On what occasion can one bid "Good night" in the daytime?
Tacia
I watched the film /The Graduate/ yesterday.
In the part when Benjamin goes to University of California, Berkeley,
in order to ask for Elaine's hand, it struck me as odd to hear Elaine
say "Good night" to Benjamin during the daytime when she is leaving. I
did a double take to make sure that I didn't mishear what Elaine says.
Benjamin doesn't go to bed afterwards; and it has made me very
puzzled.
I understand that "Good night" can be used as a parting phrase in the
evening, but ... in the daytime?
On what occasion can one bid "Good night" in the daytime? At will?
Best Wishes,
Tacia
annily
I would think it's unusual, and I don't remember the context in the
film, but perhaps if one knew the addressee was planning something
interesting for that evening, one might say it as short for "have a good
night (tonight)". I wouldn't though.
--
Long-time resident of Adelaide, South Australia,
which may or may not influence my opinions.
tony cooper
It would not be normal or expected. There may have been something in
the context of the scene that explained it, but it's not something
anyone would expect.
It was a movie, though. Errors do happen in movies.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Lars Eighner
<9d4fce30-8121-4dc5...@w19g2000pre.googlegroups.com>, the
lovely and talented Tacia broadcast on alt.usage.english:
> Ladies and Gentlemen:
> I watched the film /The Graduate/ yesterday.
> In the part when Benjamin goes to University of California, Berkeley,
> in order to ask for Elaine's hand, it struck me as odd to hear Elaine
> say "Good night" to Benjamin during the daytime when she is leaving. I
> did a double take to make sure that I didn't mishear what Elaine says.
> Benjamin doesn't go to bed afterwards; and it has made me very
> puzzled.
I haven't seen the movie since its original theatrical release, so I looked
for the script.
I can't find it in the draft script, so perhaps it was ad libbed.
However I did find a transcript from the movie. At the library Ben pesters
Elaine for details about how Carl proposed to her. Finally she says "Good
night!" In the script I find online, the scene is cut when he ask "Was it
in his car?" But in the transcript she says "Good night." Whether she ad
libbed this or the script online is defective, I don't know.
> I understand that "Good night" can be used as a parting phrase in the
> evening, but ... in the daytime?
It is an exclaimation often used to express exasperation --- which is what
Elaine is doing here. "Good grief!" is sometimes used in a similar way.
"Good night!" can also signify the end of the story or a discussion.
> On what occasion can one bid "Good night" in the daytime? At will?
--
Lars Eighner <http://larseighner.com/> September 5922, 1993
301 days since Rick Warren prayed over Bush's third term.
Obama: No hope, no change, more of the same. Yes, he can, but no, he won't.
Hatunen
And The Graduate had several of them, notably directionality on
the Bay Bridge and through the Goleta Tunnel.
--
************* DAVE HATUNEN (hat...@cox.net) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
John Varela
wrote:
Lacking access to the movie, I can't help you except to mention that
"Good night!" can be an exclamation of surprise or dismay.
--
John Varela
Trade NEWlamps for OLDlamps for email
tony cooper
wrote:
Or, as my grandmother would say, "Good night nurse!". I never did
understand that, but I knew what she meant.
Steve Hayes
>Lacking access to the movie, I can't help you except to mention that
>"Good night!" can be an exclamation of surprise or dismay.
Sweet Prince!
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
Steve Hayes
wrote:
>Or, as my grandmother would say, "Good night nurse!". I never did
>understand that, but I knew what she meant.
Which calls to mind images of a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush
And a quiet old lady whispering "Hush".
Roland Hutchinson
What time of day is it?
In Berkeley, in the summer, it can remain light as late as 9 pm.
--
Roland Hutchinson
He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba,"
... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy.
--Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ )
R H Draney
>
>On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:56:59 -0800, Tacia wrote:
>
>> Ladies and Gentlemen:
>>
>> I watched the film /The Graduate/ yesterday.
>>
>> In the part when Benjamin goes to University of California, Berkeley, in
>> order to ask for Elaine's hand, it struck me as odd to hear Elaine say
>> "Good night" to Benjamin during the daytime when she is leaving. I did a
>> double take to make sure that I didn't mishear what Elaine says.
>> Benjamin doesn't go to bed afterwards; and it has made me very puzzled.
