catch oneself wondering
Lately, every night, I find myself asking the same question: "Who is this old woman who lives in my house?"About Schmidt · 2002 — 第 4 / 16 章 · 4'02" · B1
Warren Complains About His Wife, Explained：up to snuff
Warren's letter begins with the question he asks every night: "Who is this old woman who lives in my house?" What follows is a catalogue of Helen's small offences — until he turns to his daughter, and the same voice softens into pride.
あらすじ
Alone at home in Omaha, Warren keeps recording letters to Ndugu. He reads out his grievances against Helen — the keys, the collections, the wasted food, the way she cuts him off — then describes Jeannie in Denver, her love of languages, and her engagement to Randall, a salesman Warren dismisses as not up to snuff.
注目の表現
cut someone offexpiration dateget a kick out ofpast her prime
00:00 / 04:02Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
このシーンの表現
up to snuff
good enough to meet the standard
Warren judges the future son-in-law as not up to snuff, dismissing the match outright.
The repairs were not up to snuff, so they sent someone else.
このシーンの他の表現
- cut someone off
interrupt someone
- expiration date
the date food or a document expires
- get a kick out of
enjoy something a lot
- past her prime
no longer at her best
- take it easy
relax and take care
このシーンのメモ一覧
59 行のセリフに 19 件のメモ
relative clause: The who-clause defines which woman he means, deepening the distance in the question.
Lately, every night, I find myself asking the same question: "Who is this old woman who lives in my house?"each small detail
Why is it that every little thing she does irritates me?waste money on something
And how she throws our money away on her ridiculous little collections.the date food or a document expires
Warren grumbles that Helen throws out good food the moment the expiration date passes.
And tossing out perfectly good food just because the expiration date has passed.a fixation on something
And her obsession, her obsession with trying new restaurants.be fortunate
We're in luck.interrupt someone
Warren complains that Helen cuts him off whenever he tries to speak, and the film then shows it.
The way she cuts me off when I try to speak.enjoy something a lot
She gets a big kick out of different languages and cultures and so forth.manage with what one has
She used to get by pretty good in German.keep in contact
Oh, sure, we stay in touch by phone every couple of weeks...get away from a commitment
...with a high-tech computer outfit, so it's very hard for her to break away.no longer at her best
Warren calls Jeannie past her prime, a cold phrase that exposes his own worry about the match.
Maybe Jeannie is a little past her prime...Soften her to a quick /ər/ and clip the t in past.
Maybe Jeannie is a little past her prime...a great deal — A softened stand-in for a stronger curse, used among friends.
...but I still think she could've done a heck of a lot better.good enough to meet the standard
Warren judges the future son-in-law as not up to snuff, dismissing the match outright.
I mean, this guy's just not up to snuff, if you ask me.talk on and on
Here I am rambling on and on...relax and take care
Warren closes the letter with take it easy and best of luck, awkward but sincere.
So, uh, take it easy, and best of luck with all your endeavors.waste time in small ways — A breezy way to tell someone not to dawdle; too casual for work.
Don't dillydally.「Warren Complains About His Wife」を読み解く
What's really going on
The letter pretends to be a report for a child, but it is really Warren talking to himself about a marriage he no longer knows how to inhabit. The complaint is specific and petty — "I hate the way she sits and the way she smells" — and that pettiness is the point: when you have retired from everything else, the last thing left to notice is your wife's habits. The moment the subject changes to Jeannie, the tone lifts; she is the one person he still describes with warmth, and even the engagement is judged only by whether the man is good enough for her. The grievances against Helen are not the opposite of love, they are what is left of it after forty-two years.
Theme
MarriageForty-two years together have curdled into a nightly litany of irritations, making the marriage feel like a stranger in his own house.
LonelinessHis only real conversation is a video letter to a sponsored child, while the people he loves live in Denver or in the next room.
このチャプターで学べること
- Up to snuff means good enough to pass.
- Past her prime judges a woman against her younger self.
- Get a kick out of names real pleasure, not politeness.
- Cut someone off is to interrupt, not to leave.
発音のポイント
- past her prime — Soften her to a quick /ər/ and clip the t in past.
Lately, every night, I find myself asking the same question: "Who is this old woman who lives in my house?"The opening complaint that frames the whole letter: after 42 years he can no longer recognise Helen as the woman he married, only as a presence that irritates him.
And I hate the way she sits and the way she smells.The pettiest line in the letter, and the most revealing: his irritation has grown so broad it attaches to how she exists in a room.
She gets a big kick out of different languages and cultures and so forth.The affection Warren can still show: when the subject turns to his daughter, the complaining voice gives way to a proud father describing what delights her.
She'll always be my little girl.The line that undercuts all the grumbling about Helen: whatever he says about his wife, Jeannie stays the one person he refuses to judge.
このシーンについての質問
Why does Warren list his wife's habits like a complaint?
He is newly retired with no work to fill his days, so tiny annoyances — keys, food, restaurants — have become the main thing he notices, and Ndugu is the only listener he has.
Why is Warren so hard on Randall?
Randall is a salesman with, in Warren's eyes, no real standing, and Warren reads the engagement as proof his daughter settled — which stings because he once expected more for himself too.
Does Warren really dislike his wife?
The letter is pure exasperation — "I hate the way she sits and the way she smells" — but the same man calls his daughter his little girl, so the complaints read more like loneliness than hate.
What does "up to snuff" mean here?
Up to standard. Warren says Randall is "just not up to snuff" — not good enough for his daughter.
Why does the scene cut from the letter to a Dairy Queen?
The film jumps straight from his sad monologue to him ordering a Blizzard alone; the ordinary treat keeps the tone funny and bleak at once.
アバウト・シュミット · 全 16 章
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次のチャプター · 第 5 章if there's anything you needWarren at Helen's Funeral Reception
第 1 章retire in gloryRay's Toast at the Retirement Dinner
第 2 章bigger fish to fryJeannie's Long-Distance Call Home
第 3 章work out that wayWarren's Video Letter to Ndugu
再生中 · 第 4 章up to snuffWarren Complains About His Wife
第 5 章if there's anything you needWarren at Helen's Funeral Reception
第 6 章keep your options openWarren Tries to Postpone the Wedding
第 7 章splurge onJeannie Fights Warren Over the Casket
第 8 章make the best ofWarren Writes Ndugu About Helen's Death
第 9 章maiden voyageJohn Rusk Invites Warren to Dinner
第 10 章you shouldn't haveWarren Has Dinner With the Rusks
第 11 章put a good face on thingsVicki Sees Through Warren
第 12 章easy on the eyeWarren Meets Randall's Family
第 13 章up to snuffWarren Tells Jeannie Not to Marry
第 14 章on cloud nineRoberta Gives Warren Expired Pills
第 15 章insist on its own wayRandall and Jeannie's Wedding
第 16 章pitch inWarren Toasts Jeannie and Randall第 4 / 16 章 · 残り約 43 分