WinkLingo
ログイン

Another Year · 2010 — 第 15 / 25 章 · 4'57" · B2

Joe Introduces Katie to His Parents, Explained：call a spade a spade

The small talk is about how Joe and Katie met, but the real question is whether this quiet, teasing family will accept her. Joe admits, "We'd both been stood up by our dates," and his parents turn it into a running joke instead of an interrogation.

あらすじ

Joe arrives at his parents' house unannounced, with his new girlfriend Katie hidden behind the door to surprise them. Tom and Gerri, mid-cooking in the kitchen, are startled but quickly warm to her. Over tea and cheese they ask how the couple met, what Katie does, and what Tom actually digs up for a living.

Family dinnersSmall talkSmall talkTeasingParent & childB2mediumbritishClean
IMDb ↗

注目の表現

frighten the life out of someonestood upa dark horsefor my sins

00:00 / 04:57
Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
セリフをタップするとそこから再生

このシーンの表現

call a spade a spade

to speak plainly

Gerri defends Tom's blunt description as plain speaking, then jokes about the tools.

Let's call a spade a spade: the plan failed.

このシーンの他の表現

  • frighten the life out of someone

    to terrify someone

  • stood up

    left waiting by a date

  • a dark horse

    someone who keeps secrets

  • for my sins

    self-mocking: I do it, worse luck

  • get a move on

    to hurry up

このシーンのメモ一覧

113 行のセリフに 29 件のメモ

表現 · A2put the kettle on

to start boiling water for tea

- I'll put the kettle on. - The sooner the better.
表現 · B1the sooner the better

as soon as possible

- I'll put the kettle on. - The sooner the better.
発音put the

The t in put the often drops away in fast speech.

- I'll put the kettle on. - The sooner the better.
スラング · B2daft bugger

you silly thing, said fondly — Affectionate but crude; only with people you know well.

What are you doing here, you daft bugger?
表現 · A2surprise someone

to do something unexpected for someone

I've come to surprise you.
表現 · C1frighten the life out of someone

to terrify someone

Katie jumps out from behind the door, and Gerri scolds her for the fright.

- You frightened the life out of me. - So, who's this, then?
表現 · A1this is someone

here is so-and-so, introducing someone

- Mum, Dad, this is Katie. - Hello.
表現 · B1live with something

to accept something and cope

We've learnt to live with it over the years.
表現 · B1the season's harvest

this season's crop

Gathering the last of the season's harvest.
スラング · B1clobber

clothes, informally — British informal for clothes; not for formal talk.

- I'll just go and change. - Let me get out of this filthy clobber.
文法 · B1isn't it

tag question: A positive statement plus isn't it invites the listener to agree.

This is a lovely big kitchen, isn't it?
発音met across

Link met and across so the t rides onto the next word.

- So how did you two meet? - Our eyes met across a crowded bar.
表現 · B2stand someone up

left waiting by a date

Katie explains that she and Joe met because both their dates never turned up.

We'd both been stood up by our dates.
表現 · B2be a dark horse

someone who keeps secrets

His parents tease Joe as a dark horse for keeping the relationship hidden.

- Oh, he's a dark horse. - I wanted to keep you a secret.
表現 · B1tuck in

to start eating heartily

Help yourself. Tuck in.
文法 · B2who are on the turn

relative clause: The who-clause narrows down which men he is joking about.

What, for gay men who are on the turn?
表現 · C1for my sins

self-mocking: I do it, worse luck

When Katie mentions her job, Gerri agrees with a dry, self-mocking aside.

- Joe tells me you're a counsellor, Gerri. - Yes, I am, for my sins.
表現 · B2as the case may be

depending on how things turn out

Or not, as the case may be.
表現 · B2strictly speaking

to be precise

Ah, yes. Strictly speaking, I'm actually an engineering geologist.
表現 · C1call a spade a spade

to speak plainly

Gerri defends Tom's blunt description as plain speaking, then jokes about the tools.

That's just calling a spade a spade, isn't it?
表現 · A2at the moment

right now

It sounds amazing. What are you working on at the moment?
発音at the moment

The the in at the moment nearly vanishes; the beat is on mo.

It sounds amazing. What are you working on at the moment?
文法 · C1which is going to alleviate the pressure on London's Victorian sewage system

non-defining clause: The which-clause adds extra detail about what the tunnel will do.

Ah, yes. Well, right now, the main project is an eight-metre-diameter tunnel, which is going to alleviate the pressure on London's Victorian sewage system.
スラング · B1Blimey

an exclamation of surprise — British and casual; too slangy for formal settings.

Blimey.
表現 · B1get a move on

to hurry up

Tom jokes the tunnel will outlast him, and Gerri tells him to hurry up.

You'd better get a move on.
スラング · B1veggie

a vegetarian — Informal for vegetarian, common at the table.

