安妮 霍尔 Annie Hall

Annie Hall
(Romantic Comedy) ( 1976)
Major Characters

Alvy Singer................Woody Allen
     A very nervous and intellectual Jewish comedian who lives in
     New York, hates Los Angeles and has fallen in love with Annie.

Annie Hall..................Diane Keaton
     A charming but insecure young woman who moves to New York from
     her hometown in Wisconsin, who ideally would like to be a singer.

Max..........................Tony Roberts
     Alvy’s friend, who is an actor, and thinks that both
     he and Alvy should move to Los Angeles (LA).

Tony Lacey....................Paul Simon
     A record producer who lives in LA, who meets Annie and wants her to
     move there so that she will make some music in his recording studio.

Allison.......................Carol Kane
     Alvy’s very cute and smart first wife, who he
     meets at a political rally in the 1950s.

Robin..........................Janet Margolis
     A reporter for Rolling Stone magazine who
     Alvy dates after breaking up with Annie.

Pam............................Shelly Duvall
     Alvy’s second wife, who is a writer and student.


Plot Summary

Annie Hall is Woody Allen’s story of the relationship between Alvy Singer, a very
nervous and intellectual Jewish New York comedian, and Annie Hall, a charming and
pretty but insecure young woman from the small town of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin,
who tries to start a new life for herself in New York. After they meet, Annie moves
into Alvy’s apartment, and both face the difficulties of living with each other,
a challenge which is very big in part because they are such different people, and
in part because both are a little neurotic (emotionally nervous). Both spend much
of the film going to their psychologists, in hopes of better understanding themselves
and each other.

The film tells of the relationship from Alvy’s point of view, and thus includes "flash
back scenes" to his childhood, as well as scenes from  relationships he had with previous
wives and girlfriends. Still, the focus is on Annie, as Alvy meets her, falls in love
with her, decides to live with her, meets her very non-Jewish middle American family,
and finally, follows her out to California as she decides to pursue a career as a
singer. Unfortunately, their relationship is filled with tension and craziness,
and it’s not clear that it will last for the long term….

A Background Note: Woody Allen is considered one of the greatest comic film makers ever,
and this is perhaps his best known movie. It won an Academy Award for best film of the
year in 1977, and a generation later, it’s now considered a true classic.

For ESL students, it is also a particularly good exploration of some of the various
subcultures and geographic differences that make up the United States. Alvy Singer is
a typical Jewish New Yorker, educated, intellectual and nervous. Annie Hall’s Wisconsin
family is pure middle American, small- town and very "white" (and in the case of
Annie’s grandmother, racist against Jews!). And finally, there is the depiction of
Los Angeles, a city that Alvy Singer strongly dislikes because (he feels) it is
ridiculously superficial and obsessed with good looking people and money.



Some Words and Expressions that You May not Know


            Alvy Singer tells us about his life.


Two elderly women are at the Catskill Mountain resort.
     "Elderly" is another word for old. A "resort" is a place where
     people vacation, often passing the time playing sports and relaxing.

Such small portions.
     A "portion" of food is a share, part or amount.

The other joke is usually attributed to Grouch Marx.
     "To attribute" a joke to a person is to credit them with creating it
     (Groucho Marx was a very famous comedian and comic actor).

Freud’s "Wit and its Relation to the Unconscious."
     Freud is Sigmund Freud, the Jewish "father of modern psychology."
     "Wit" is the ability to be funny, and a person’s "unconscious" refers
     to behaviors and emotions they have that they are not even aware of.

I’m paraphrasing...I  would never want to belong
to a club that would have someone like me as a member.
     "To paraphrase" a story or joke is to summarize it, without using the exact words.

I think I’m going to be the balding, virile type, as opposed to the distinguished gray.
     A "virile" man is strong and very masculine. A man who is
     "distinguished gray" has gray hair and appears very educated.

Unless I’m one of those guys with saliva dribbling out of his mouth.
     "Saliva" is the liquid everyone has in their mouth,
     and if it "dribbles," it flows slowly out.

Annie and I broke up.
     If two people "break up," they end their romantic relationship.

I’m sifting the pieces of the relationship through my mind.
     "To sift through" something is to carefully analyze
     and study it, part by part, or piece by piece.

I’m trying to figure out where did the screw-up come.
     "To figure out" something is to try and understand it. A "screw-up" is
     something that is very badly done, or perhaps a total failure (Note that
     the verb "to screw-up" is much more common).

I’m not a morose type.
     A great word meaning bad tempered, angry or not cheerful.

Brooklyn.
     A part of New York City, across a river from the island of Manhattan.