>>
>> I understand that "Good night" can be used as a parting phrase in the
>> evening, but ... in the daytime?
>>
>> On what occasion can one bid "Good night" in the daytime? At will?
>
>What time of day is it?
>
>In Berkeley, in the summer, it can remain light as late as 9 pm.
And in the other direction, one can bid one's cow orkers "good night" when one
leaves the office for the day, even if it's just after lunch....r
--
A pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
An optometrist asks whether you see the glass
more full like this?...or like this?
Peter Moylan
> Or, as my grandmother would say, "Good night nurse!". I never did
> understand that, but I knew what she meant.
That sounds like a minced oath, but I can't work out what is being minced.
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
Mike Barnes
>On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:07:06 -0500, tony cooper
><tony_co...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>It was a movie, though. Errors do happen in movies.
>
>And The Graduate had several of them, notably directionality on
>the Bay Bridge and through the Goleta Tunnel.
I'm not so sure about that. In fiction, you can have things that are
unrealistic, sometimes unintentionally unrealistic, but I wouldn't call
them *errors*.
--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England
Athel Cornish-Bowden
> Hatunen <hat...@cox.net>:
>> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:07:06 -0500, tony cooper
>> <tony_co...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>> It was a movie, though. Errors do happen in movies.
>>
>> And The Graduate had several of them, notably directionality on
>> the Bay Bridge and through the Goleta Tunnel.
>
> I'm not so sure about that. In fiction, you can have things that are
> unrealistic, sometimes unintentionally unrealistic,
I feel sure that must have been the case with The Graduate -- there
can't have been many people involved in making the film who didn't know
perfectly well which way the traffic flows on the Bay Bridge. They
doubtless thought that having him drive on the lower deck wouldn't be
very photogenic. Come to that, if they'd been out for strict realism
they wouldn't have had him approaching Berkeley via the Bay Bridge in
the first place, and they wouldn't have had him driving from Santa
Barbara to Berkeley and back again in a few hours. If I remember
rightly he drove along the coast, which would also be a bit odd for
someone in a great hurry.
> but I wouldn't call
> them *errors*.
--
athel
Jerry Friedman
> On 18 Nov 2009 03:15:00 GMT, "John Varela" <OLDla...@verizon.net>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> >On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:56:59 UTC, Tacia <outofdej...@gmail.com>
> >wrote:
>
> >> Ladies and Gentlemen:
>
> >> I watched the film /The Graduate/ yesterday.
>
> >> In the part when Benjamin goes to University of California, Berkeley,
> >> in order to ask for Elaine's hand, it struck me as odd to hear Elaine
> >> say "Good night" to Benjamin during the daytime when she is leaving. I
> >> did a double take to make sure that I didn't mishear what Elaine says.
> >> Benjamin doesn't go to bed afterwards; and it has made me very
> >> puzzled.
>
> >> I understand that "Good night" can be used as a parting phrase in the
> >> evening, but ... in the daytime?
>
> >> On what occasion can one bid "Good night" in the daytime? At will?
>
> >Lacking access to the movie, I can't help you except to mention that
> >"Good night!" can be an exclamation of surprise or dismay.
>
> Or, as my grandmother would say, "Good night nurse!". I never did
> understand that, but I knew what she meant.
I remember Archie Bunker saying that on /All in the Family/. It
seemed to be last words--something like, "And then you get a heart
attack, and 'Good night nurse!'"
A quick search finds that it was the title of a 1918 short with Fatty
Arbuckle in drag flirting with Buster Keaton (or something) and a
relatively clean song popularized by Mae West in 1912. I don't know
what those would have to do with last words.
--
Jerry Friedman
Pat Durkin
news:7mhrlgF...@mid.individual.net...
from NYC to Chicago, but it appears to be on the north side of Lake
Erie.
I had to look up the filming. The train scenes, and, presumably the
exterior (views through the windows) were done in California. Just
have to accept it. Hollywood has no sense of geography.
Donna Richoux
When I moved to Boston in 1979, I noticed that my colleagues said "Good
night" when they left for the day, or when I left for the day. It felt a
tiny bit odd, as I would have been most likely to say it at the end of
an evening. But I think I picked up their habit.
