There were certain words/phrases used in this movie that I (as a non-Brit) could not figure out.
Dreg in a midge wig
Mufti
Pasha
Bate
Tuck
The last 4 have meanings by themselves, but I don't think they were used in their standard sense in the movie.
Can anyone clarify what any of these meant as they were used in Cracks ?
Add to that list:
randy bugger
play Saint Agnes eve
http://www.youtube.com/enid1911
I found some answers.
Mufti - casual clothes
Pasha (actually Pash) - a crush
Bate - a bad mood
Tuck - food
Still looking for "dreg in a midge wig"
add to that list:
woosh
http://www.youtube.com/enid1911
@Enid Woosh or wooth? (pronounced as wuz/wus or sth like that) cause if that's the word you are referring to I believe it was used as a synonym for 'weak' (According to my Spanish subtitles, lol) If I recall it was in the scene where the girls are drawing and Miss G. comes looking for Fiamma.
(talking about Fiamma) Di says: 'She's been on a bate (bad mood, as @dump well said) since this morning' then Poppy goes: 'I thought it was more of a woosh/wooth?' And Lily goes: 'No, it was definitely a bate'
Oh, and 'randy bugger' synonyms would be dirty/horny/old man. LOL.
@Dump Do you recall in which scene they mention 'Dreg in a midge wig'? Maybe I can look for it and see what the subs say?
Carpe the hell out of the diem
"Dreg in a midge wig" comes up at the start of the scene where the girls are sitting around outside bored and decide to enact the Feast of St Agnes. The line itself is almost context-free, as Poppy blurts it out in response to nothing.
shareOh, right! well according to the spanish translation, it's 'mosquitos attack' so, Poppy meant to say that girl was being attacked by mosquitos, ha! :D
Carpe the hell out of the diem
Thanks, Francesca.
But WTF ? Any Brits can explain how "dreg in a midge wig" means "mosquitos attack" ? What allusions am I missing there ?
You're very welcome!
Well, even though I speak English, I wouldn't have imagined what those words you all mentioned mean, if it wasn't for the spanish subs. And correct me if I'm wrong but, maybe it has to do with the fact that not everybody's familiar with them, since it's vocabulary of that time, you know, from the '30s and beyond.
Carpe the hell out of the diem
Try "loser in a wig made of gnats".
Midges are a type of small fly that move around in swarms and tend to fly around a person's head. Dreg is a disparaging term for the girl, who was not one of their team or clique (like "dregs" of society). In that scene there were so many flies around her head that it was like she was wearing a wig made of them.
The only thing funnier than this line was when she was doing the pirate accent early in the film. "She's obviously never read Treasure Island, she has no idea what you're on about". "Ooh-ahr, it weren't me and you carn't prove a thing" - "Ooh-ahr, mind me peg leg and me parrot".
Midges are like tiny gnats that fly around in swarms and are annoying. One of the students was walking past the girls while trying to wave the midges away from around her head.
Also see:"no-see-ums."
The narrator in the novel mentions that the mosquitoes were too much for the American students.
"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"
She does not blurt it out without context. Immediately before we see one of the girls walking across a field swatting about little flying insects (gnat?) and she looks at her and says that so basically it means a wig of flying bugs.
shareIf you understood what "dreg in a midge wig" means, then the context is clear. However, if you don't, you're not really given any hints, since it's not in response to anything anyone else says. That's what I meant by "almost context free".
share@dump123456789
I respectfully disagree. I've never heard the term before, but figured it meant the swarm of bugs around the walking girl's head was wig-like. While that explained the buggy "wig" part of the comment, the meaning of dreg was not as obvious, but her vocal tone/inflection of the dialogue delivered has an implied "loser" or "dork" vibe to it. Even the sound of the word dreg itself seems like a bit of an insult.
Without the visual clue of the girl swatting the bugs, I would not have so easily picked up on the meaning. So I totally get your point, but if you watch the scene again you will see that the visual is quite enough; no other dialogue is needed before or afterward - while it may have added additional clarity, it would've risked becoming unnecessary exposition that good director's avoid...the "show me, don't tell me" filmmaker's rule of thumb.
It's fun to get clarification on the slang words. Thanks! :)
I respectfully disagree. I've never heard the term before, but figured it meant the swarm of bugs around the walking girl's head was wig-like.
I heard wuss, and so it was in the subtitles in Netflix.
Must mean something quite different in the UK than in the U.S.
.
For future readers of this thread - I'd swear it was:
"You're dragging a midge wig" i.e. there was a trail of midges buzzing around her head. Still not an expression I have heard before...
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