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My Fellow Americans · 1996 — 第 6 / 13 章 · 1'52" · C1

Passengers Gossip About the Presidents, Explained：stick a fork in

On the train, talk turns to the former presidents, and one passenger claims a past fling with Douglas. Asked how it was, she answers with a line that lands like a verdict: "it was a lot like his presidency" — plenty of buildup, nothing much delivered.

あらすじ

Aboard a train, passengers swap stories about the ex-presidents, including a woman who claims she once had a fling with Douglas and says it was a lot like his presidency — all talk beforehand and little follow-through. Meanwhile the two real ex-presidents bicker about where a presidential library should sit and what deal a city gave them.

Small talkStorytellingTeasingComplainingStrangersC1fastamerican
IMDb ↗

注目の表現

stick a fork into tell you the truthstay in the gamelead up to

00:00 / 01:52
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

stick a fork in

someone is finished, done for good

节目里的人笃定那位过气总统出书也翻不了身，用厨房的说法判他出局。

After that third injury, you can stick a fork in his season.

このシーンの他の表現

  • to tell you the truth

    honestly, to be frank

  • stay in the game

    继续留在局中；不下场、不退出竞争

  • lead up to

    为…做铺垫；一直发展到某个事件

このシーンのメモ一覧

36 行のセリフに 28 件のメモ

表現 · A2be going to be funOh, this is going to be fun.
表現 · A2look like someoneIt's spooky. He really looks like him.
発音looks like him

elision

It's spooky. He really looks like him.
表現 · B2give me a breakGive me a break!
表現 · B2need to be nurturedOur dreams are like children? They need to be nurtured.
表現 · B1eat one's vegetablesThey need to be supported. They need to eat their vegetables.
発音eat their vegetables

weak form

They need to be supported. They need to eat their vegetables.
表現 · A2so weirdThis is so weird.
表現 · B1shouldn't tell someone somethingI shouldn't tell you this, but a couple of years ago, I had a thing with the real President Douglas
表現 · B2have a thing with someoneI shouldn't tell you this, but a couple of years ago, I had a thing with the real President Douglas
表現 · B1how about thatHow about that.
表現 · C1stick a fork in someone

someone is finished, done for good

Stick a fork in the guy. He's done.
表現 · B1have one's four yearsHe was president. He had his four years.
スラング · B2piece-of-crapWe don't need another piece-of-crap book from him.
表現 · B2stay in the gameAll these old guys, they want to stay in the game, but they don't have it anymore.
表現 · B2not have it anymoreAll these old guys, they want to stay in the game, but they don't have it anymore.
文法 · C1All these old guys, they want

left dislocation

All these old guys, they want to stay in the game, but they don't have it anymore.
表現 · B2a muscle spasmA muscle spasm. I've been getting them lately.
表現 · B1there it goes againI'm terribly sorry. I don't know what-- They just-- There it goes again.
発音There it goes again

liaison

I'm terribly sorry. I don't know what-- They just-- There it goes again.
表現 · B1take one's medicationI'd better go and take my medication.
表現 · B2if you don't mind my askingI hope you don't mind my asking, but how was he? Any good?
文法 · B2don't mind my asking

mind plus gerund

I hope you don't mind my asking, but how was he? Any good?
表現 · B1to tell you the truth

honestly, to be frank

Well, to tell you the truth, it was a lot like his presidency.
文法 · B2it was a lot like his presidency

a lot like for similarity

Well, to tell you the truth, it was a lot like his presidency.
表現 · B2lead up to somethingThere was a lot of talk leading up to it, but then he didn't do much.
表現 · B2cut someone a dealWell, yeah, I was, but Cleveland wouldn't cut me a decent deal on the property taxes.
スラング · C1was a bitchI mean, moving that house was a bitch, but the financial benefits have been fantastic.

「Passengers Gossip About the Presidents」を読み解く

What's really going on

Most of the talk on this train is gossip, but it keeps circling the same idea: old men who cannot let go. One passenger describes a night with Douglas in a line that doubles as political commentary — "it was a lot like his presidency" — meaning lots of promise and very little delivery. Another table is even harsher, wishing the old guard would simply lie down, since "they want to stay in the game, but they don't have it anymore." The joke cuts both ways. It mocks the ex-presidents for clinging to relevance, and it mocks the public appetite for stories about them. Even the quieter exchange, about where the library goes and who gave a better tax deal, shows what these men actually care about once the cameras are gone.

Theme

SatireThe gossiping passengers reduce presidential legacies to punchlines about performance and delivery.
PowerEx-presidents still jostle for attention and perks, even about where their libraries sit.

このチャプターで学べること

  • Use Stick a fork in the guy in the same situation
  • Hear stay in the game as pressure, not small talk
  • Catch who the line is aimed at

発音のポイント

  • looks like him — elision
  • eat their vegetables — weak form
  • There it goes again — liaison
Stick a fork in the guy. He's done.

A cooking metaphor for being finished: the man is cooked, so there is nothing left for him in politics.

Well, to tell you the truth, it was a lot like his presidency.

A blunt comparison that turns a private story into a verdict on Douglas's time in office.

All these old guys, they want to stay in the game, but they don't have it anymore.

The complaint that older politicians cling to influence long after they have lost the ability to use it.

Lie down, old fella, you're dead, and you don't know it!

A mockery of a politician who is finished but has not noticed, told like a line to a tired animal.

このシーンについての質問

What does the passenger's 'a lot like his presidency' line mean?

It is a punchline at Douglas's expense. She says the experience had plenty of buildup and then little follow-through, comparing that to his time in office.

Why do the passengers keep talking about the ex-presidents?

The train is taking them near the former presidents, and they pass the time trading gossip and complaints about men who once ran the country.

What are the two ex-presidents arguing about?

Their libraries. One notes the train stops near where his library is, and they get into where exactly it sits and why Cleveland would not give him a decent deal on property taxes.

What does 'stay in the game' refer to here?

It is said of older men who refuse to retire from public life. The speaker means they still want the attention and influence even though they no longer have the ability.

My Fellow Americans · 全 13 章

すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 7 章steams my clamsPresidents Trade a Watch for a Ride
第 1 章too little too lateGolf Talk Turns Awkward第 2 章shift the stinkThe Missing Appointment Log第 3 章skedaddleTanner Summons the Presidents第 4 章in the middle of nowherePresidents Hijacked in the Woods第 5 章get away with itWalking to Ohio for Evidence再生中 · 第 6 章stick a fork inPassengers Gossip About the Presidents第 7 章steams my clamsPresidents Trade a Watch for a Ride第 8 章live in the pastOld Rivals Almost Bond第 9 章shut your cake holeWayne Gets the History Wrong第 10 章put on a spreadKramer and Douglas Find the Fix第 11 章up to its knees inHaney Confesses to the Cover-Up第 12 章the end of the worldTanner Corners Them in the Tunnel第 13 章a way aroundThe Presidents Confront Each Other
第 6 / 13 章 · 残り約 18 分