Here in the Netherlands there is nothing close to "good night" ("Goede
nacht"?) and I feel the lack of it, when parting at the end of a
congenial evening event. "Rest well" or "sleep sweetly" are all they can
manage. But they're quick to adopt Anglicisms, so if I say "Good night"
in English enough times, they'll quite possibly add it, as is, to their
Dutch vocabulary.
--
Best -- Donna Richoux
Evan Kirshenbaum
It seems to be pretty old. There's a 1918 short with Fatty Arbuckle
and Buster Keaton titled "Good Night, Nurse!" and I see Google Books
hits for it a bit earlier, e.g.,
And I can safely say without fear of successful contradiction that
I look well in it, and if I can keep my hair from getting wet I'll
be the one best bet. But if the briny mingles with my marcel
wave--good night, nurse!
Kenneth McGaffey, _The Sorrows of a Show
Girl_, 1908
I can't get you, Mary. You never look at a man--why from the way
you acted when I first ran into you when we left Auburn, I thought
you'd become a suffragette, and then you meet young Gilder;
and--good night nurse!
Bayard Vieller, "Within the Law",
_Hearst's Magazine_, March, 1913
The dispatch continues that the country's only hoe of collecting
taxes on Rockefeller's holdings of stocks, bonds, moneys, etc.,
now rests in an appeal to the United States Circuit Court and if
the injunction is sustained there a final appeal may be taken to
the United States Supreme Court, all of which in contemplating
Cuyahoga county's chances to get the said taxes out of John D.,
impels us to say, in the language of the street, "Good night,
nurse."
_Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and
Enginemen's Magazine_, June, 1915
I'm not sure whether this is a play on an already-common phrase or
whether it was an ad campaign like this that led to the phrase, but I
see an ad in the _New York Times_ on July 2nd, 1913, for the
Consolodated Gas Company of New York, with a picture of a nurse
filling a hot-water bottle from a sink:
You can Say "Good-night, Nurse!"
with a feeling of absolute confidence that there will be
hot-water for the "hot-water bag," or for any other emergency,
if you have a GAS WATER HEATER. As GAS WATER HEATERS are made
in various sizes, they are designed for use in the home,
hospital, hotel, club, institution, work-shop or stable. Hot
water is always an essential and a GAS WATER HEATER is
indispensable.
So it's possible that the phrase was an advertising slogan that jumped
to popular speech. But maybe not. The ad is a bit later than the
earliest hit I found, and in December 1913, the _New York Times_
reports of the abovementioned "Within the Law" being produced in
London and audiencemembers being handed out (and "frequently
consulting") a glossary that explained some of the slang terms, among
which was
Good night, nurse--It's all over.
I was surprised to see "crooks", glossed as "criminals" heading the
list. Would that really have been unfamiliar to English audiences?
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |If only some crazy scientist
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |somewhere would develop a device
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |that would allow us to change the
|channel on our televisions......
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com | --"lazarus"
(650)857-7572
Chuck Riggs
I wouldn't either.
Getting back to the original question, it is not at all unusual to say
good night in the afternoon, especially in the late afternoon. Many
people are loath to say "good afternoon" at any time of the day, it
sounds so stuffy.
--
Regards,
Chuck Riggs,
An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE
Chuck Riggs
<haye...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:40:17 -0500, tony cooper <tony_co...@earthlink.net>
>wrote:
>
>>Or, as my grandmother would say, "Good night nurse!". I never did
>>understand that, but I knew what she meant.
>
>Which calls to mind images of a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush
>And a quiet old lady whispering "Hush".
You're a strange man, Steve.
Donna Richoux
> tony cooper <tony_co...@earthlink.net> writes:
>
> > On 18 Nov 2009 03:15:00 GMT, "John Varela" <OLDl...@verizon.net>
> > wrote:
> >
> >>Lacking access to the movie, I can't help you except to mention that
> >>"Good night!" can be an exclamation of surprise or dismay.
> >
> > Or, as my grandmother would say, "Good night nurse!". I never did
> > understand that, but I knew what she meant.
>
> It seems to be pretty old. There's a 1918 short with Fatty Arbuckle
> and Buster Keaton titled "Good Night, Nurse!" and I see Google Books
> hits for it a bit earlier, e.g.,
>
> And I can safely say without fear of successful contradiction that
> I look well in it, and if I can keep my hair from getting wet I'll
> be the one best bet. But if the briny mingles with my marcel
> wave--good night, nurse!
