The Kirbys Arrive on the Wrong Night, Explained：look on the dark side

What's really going on

The chapter is the dinner from hell, and it is funny because nobody is trying to be cruel. The Kirbys are embarrassed, the Sycamores are generous, and Kolenkhov simply says what he thinks, which is the worst possible thing at a polite table. His remark that "the Russians are inclined to look on the dark side" is meant as an explanation, not an insult, and it makes everything worse. Grandpa then follows Alice's advice and asks about business, which turns into a philosophical answer about the fence you are standing on. The scene is the two families failing to speak the same language, and the failure is the whole point.

Theme

このチャプターで学べること

• A late dinner turns into a lesson in awkwardness.
• Mr. Kirby dodges the table by talking like a banker.
• Kolenkhov says the frightening thing out loud.
• Grandpa rescues the evening by changing the subject.

発音のポイント

• half a dozen — Half a dozen runs together, with the f sliding into the next vowel.
• As a matter of — As a matter of links into one long phrase, so listen for the whole chunk.
• mind if I — Mind if I blurs in speech, with if almost swallowed.