- Some ham? - Oh, no, thanks. I'm a veggie, actually.
表現 · B2sound ominous

to sound threatening

- We're having a visitation. - Sounds ominous.
表現 · B2be something else

remarkable in some way

She's something else.
表現 · B1in you go

off you go inside

In you go.

「Joe Introduces Katie to His Parents」を読み解く

What's really going on

For all the warmth, this is a scene about being let in. Joe has kept Katie a secret for three months, and his parents' needling is affectionate but pointed: "You never told us." Someone calls him "a dark horse," and the family's whole idiom is understatement — Tom is reduced from engineering geologist to a man who "digs holes," and answers with "That's just calling a spade a spade." Katie, meanwhile, is quietly doing the work of fitting in, correcting her address, offering flowers, refusing ham. The easy banter marks the boundary: this family loves through teasing, and you are included only once you can take it. Mary's arrival at the end quietly changes the temperature.

Theme

Family loveTom and Gerri welcome Katie through teasing and food, showing love as acceptance into a close, self-contained family.
GenerationsParents and adult son circle each other through polite questions, old jokes, and the unspoken distance of three hidden months.

このチャプターで学べること

  • A dark horse keeps a surprise hidden
  • Stood up means your date never came
  • For my sins is a wry British aside
  • Get a move on gently tells someone to hurry

発音のポイント

  • put the — The t in put the often drops away in fast speech.
  • met across — Link met and across so the t rides onto the next word.
  • at the moment — The the in at the moment nearly vanishes; the beat is on mo.
We've learnt to live with it over the years.

A dry answer to the joke about the names Tom and Gerri — they have heard it for decades and simply put up with it.

We'd both been stood up by our dates.

Joe explains the meet-cute: he and Katie were each ditched by someone else that night, so they ended up together.

That's just calling a spade a spade, isn't it?

A defence of plain speaking after Tom's job is reduced to "digging holes" — naming it bluntly isn't cruelty.

No, I investigate the ground beneath our feet to test the feasibility of various engineering and building projects.

Tom's patient, technical correction after being told he just digs holes — he insists his work is serious engineering, not mere excavation.

このシーンについての質問

Why does Joe bring Katie home without telling his parents?

He says he wanted to surprise them, and also admits he "wanted to keep you a secret." His parents treat the three months of silence as the real surprise. It fits Joe's guarded, understated character — he reveals things only when he shows up at the door.

Why is Gerri so quick to joke about the name "Tom and Gerri"?

Because it sounds like the cartoon cat and mouse, Tom and Jerry. Katie says "That's brilliant," and Gerri answers, "We've learnt to live with it over the years." The joke is an old family routine, and her dry delivery signals she has heard it hundreds of times.

What does "a dark horse" mean here?

It means someone who keeps their feelings and plans hidden. Gerri calls Joe "a dark horse" because he hid a three-month relationship from the family. It is usually a mildly admiring tease, not an insult.

Is Gerri being cruel by saying Tom just "digs holes"?

No. The teasing is affectionate, and Tom plays along before defending himself. Her "That's just calling a spade a spade" means she is being blunt, not hostile. This family shows closeness by needling each other, so the joke is a sign of intimacy.

家族の庭 · 全 25 章

すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 16 章cut your lossesMary Recounts Her Car Disaster
第 1 章taken your timeA Woman Asks for Sleeping Pills第 2 章the boot on the other footJanet Rates Her Happiness第 3 章a sight for sore eyesMary Confides in Gerri Over Drinks第 4 章raring to goSupper Talk and a Court Case第 5 章middle-aged spreadMary Arrives for Dinner第 6 章had you down asMary's Car and the Eco Debate第 7 章onwards and upwardsMary Confesses Her Old Love第 8 章knackeredJoe Comes Home on Sunday Morning第 9 章same old, same oldKen Visits Tom and Gerri第 10 章stuck in a rutKen Breaks Down at Dinner第 11 章crossed my mindMary Arrives Late With a New Car第 12 章the making ofMary Shows Up in Her New Car第 13 章the world's your oysterMary's Tipsy Talk With Joe第 14 章got carried awayKen Makes a Pass at Mary再生中 · 第 15 章call a spade a spadeJoe Introduces Katie to His Parents第 16 章cut your lossesMary Recounts Her Car Disaster第 17 章a mean curryMary Meets Joe's Girlfriend Katie第 18 章a dark horseTom and Gerri Discuss Joe's Girlfriend第 19 章be glad whenVisiting Ronnie Before the Funeral第 20 章turned upCarl Arrives After the Funeral第 21 章out of the blueAfter the Funeral, Back at Ronnie's第 22 章one of those thingsCarl Confronts Tom at the House第 23 章on the spur of the momentMary Turns Up Unannounced第 24 章bits and bobsMary Visits for a Cup of Tea第 25 章give you a handMary Keeps Ronnie Company
第 15 / 25 章 · 残り約 32 分