Pat Wears a Jersey to Dinner, Explained：hoity-toity

What's really going on

The scene works on two levels at once. On the surface it is a comedy of manners: Pat shows up in a football jersey to a dinner where he is expected to dress properly, and his mother and Ronnie's wife both have opinions about it. Underneath, it is about men who cannot say what is wrong. Ronnie has the house, the job, and the new baby, and he admits none of it makes him happy — 'I feel like I'm getting crushed' — while Pat, who tells him not to bring it up, is quietly rehearsing compliments for a wife who is not there. The jersey is Pat's attempt to be honest about who he is, and the dinner is everyone else's attempt to keep up appearances. Tiffany's arrival at the end sets the next half of the film in motion.

Theme

このチャプターで学べること

• A jersey at a fancy dinner says more than the outfit.
• Ronnie's advice hides how much he needs to be admired.
• Pat's whisper turns small talk into a cry for help.
• Offering freedom can be a way of keeping control.

発音のポイント

• gotta go — The tt in gotta is often a soft flap in American speech.
• not gonna — In fast speech not gonna can blur into no-na.
• snapping up — Link snapping and up so the two words run together.
• trying to do — Trying to often collapses into tryna in casual speech.