Summary:
Lionel Hutz teaches Marge the difference between telling the truth and telling "the truth", which is actually misrepresenting the truth, when selling houses.
Transcript
[a storefront with a sign saying "Red Blazer Realty"]
Lionel Hutz: Marge, I've had a lot of calls about you. Customers love your "no pressure" approach!
Marge: Well, like we say, "The right house for the right person".
Hutz: [sits next to Marge] Listen, it's time I let you in on a little secret, Marge. The right house is the house that's for sale; the right person is anyone.
Marge: But all I did was tell the truth.
Hutz: Of course you did! But there's the truth [lowers voice, frowns, and shakes head] and "the truth" [raises voice, smiles, and nods]. Let me show you.
[Hutz opens a book showing a picture of a small house]
Marge: It's awfully small.
Hutz: I'd say it's awfully "cozy".
[Hutz turns the page to a picture of a house in poor shape with a cow next to it]
Marge: That's dilapidated.
Hutz: "Rustic".
[Hutz turns the page again, although the audience cannot see what is on the page]
Marge: [alarmed] That house is on fire!
Hutz: "Motivated seller"!
[Hutz turns the page one more time to a picture of a beautiful Victorian house with the word "Reduced" stamped on the picture]
Marge: That's a beauty!
Hutz: [abruptly closes book] Forget about that house; that's the murder house.
Idioms and vocab:
misrepresent -- to falsely present something, especially to deceive someone
let you in on -- tell you about
cozy -- small but comfortable
dilapidated -- deteriorated; fallen into ruin
rustic -- characteristic of the countryside; rural
motivated -- having an incentive or strong desire
Reductions and Pronunciation:
let you = letchu
let me = lemme
awfully = offly
Now you practice:
Marge uses the fixed phrase "all I did was" followed by the base form of a verb to explain her actions. The phrase "all I did was ______" is often used by people to either justify their actions (as Marge does) or minimize their actions (e.g., If you eat some cake even though your mother told you not to, you might say "All I did was eat a little cake!").
Email your response to jpenna@udel.edu for this week's Simpson's practice.