>
> Kenneth McGaffey, _The Sorrows of a Show
> Girl_, 1908
>
[snip more examples]
> I'm not sure whether this is a play on an already-common phrase or
> whether it was an ad campaign like this that led to the phrase, but I
> see an ad in the _New York Times_ on July 2nd, 1913, for the
> Consolodated Gas Company of New York, with a picture of a nurse
> filling a hot-water bottle from a sink:
>
> You can Say "Good-night, Nurse!"
>
> with a feeling of absolute confidence that there will be
> hot-water for the "hot-water bag," or for any other emergency,
> if you have a GAS WATER HEATER. As GAS WATER HEATERS are made
> in various sizes, they are designed for use in the home,
> hospital, hotel, club, institution, work-shop or stable. Hot
> water is always an essential and a GAS WATER HEATER is
> indispensable.
>
> So it's possible that the phrase was an advertising slogan that jumped
> to popular speech. But maybe not. The ad is a bit later than the
> earliest hit I found, and in December 1913, the _New York Times_
> reports of the abovementioned "Within the Law" being produced in
> London and audiencemembers being handed out (and "frequently
> consulting") a glossary that explained some of the slang terms, among
> which was
>
> Good night, nurse--It's all over.
RHHDAS puts it under "good night!" as "used to indicate or comment on a
disastrous conclusion; also used to indicate surprise or exasperation --
also constr. with nurse, Irene, etc."
Looks to me to be a euphemism for "Good Lord!" and "Good God!" Remember
that one of the ten commandments was against "taking the Lord's name in
vain." So if you started exclaiming "Good --" you had to finish it
somehow.
First citations in RHHDAS (abbreviated, so I know these don't convey the
full sense)
1889 often preceded by "oh, good night!"
1898 it would have been "good-night, John!' for you and Young Wolf, too
1911 good night!
1914 good night!
1917 Good night, Irene!
1917 But, good night,
1918 Good night!
1918 it's good night nurse
1925 it would be a case of "good night, nurse!"
So they didn't find examples with "nurse" as early as you did, Evan.
>
> I was surprised to see "crooks", glossed as "criminals" heading the
> list. Would that really have been unfamiliar to English audiences?
RHHDAS has uses from the 1870s on, but some of these words lived in
underworld slang a long time before they became standard.
Mike Lyle
> On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:23:23 +0200, Steve Hayes
> <haye...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:40:17 -0500, tony cooper
>> <tony_co...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Or, as my grandmother would say, "Good night nurse!". I never did
>>> understand that, but I knew what she meant.
>>
>> Which calls to mind images of a comb and a brush and a bowl full of
>> mush
>> And a quiet old lady whispering "Hush".
>
> You're a strange man, Steve.
So are you perhaps a stranger to Google, Chuck?
--
Mike.
Mike Lyle
> On 18 Nov 2009 03:15:00 GMT, "John Varela" <OLDl...@verizon.net>
> wrote:
>
>> Lacking access to the movie, I can't help you except to mention that
>> "Good night!" can be an exclamation of surprise or dismay.
>
> Sweet Prince!
I bet Chuck knows that one.
--
Mike.
Mark Brader
> In North by Northwest, the train is supposed to be travelling westward
> from NYC to Chicago, but it appears to be on the north side of Lake
> Erie.
Wrong. The Century left New York early in the evening, and the
dining-car scene takes place the same day, before people go to bed.
(And since it's still daylight, the story must take place in late
spring or summer.) So the water is supposed to be the Hudson River,
which, as everyone knows, would indeed be on the left-hand side of
of the train (on that part of the run, the west side).
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "Don't let it drive you crazy...
m...@vex.net | Leave the driving to us!" --Wayne & Shuster
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Evan Kirshenbaum
> Evan Kirshenbaum <kirsh...@hpl.hp.com> wrote:
[quoting]
>> Good night, nurse--It's all over.
>
> RHHDAS puts it under "good night!" as "used to indicate or comment
> on a disastrous conclusion; also used to indicate surprise or
> exasperation -- also constr. with nurse, Irene, etc."
>
> Looks to me to be a euphemism for "Good Lord!" and "Good God!"