The universe is expanding, and some day it
will break apart, and that will be the end of everything.
     "To expand" is to grow bigger.

My analyst says I exaggerate my childhood memories...
     An "analyst" is another word for a psychologist. "To exaggerate" something
     is to make it seem bigger, faster, greater, etc. than it really is.

...but I swear I was brought up underneath the roller
coaster of the Coney Island section of Brooklyn.
     A "roller coaster" is a scary ride that is found at places like
     Disneyland (Coney Island is a well known part of Brooklyn).

That accounts for my personality...which is a little nervous.
     "That accounts for" is another way of saying that explains.

I have a hyperactive imagination.
     If your imagination is "hyperactive," you’re always making yourself
     scared or upset by thinking of ridiculous things that can’t happen.

The staff at our public school.
     "The staff" of an organization are the people
     who work there, such as the teachers and principal.

Those who can’t teach, teach gym.
     "Gym" is another word for physical education, or sports in school.

I always thought my schoolmates were idiots.
     An "idiot" is a very common word for a stupid person.

Even then I knew that they were just jerks.
     A "jerk" is a stupid, obnoxious or unpleasant person.

For God’s sake, Alvy, even Freud speaks of a latency period.
     "For God’s sake" is a common way of expressing frustration.
     "A latency period" is a period of non-activity, or in psychology, the
     idea that people don’t discover their sexuality until later in life.

Why couldn’t you be like Donald? Now there was a model boy.
     A "model boy" is a one who behaves perfectly.

I used to be a heroin addict; Now I’m a methadone addict.
     A "heroin addict" is a person who needs to take heroin or they’ll
     suffer great pain. "Heroin" is a very dangerous and illegal drug taken
     with needles, and "methadone" is a less dangerous substitute drug.

I’m into leather.
     To be "into" something is a slangy way of saying to like it very much.
     "Leather" is an expensive material for clothing made of cow skin.

I lost track of my old schoolmates, but I wound up a comedian.
     "To lose track" of a person is to lose contact with them, and thus no
     longer know where they are. "To wind up" doing something is another way
     of saying to finish or end up doing it.

In the event of war, I’m a hostage.
     A "hostage" is a person who is kept by a kidnapper, terrorist or
     enemy, in order to make demands for that person’s freedom.

You were always out of step with the world.
     To be "out of step" with someone (or the world) is to think
     or do things in a way that is completely different from them.

You’re a total paranoid.
     A person who is "paranoid" is always convinced that something very bad
     is going to happen to them (It’s usually an adjective, not a noun).

I pick up on these kind of things.
     In this case, to "pick up on" something is to notice and understand it.

Tom said "No, Jew?" Not "Did you eat?" but "Jew eat?"
     A funny line; Alvy is convinced that everyone hates Jewish people.

Max, you see conspiracies in everything.
     A "conspiracy" is a secret plot or plan between two or more people,
     often designed to kill somebody or hurt a particular group.

Wagner.
     A famous German composer who was known to be anti-Jewish.

Let’s get the hell out of this crazy city.
     "The hell" is added in order to show emotion such as frustration.

We’ll move to sunny LA; All of show business is there.
     LA is America’s greatest city, Los Angeles. "Show business" refers
     to the movie and TV business, and perhaps the theatre business.

I don’t want to live in a city where the only cultural
advantage is that you can make a right turn on a red light.
     A clever line which shows how much Woody Allen dislikes LA;
     A "cultural advantage" usually refers to the large number of
     restaurants or theatres, and not a particular driving rule!


            Alvy and Annie miss one movie, go to another
            and discuss their evolving relationship.


I’m Robert Redford.  :: Come on!
     The greatest and most versatile phrasal verb in English,
     here meaning "Be serious" (Redford is a famous actor).

This guy’s on television! :: Give me a break!
     A great expression which is a colloquial way of
     telling a person to stop being ridiculous.

I need a large polo mallet.
     A wooden stick used for hitting a ball in the British game of polo.

What is this? A meeting of the teamsters?
     A famous labor union that used to be associated with organized crime.

Learn to deal with it. :: I’m dealing with two guys named Cheech.
     "To deal" with something is to try and manage  or accept it.

Two minutes late. :: We’ve blown it already.
     "To blow" something is to do it very badly, or to completely fail
     (In this case, they failed to arrive on time for the movie).

The Sorrow and The Pity.
     A famous documentary movie about the nazi killings of the
     Jews during World War 2.(Sorrow means great sadness).

I’ve got to see a film from start to finish because I’m anal.
     A funny adjective, based on modern psychology, to describe a person who
     is usually nervous and always needs everything to be in perfect order
     (Anal literally means related to the rectum or asshole).

