Frasier: After the Spelling Bee

A spelling bee is a competition where children (or occasionally adults) take turns spelling until one of them misses a word and is eliminated.

In this clip from Frasier, Frasier's son Frederick won the spelling bee trophy, but the judges instead gave it to his rival, Warren, because Frasier was mouthing the spelling letters along with Frederick and the judges thought they had cheated.



Freddie: I can outspell you anytime, anyplace/

Warren: Oh, yeah? How about right now?

Warren's dad, John: A...an... Hold on, son. We don't have to prove anything.

Freddie: I can take you in five words.

Warren: Okay, you're on! For the trophy!

Warren's dad: Wai...wait... We already have the trophy. Crane, why don't you talk some sense into your boy there?

Frasier: Freddie

Freddie: Dad. I wanna spell.

Frasier: What's the matter, John. You scared?

John: For the trophy.

Tournament official: We have already selected an official winner. If you would like to brawl, take it someplace else.

John: Let's take it outside!

Frasier: To the street! [Group moves outside] Sudden death. Scripps-Howard rules.

John: Bring it on.

Niles: People! Stop, please! Look at yourselves! This is wrong. What are words, after all, but a way to communicate? To bring us together? But you! You're using them as weapons! Now we still have an opportunity to walk away from here as winners. And wouldn't that be the greatest "spellabration" of all?

Frasier: He's right, son. Let's go home.

John: Yeah. We're all winners. 'Cept for the two cheaters.

Warren: Hey, you know how to spell 'loser'? C-R-A-N-E.

John: You don't have to worry about ever seeing him again, son. Chances are he'll end up at a state school.

Niles: How...DARE you? [to Freddie] Can you take him?

Freddie: Yeah.

Niles: Then spell his ass off!

****

Vocabulary/idioms

outspell: Spell better. The prefix "out" is often used to show that one person can do something better than another. Ex: Outdo, outclass, outrun, etc.

I can take you: I can beat you. I can win.

you're on: I accept the challenge. Usu. used for bets or competitions. One person challenges, the other agrees by saying, "You're on."

If you would like to brawl, take it someplace else: This expression was used a lot in Western movies when cowboys would start to fight in saloons/bars. It's humorous to hear it used for spelling.

talk some sense into: make him see reason, keep him from doing something bad. Ex.: My mom wants to give all her money to that preacher on TV. Can you talk some sense into her?

wanna: Want to. Common in spoken English.

Sudden death: A competition rule where the first person to miss is out. In sports, it means the first person/team to score wins.

Scripps-Howard rules: Scripps-Howard is the newspaper company that sponsors US spelling bees. Their rules are used for official spelling competitions.

Bring it on: A slang way of saying, "Let's see your best." Used mostly be younger people when one challenges another. Similar to "Show me what you've got." (Also the title of a movie about a cheerleading competition.)

Spellabration: A word Niles makes up combining "spell" and "celebration.

'Cept: Except. Used sometimes in spoken conversation.

Chances are he'll end up at a state school: For intellectual snobs like the Cranes, this is an insult. It implies that Freddie will not be smart enough to get into a high-level, private Ivy League school. (In reality in the US, many state-run schools are high-quality.)

Can you take him?: Can you beat him? Can you win?

spell his ass off!: (Vulgar -- not the kind of thing you say in front of your mother-in-law or your boss!) A slang expression that here means, "Beat him at spelling." In real life, "[verb] [someone's] ass off" is a crude way to describe things that require a lot of effort, or which one person thinks he/she can do better than another.
Ex: "My boss worked my ass off today" = "My boss made me work hard."
Or: "You think you can [verb] better than me? I can [verb] your ass off."

Frasier

Frasier: I am NOT leaving!

[AFTER HE LEFT]

Martin: What're you still doing with that? I thought you were gonna return it.

Frasier: They wouldn't take it back. All I got was attitude and a cheap glass of wine. Loire Valley my ass.

Martin: What are you gonna do now?

Frasier: Well, they forced my hand. I'm gonna call the police.

Martin: Five-five-five Three-thousand.

Frasier: Thanks, dad. Try to mess with Dr. Frasier Crane, I'll teach them. [Into phone] Hello, yes, uh... Oh, just a second. Dad, who do I ask for?

Martin: Have 'em put you through to the Fine Arts Forgery Department.

Frasier: Right. [Into phone.] Hello, yes, uh, the Fine Arts Forgery Department, please. [To Martin] Dad, they're laughing at me.

****

VOCAB NOTES:

What're: "What are." Very common in spoken English, not in formal writing.

What're you still doing with that: Why do you still have that?

gonna: "Going to." Very common in spoken English.

attitude: idiom, short for "bad attitude," in this case poor service at a store. Usage Example: Mom to teen: "Don't give me attitude!"

my ass: Vulgar. "That's not how it really is." Often used at the end of a phrase when something is the opposite of what it claims to be. Here he's saying that the store was lying about the wine being from the Loire Valley. (Don't use this phrase in front of your mother-in-law.)

forced my hand: idiom that comes from the card game poker. It means he was forced to act.

Five-five-five Three-thousand: In the US, phone numbers are stated with either 7 or 10 digits. If 7, the first three are usually divided from the last four. If ten, the first three are the Area Code, and the number is divided 3-3-4. (Two-oh-six, five-five-five, three-thousand.) In TV shows, most numbers start with 555 because the prefix is not used in real phone systems.

mess with: idiom for bother, annoy, make angry

I'll teach them: idiom, a threat shortened from "I'll teach them not to do that."

just a second: idiom used when asking someone to wait. "Just a minute" is also used frequently. It is used for any short period of time -- not for a literal minute or second. Sometimes you'll hear "sec" for second: "Just a sec," or an even shorter/quicker "Jus' sec."

'em: Them. Common in spoken English.

Cosby Show -- Rudy's Vegetables

Rudy: No

Mom: I'm gonna get this.* Mrs. Davis will be here at any moment. Cliff, don't let Rudy get up from that table till she's cleaned her plate.

Rudy: I'm not eating them

Dad: All right. Then just sit here.

Rudy: For how long?

Dad: For how long? Until you eat them. All I can say is, I remember a little girl, and she wouldn't eat her vegetables and her parents said, "Well, you're just gonna sit there until you eat them." And, uh, she saw her friends growing up, people were going to college... She was still sitting there. In the same clothes she had on when she was five years old. (Laughs.) Now are you gonna eat 'em?

Rudy: No

Dad: All right, then just sit there, all right? And don't try to hide 'em because if you try to hide 'em, I'm coming back and I'm going to...

Dad and Rudy: Check...my...teeth.

Dad: Right

*************

*I can't tell if she's saying, "I'm gonna get this," or "I'd better get this." Yes, even native English speakers have a hard time understanding sometimes!

Vocabulary used often in spoken English

Gonna -- Used a lot in spoken English. Short for going to.
Don't -- contraction for do not
Till -- Until. Used a lot in spoken English. If you use it in writing, be sure to spell with two LLs. Till, not til.
she's -- she has. (She's can also be a contraction for "she is.")
I'm -- contraction for I am
wouldn't -- contraction for would not
Well** -- used a lot at the beginning of sentences. A "filler word" with no real meaning
Uh** – Also a "filler word." No real meaning. It usually fills time while people are thinking. Um is the same. Very common in spoken English.
'em -- short for them. Very common in spoken English.
all right? -- same as "okay?" Similar meaning to "do you understand?"

**Filler words:
Words like Um, well, uh, so, y’know
When they are used as fillers, they don’t have any real meaning. They are just used to fill pauses.

“Well, I think I am going.”
“Um, maybe not.”
“So, what do you think?”