> Remember that one of the ten commandments was against "taking the
> Lord's name in vain." So if you started exclaiming "Good --" you had
> to finish it somehow.
But a minced oath for what in particular? I can't think of a "Good
Lord" or "Good God" variant that means "It's all over".
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |Your claim might have more
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |credibility if you hadn't mispelled
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |"inteligent"
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com
(650)857-7572
Evan Kirshenbaum
It's not even a recent book, having been first published in 1947,
although the Wikipedia page implies that it didn't become that popular
until at least the '70s.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |When all else fails, give the
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |customer what they ask for. This
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |is strong medicine and rarely needs
|to be repeated.
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com
(650)857-7572
Mark Brader
>> Looks to me to be a euphemism for "Good Lord!" and "Good God!"
>> Remember that one of the ten commandments was against "taking the
>> Lord's name in vain." So if you started exclaiming "Good --" you had
>> to finish it somehow.
> But a minced oath for what in particular? I can't think of a "Good
> Lord" or "Good God" variant that means "It's all over".
Maybe the expression was so sacrilegious that people never wrote it down
and stopped using it in speech, and now it's been forgotten.
:-)
--
Mark Brader | "I thought it was a big joke.
Toronto | Dr. Brader is known for joking around a lot."
m...@vex.net | --Matthew McKnight
Donna Richoux
> tr...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) writes:
>
> > Evan Kirshenbaum <kirsh...@hpl.hp.com> wrote:
>
> [quoting]
>
> >> Good night, nurse--It's all over.
> >
> > RHHDAS puts it under "good night!" as "used to indicate or comment
> > on a disastrous conclusion; also used to indicate surprise or
> > exasperation -- also constr. with nurse, Irene, etc."
> >
> > Looks to me to be a euphemism for "Good Lord!" and "Good God!"
> > Remember that one of the ten commandments was against "taking the
> > Lord's name in vain." So if you started exclaiming "Good --" you had
> > to finish it somehow.
>
> But a minced oath for what in particular? I can't think of a "Good
> Lord" or "Good God" variant that means "It's all over".
The RHHDAS examples did not all mean "It's all over." Some did,
particularly the late one of 1925, which was in full:
-- "Holy Smoke! Look at that shell! If one of them things ever hit you,
kid, it would be a case of "good night, nurse".
Others didn't. My theory in the last post was that the meaning
progressed over the years from mere astonishment, dismay, etc, to the
sense of "that's all she wrote," it's all over, or something like that.
However, when I look again at the sequence of citations, I see it's
mixed. Some earlier suggest finality, etc, and some later ones don't.
Take this one. What is the sentiment expressed?
-- 1917 Stickin' for the Big Show! Will it ever start? When it does,
Good night, Irene!
The meaning is unspecified. It can't be that the show will be over when
it begins. Trying for a synonym there, all I can think of is "Good God
Almighty!" "Won't it be something!"
-- 1917 But, good night, I came up with nary a spavin.
Not getting a spavin is a good thing. I can't tell how the "good night"
was uttered and why.
Robert Bannister
> tony cooper wrote:
>
>> Or, as my grandmother would say, "Good night nurse!". I never did
>> understand that, but I knew what she meant.
>
> That sounds like a minced oath, but I can't work out what is being minced.
>
I have always understood "Good night, nurse" to mean "that's (the end
of) it", and my belief is (or was, since I am ready to be persuaded
otherwise) that they were originally the final words of a dying soldier
and then, by extension, the phrase "...and then it was goodnight nurse"
came to mean "and then he died" and so further to "and then that was the
end of that".
--
Rob Bannister
Andrew B.
> Hatunen <hatu...@cox.net>:
>
> In fiction, you can have things that are
> unrealistic, sometimes unintentionally unrealistic, but I wouldn't call
> them *errors*.
What about (say) an actor in a film set in the 14th century forgetting
to remove or conceal his digital watch?
Robert Bannister
>
> And in the other direction, one can bid one's cow orkers "good night" when one
> leaves the office for the day, even if it's just after lunch....r
>
>
This is similar to what Chuck said. It sounds weird to me unless the
"goodnight" were meant as a joke. There are many ways of saying goodbye,
but goodnight is reserved for when it's getting on for bedtime.