It lacks a cohesive structure.
     A very intellectual (scholarly) way of saying
     something doesn’t fit or work together well.

Granted, La Strada was a great film.
     Another way of saying "Yes, it is true that…"

I’m going to have a stroke.
     A very serious and sudden illness in the brain that can cause
     a person to lose control of their body and can even be deadly.

I found it incredibly indulgent.
     An interesting word that describes a person who takes every
     thing that they desire, even if it is ridiculous or too much.

I missed my therapy. I overslept.
     Another word for sessions between a psychologist and their patient.

You know what a hostile gesture that is to me.
     In this case, a symbolic act of anger ("Hostile" is aggressive or unfriendly,
     and a "gesture" is a small sign or action to show one’s feelings).

Everybody in line has to know our rate of intercourse?
     In this case, the number of times per week that a couple has sex.

I admire the technique, but it doesn’t hit me on a gut level.
     If a film doesn’t "hit you on a gut level," it doesn’t effect you emotionally.

You’re so egocentric that if I miss my therapy,
you can only think of how it effects you.
     A person who is "egocentric" is usually only thinking of themselves.

"30ish academic wishes to meet women
interested in Mozart, James Joyce, and sodomy."
     An "academic" is a professor, though this word is usually an adjective
     and not a noun. "Sodomy" usually means anal sex (For Alvy, this is what a
     personal ad to meet a romantic partner would read like).

Marshall McCluhan deals with it as...a hot medium.
     McCluhan was a famous philosopher of media like television,
     which he called a hot medium because it was so powerful.

What I wouldn’t give for a large sock with horse manure in it.
     "Manure" is animal shit that is mixed with dirt.

Aren’t you ashamed to pontificate like that?
     "To pontificate" is to speak very confidently about a subject.

I happen to teach a course at Columbia called "TV, Media and Culture."
     A famous university in New York City.

I think my insights into Mr. McCluhan have a great deal of validity.
     An "insight" is an idea or thought, and "validity" is truth or value.

I ask myself how I’d stand up under torture.
     In this case, "to stand up" under torture is to resist or survive it.

The Gestapo would take away you’re Bloomingdale’s
charge card and you’d tell them everything.
     "The Gestapo" were the feared German police under Hitler. Bloomingdales is a well
     known store, and a "charge card" is now more commonly called a credit card.

We’re probably listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.
     A very famous book that lists all types of world records
     (Most records sold, longest snake, fastest woman, etc…).

It will pass. I’m going through a phase, that’s all.
     "It will pass" is one of saying that it will end.  "A phase" is a short
     period of time in which a person’s behavior is different than normal.


                 Alvy remembers Allison and Robin, and
             Annie tells Alvy of her former boyfriends.


You were very hot for Allison at first.
     "To be hot" for a person is to be sexually attracted to them.

How can they laugh? They’re laughed out.
     A phrasal verb that’s really never used, but here which means that
     they have laughed so much that they no longer have any laughter left.

I’m in the midst of doing my thesis.
     To be "in the midst of" doing something is to be in the middle
     of doing it. A "thesis" is a major research paper that students
     must do in order to get a college degree.

You’re like New York, Jewish, left-wing liberal intellectual,
Central Park West, Brandeis University, socialist summer camp.
     A funny description! Central park West is a neighborhood in New York
     and Brandeis University is a famous university in New York. A "summer
     camp" is usually for camping or sports, not socialism!

And really strike-oriented.
     In this case, a person who is "strike-oriented" favors the act of
     workers going on strike (refusing to work) to fight for worker rights.

Stop me before I make a complete imbecile of myself.
:: I love being reduced to a cultural stereotype.
     An "imbecile" is a great word for a complete idiot or fool.  A "stereotype"
     is the popular image (often negative) of what a person must be like, often
     based on an ethnic or religious background.

I’m a bigot, but for the left.
     A "bigot" is a racist or prejudiced person. Here, "the left" is the political
     left, which refers to people who are generally more liberal than conservative.

I don’t know why they’d have me at this kind of rally.
     A "rally" is a large public meeting, often for a political candidate.

It was ironic, because I was trying to do to her what Eisenhower
has been doing to the country for the last eight years.
     "Irony" is the opposite result of what is expected, and "ironic" is the adjective.
     Here, Alvy is talking about President Eisenhower, and is making a joke about the
     word "to screw," which means both to treat badly, and to have sex!

