone calls Rob the substitute girlfriend and the reply is "I hope not." America comes back as a possible TV series and "spending a lot of time over there." At the car, "you take care of yourself" is the worried goodbye, answered with "Nothing to worry about." Inside, "Will you stay, or will you go?" gets "I love Mischa, and I want to be with her, but" and "I don't really want to talk about it." "Though it's hurting me, now it's history" pretends the subject is closed. Later the talk is octaves, opera, and "for queen and country": louder, and about anything but her.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Yes, well, it's as broad as it's long, isn't it?”
- The route debate is over. Clockwise or anti-clockwise, the distance comes out the same, so the choice is not worth a fight.
- “Though it's hurting me, now it's history.”
- Asked about things he has been through, he admits it still hurts and files it as finished so the questions will stop.
- “But I have a wonderful range.”
- Right after admitting he strained, he boasts that the voice still has a wonderful range, opera included.
- “When I sing an octave up, I sing it for queen and country.”
- A higher note is dressed up as patriotic duty. Nobody is going to war; the grandeur is the joke.
Theme
- Heartbreak — Mischa is away in America, the gap is called a hiatus, and a later line files the hurt as history.
- Dark humor — Rob is named the substitute girlfriend, and a high note gets sung for queen and country.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel0/4
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“Though it's hurting me, now it's history.”
Por qué es buena
Pain acknowledged, then filed away as history in the same breath.
Registro
literary
Úsala tú
Though it still hurts, now it's history.
“But I have a wonderful range.”
Por qué es buena
A self-defence that is really a boast, delivered without a flicker of doubt.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
So what if I missed one note? I have a wonderful ear.
“When I sing an octave up, I sing it for queen and country.”
Por qué es buena
Mock-heroic patriotism applied to the least heroic act imaginable.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
I do my paperwork for queen and country.
Ideas clave
Lo que te llevas- Hiatus as a soft pause
- At the moment as a present location
- As broad as it's long as six of one
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy is Rob called the substitute girlfriend?
Mischa has not come on the trip. She is in America, the relationship is called "a bit of a hiatus," and the next joke names Rob as the stand-in partner. "Oh, I hope not" shows the joke landed a little too close.
Why won't he answer stay or go in the car?
"Will you stay, or will you go?" is answered with love for Mischa, a "but," and "I don't really want to talk about it, to be honest." The TV series would mean spending a lot of time over there. "Though it's hurting me, now it's history" tries to close the subject anyway.
What does "as broad as it's long" mean here?
It means the two options come out equal. Someone has warned about roadworks from junction 24 to 27 and suggested going anti-clockwise. This line shrugs: either way is much the same, so there is nothing to argue about.
Is the wonderful-range boast serious?
No. He admits he strained, claims five octaves, then "How much is an octave?" pulls the number down through two to one. "Pavarotti struggles to do five" is there to burst it. "For queen and country" keeps the same mock grandeur.
Why does the parent say to take care?
It comes after the hiatus and the talk of a TV series in America. "Now, listen, you take care of yourself" is fussing, and the answer "Nothing to worry about" and "Everything's fine" only underlines that something feels off.