--
Rob Bannister
John Varela
<kirsh...@hpl.hp.com> wrote:
> "Mike Lyle" <mike_l...@REMOVETHISyahoo.co.uk> writes:
>
> > Chuck Riggs wrote:
> >> On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:23:23 +0200, Steve Hayes
> >> <haye...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:40:17 -0500, tony cooper
> >>> <tony_co...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Or, as my grandmother would say, "Good night nurse!". I never
> >>>> did understand that, but I knew what she meant.
> >>>
> >>> Which calls to mind images of a comb and a brush and a bowl full
> >>> of mush And a quiet old lady whispering "Hush".
> >>
> >> You're a strange man, Steve.
> >
> > So are you perhaps a stranger to Google, Chuck?
>
> It's not even a recent book, having been first published in 1947,
> although the Wikipedia page implies that it didn't become that popular
> until at least the '70s.
I'd never heard of it until my grandchildren had a copy.
--
John Varela
Trade NEWlamps for OLDlamps for email
Jerry Friedman
> t...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) writes:
> > Evan Kirshenbaum <kirshenb...@hpl.hp.com> wrote:
>
> [quoting]
>
> >> Good night, nurse--It's all over.
>
> > RHHDAS puts it under "good night!" as "used to indicate or comment
> > on a disastrous conclusion; also used to indicate surprise or
> > exasperation -- also constr. with nurse, Irene, etc."
>
> > Looks to me to be a euphemism for "Good Lord!" and "Good God!"
> > Remember that one of the ten commandments was against "taking the
> > Lord's name in vain." So if you started exclaiming "Good --" you had
> > to finish it somehow.
>
> But a minced oath for what in particular? I can't think of a "Good
> Lord" or "Good God" variant that means "It's all over".
Whereas "good night" means "the day is over".
Any feelings on how "nurse" got in there? A hospital patient, as I
suspected before, or a child talking to a woman who takes care of him
or her?
--
Jerry Friedman
Jerry Friedman
> On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:26:03 +0000, Mike Barnes
>
> >Hatunen <hatu...@cox.net>:
> >>On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:07:06 -0500, tony cooper
> >><tony_cooper...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> >>>It was a movie, though. Errors do happen in movies.
>
> >>And The Graduate had several of them, notably directionality on
> >>the Bay Bridge and through the Goleta Tunnel.
>
> >I'm not so sure about that. In fiction, you can have things that are
> >unrealistic, sometimes unintentionally unrealistic, but I wouldn't call
> >them *errors*.
>
> I wouldn't either.
Me neither. In the movie, those are sets, not places. It's like
objecting to a production of /The Tempest/ that had no water on the
stage. (Well, not quite like that.)
> Getting back to the original question, it is not at all unusual to say
> good night in the afternoon, especially in the late afternoon. Many
> people are loath to say "good afternoon" at any time of the day, it
> sounds so stuffy.
Maybe you and Ron can say that, but it's not part of my English. I
think I've heard it, but rarely. There's always "good-bye" and "see
you tomorrow" and their many synonyms at any level of formality anyone
could want.
Laters.
--
Jerry Friedman
Roland Hutchinson
...and flights of Saxons sing him to his rest.
tony cooper
Mr Draney will know which, but some "classic" US western movie had a
scene of a wagon train with a jet's contrail visible in the sky.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
tony cooper
My grandmother used it as an exclamation of exasperation. To my
grandfather's brother: "Do not leave that cigar stub in the ashtray.
Good night nurse! What a disgusting thing." (My grandfather's
brother never lit cigars. He chewed them down to a pulpy, sodden,
nasty-looking stub.)
R H Draney
>
>Mr Draney will know which, but some "classic" US western movie had a
>scene of a wagon train with a jet's contrail visible in the sky.
I had to look around a little...it's in "Wagons East" (1994), but that's a
comedy and perhaps can be dismissed as a filmmaker's little joke...earlier there
was "Bend of the River" (1952) which is probably the one you're thinking of....r
--
A pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
An optometrist asks whether you see the glass
more full like this?...or like this?
R H Draney
I don't think so...I've always considered the rationale to be that this is the
last time you'll see that person today; by the next time you meet, both of you
will have had a night's sleep....r
Peter Moylan
> Here in the Netherlands there is nothing close to "good night" ("Goede
> nacht"?) and I feel the lack of it, when parting at the end of a
> congenial evening event.
I once had a "Teach Yourself Dutch" recording (on vinyl, so that will
give some idea of the era) that began, modulo my spelling errors, with
"Goede morgen, meneer Smits. Goed middag, mevrouw Smits. Goeden avond,
juffrouw Smits. Goede nacht, dames en herren."
It always struck me as vaguely suggestive.
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
Frank ess
John Varela wrote:
> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:56:59 UTC, Tacia <outof...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Ladies and Gentlemen:
>>
>> I watched the film /The Graduate/ yesterday.
>>
>> In the part when Benjamin goes to University of California,
>> Berkeley, in order to ask for Elaine's hand, it struck me as odd
>> to hear Elaine say "Good night" to Benjamin during the daytime
>> when she is leaving. I did a double take to make sure that I
>> didn't mishear what Elaine says. Benjamin doesn't go to bed
>> afterwards; and it has made me very puzzled.
>>
>> I understand that "Good night" can be used as a parting phrase in
>> the evening, but ... in the daytime?
>>
>> On what occasion can one bid "Good night" in the daytime? At will?
>
> Lacking access to the movie, I can't help you except to mention that
> "Good night!" can be an exclamation of surprise or dismay.
I don't remember the movie well enough to add context, but without it
I'd conject that they have a history of ending interactions with the
"Good night!" expression. At the level that film's dialog works, even
without seeing prior instances, the director (Mike Nichols) and
authors (Calder Willingham and Buck Henry) may be telling us something
about the nature and tone of the couple's relationship.
It could happen ...
--
Frank ess
Frank ess
John Varela wrote:
> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:56:59 UTC, Tacia <outof...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Ladies and Gentlemen:
>>
>> I watched the film /The Graduate/ yesterday.
>>
>> In the part when Benjamin goes to University of California,
>> Berkeley, in order to ask for Elaine's hand, it struck me as odd
>> to hear Elaine say "Good night" to Benjamin during the daytime
>> when she is leaving. I did a double take to make sure that I
>> didn't mishear what Elaine says. Benjamin doesn't go to bed
>> afterwards; and it has made me very puzzled.
>>
>> I understand that "Good night" can be used as a parting phrase in
>> the evening, but ... in the daytime?
>>
>> On what occasion can one bid "Good night" in the daytime? At will?
>
> Lacking access to the movie, I can't help you except to mention that
> "Good night!" can be an exclamation of surprise or dismay.
This quotation is in the IMdB"
Elaine: Good night.
Benjamin: Are we getting married tomorrow?
Elaine: No...
Benjamin: Day after tomorrow?
Elaine: I don't know. Maybe we are, and maybe we're not.
Is she just dismissing him so she doesn't have to face something?
--
Frank ess
Frank ess
Jerry Friedman wrote:
> On Nov 17, 8:40 pm, tony cooper <tony_cooper...@earthlink.net>
> wrote:
>> On 18 Nov 2009 03:15:00 GMT, "John Varela" <OLDla...@verizon.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:56:59 UTC, Tacia <outofdej...@gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>
>>>> Ladies and Gentlemen:
>>
>>>> I watched the film /The Graduate/ yesterday.
>>
>>>> In the part when Benjamin goes to University of California,
>>>> Berkeley, in order to ask for Elaine's hand, it struck me as odd
>>>> to hear Elaine say "Good night" to Benjamin during the daytime
>>>> when she is leaving. I did a double take to make sure that I
>>>> didn't mishear what Elaine says. Benjamin doesn't go to bed
>>>> afterwards; and it has made me very puzzled.
>>
>>>> I understand that "Good night" can be used as a parting phrase
>>>> in the evening, but ... in the daytime?
>>
>>>> On what occasion can one bid "Good night" in the daytime? At
>>>> will?
>>
>>> Lacking access to the movie, I can't help you except to mention
>>> that "Good night!" can be an exclamation of surprise or dismay.
>>
>> Or, as my grandmother would say, "Good night nurse!". I never did
>> understand that, but I knew what she meant.
>
> I remember Archie Bunker saying that on /All in the Family/. It
> seemed to be last words--something like, "And then you get a heart
> attack, and 'Good night nurse!'"
>
> A quick search finds that it was the title of a 1918 short with
> Fatty Arbuckle in drag flirting with Buster Keaton (or something)
> and a relatively clean song popularized by Mae West in 1912. I
> don't know what those would have to do with last words.
I still don't know why "Good night nurse!" would mean anything more
than what it says, but it was definitely the title of a "Tijuana
Bible" or "Four-pager" I saw when I was fifteen or so. Pretty sure it
was Moon Mullins, but I don't see it here (may have missed it - my
mind wandered a bit):
http://www.tijuana-bible.com/Cartoon_Main.htm
--
Frank ess
Frank ess
It is on this list, however:
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3776228/Tijuana_Bible_comic_books_%28eight-papers%29_selection
--
Frank ess
tony cooper
wrote:
I don't recognize either "Tijuana Bible" or "Four-pager", but methinks
you are referring to what I knew as "Eight-page Bibles".
Frank ess
Yeah, well, I was giving a "Senior Discount". Not intentionally.
--
Frank ess
Mike Barnes
Then the film *records* an error made by the actor.
The film itself is no more in error there than it is in all the other
events it depicts that never actually happened.
--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England
Chuck Riggs
I do "see you", "see you tomorrow" and "'bye", but "goodbye" sounds so
final I generally reserve it for when one of us is going away for at
least two weeks.
--
Regards,
Chuck Riggs,
An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE
Chuck Riggs
<mike_l...@REMOVETHISyahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>Chuck Riggs wrote:
>> On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:23:23 +0200, Steve Hayes
>> <haye...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:40:17 -0500, tony cooper
>>> <tony_co...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Or, as my grandmother would say, "Good night nurse!". I never did
>>>> understand that, but I knew what she meant.
>>>
>>> Which calls to mind images of a comb and a brush and a bowl full of
>>> mush
>>> And a quiet old lady whispering "Hush".
>>
>> You're a strange man, Steve.
>
>So are you perhaps a stranger to Google, Chuck?
Life is short and I have no time to be niggled.
John Varela
<tony_co...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> (My grandfather's
> brother never lit cigars. He chewed them down to a pulpy, sodden,
> nasty-looking stub.)
Some 40 years ago in South Jersey I used to be our rep to the weekly
computer scheduling meetings, to which IBM would send this short,
fat guy who looked like everyone's idea of a Teamster's Union
negotiator. He always had a cigar in his mouth, which he never lit,
yet it would disappear. The whole aspect was scary. (He generally
got his way, not because he was scary, but because he had the
usually implied but sometimes overt threat that if the developers
didn't get all the time they wanted then the system would be
delayed.)
Robert Bannister
I'm getting the impression from the above and also from what Tony wrote
that there may be a pondial difference here.
--
Rob Bannister
Richard Bollard
wrote:
>tony cooper filted:
>>
>>Mr Draney will know which, but some "classic" US western movie had a
>>scene of a wagon train with a jet's contrail visible in the sky.
>
>I had to look around a little...it's in "Wagons East" (1994), but that's a
>comedy and perhaps can be dismissed as a filmmaker's little joke...earlier there
>was "Bend of the River" (1952) which is probably the one you're thinking of....r
If you like those little jokes, have a look at this episode of People
Like Us.
At about the three minute mark, there is a reflection of a plane
taking off, reflected in the glass of the windows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SwECTyXaA4
I love the verbal humour of this show.
She: "the area we're going into is called 'Ops'"
He: "and that's short for ...?"
She: "convenience".
--
Richard Bollard
Canberra Australia
To email, I'm at AMT not spAMT.
Nick
I tend to shout "goodnight" at anyone left in the office when I go home
- usually around 17:45. At this time of the year it's pitch black by
then, but I do the same in summer when there are hours of daylight left.
--
Online waterways route planner: http://canalplan.org.uk
development version: http://canalplan.eu
Nick
> tony cooper filted:
>>
>>Mr Draney will know which, but some "classic" US western movie had a
>>scene of a wagon train with a jet's contrail visible in the sky.
>
> I had to look around a little...it's in "Wagons East" (1994), but that's a
> comedy and perhaps can be dismissed as a filmmaker's little joke...earlier there
> was "Bend of the River" (1952) which is probably the one you're
> thinking of....r
Here's a recent one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35124303@N06/4002201090/