He drove past the book depository and the police
said conclusively that it was an exit wound.
     Alvy is now talking about the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.
     A "book depository" is a warehouse for books, and "conclusively" means definitely.
     An "exit wound" is an injury, in this case caused by a bullet entering and then
     leaving a person’s body.

How is it possible for Oswald to have fired from two angles at once?
     Lee Harvey Oswald was accused of having killed Kennedy, but he himself was shot
     to death a couple days after being captured. Alvy is saying he thinks Kennedy
     was shot by two people at the same time.

He was not marksman enough to hit a moving
target at that range, but if there was a second assassin!...
     A "marksman" can shoot a gun or rifle accurately, and a "target" is the
     thing that person is trying to shoot at. In this case, "range" means distance,
     and an "assassin" is a person who kills a leader or politician.

Everybody on the Warren Commission is in on this conspiracy?
     A famous group of judges, politicians and lawyers that officially looked into
     the shooting of Kennedy and concluded Oswald acted alone.

Lyndon Johnson is a politician; You know the ethics those guys have.
     Johnson became President after Kennedy was killed.
     "Ethics" is another word for morals, or moral principles.

It’s a notch below child molester.
     A "notch" is another word for degree, or a very small distance.
     A "child molester" is a person who sexually abuses children.

The FBI, the CIA, J. Edgar Hoover, the Pentagon
and the men’s room attendant at the White House.
     The American Government!: The FBI  investigated federal crimes, the CIA spies on
     other countries, Hoover was the head of the FBI for 50 years, and the Pentagon is
     where the US military is based (A "men’s room attendant" cleans bathrooms).

You’re using this conspiracy theory as an excuse to avoid having sex with me!
     A "conspiracy theory" is the belief that a secret group of people is behind
     a particular crime, in this case the killing of President Kennedy.

Dial 911; It’s the lobster squad.
     911 is the phone number for emergencies in the US. A "squad"
     is usually a group of police or other law enforcement officials.

Maybe if I put a little dish of butter sauce with
a nutcracker, it will run out the other side.
     A tool for  cracking open nuts, and to crack the shells of lobsters.

It’s disgusting.
     A powerful adjective meaning repulsive, horrible or very unpleasant.

Acting is like an exploration of the soul...
like a kind of liberating consciousness.
     A "soul" is a the non-physical part  of a person that lives on after
     they die. "Consciousness" is the state of being aware, or of thinking.

Is he kidding with that crap?
     "To kid" is to joke around, or not be serious. "Crap" is a slightly
     vulgar but excellent word for nonsense, lies, or specifically, bullshit.

I may throw up.
     "To throw up" is a very common way of saying to vomit.

He was creepy.
     A great little word that means unpleasant in a scary or strange way.

You’re pretty lucky I came along. :: Really, well la-de-dah.
     An expression made famous by this movie, but it doesn’t really have any meaning
     (Though it does seem to express some kind of emotion, or the belief that the person
     you’re speaking to is being too confident).

He has a chair in philosophy at Cornell.
     In this context, a "chair" is position as a professor at a
     university. Cornell is a famous university in New York state.

I’m so tired of spending every evening making fake insights
with people who work for dysentery. :: Commentary.
     "Fake insights" are ideas that are not original are of any value. "Dysentery" is a
     serious disease, and "Commentary" is a well-known conservative political journal.

What is so fascinating about a group of pituitary
cases trying to stuff a ball through a hoop?
     A "pituitary case" is a funny way of referring to a very tall person
     (the pituitary gland controls human growth). "To stuff" a ball through a
     basketball hoop, which is the circular metal goal that is used in basketball,
     is to try and force the ball through with great energy.

Intellectuals...have proved that you can be absolutely
brilliant, and still have no idea what is going on.
     An "intellectual" is a smart person who thinks about important topics
     in philosophy and politics very seriously. If a person is "brilliant,"
     they are very intelligent.

All those Ph.Ds in there discussing modes of
alienation, and we’ll be in here quietly humping.
     A Ph.D. is the highest degree you can get from a university (and here it
     refers to people who actually earned them). "Modes of alienation" is an
     intellectual way of referring to ways that people feel isolated or lonely.
     "To hump" is a rarely used slang word that means to have sex.

You’re using sex to express hostility.  :: Why do you
always reduce my animal urges to psychoanalytic categories?
     "Hostility" is anger or aggression. An "urge" is a strong or fundamental desire,
     and "psychoanalytic categories" refers to divisions that psychologists make in
     behavior, such as conscious and unconscious.

Damn siren! Damn it, I was so close.
     A "siren" is the loud noise a police car makes when it is chasing another car.

I’m too tense. I need a valium.
     A popular drug in the 1970s that helped people relax.

The country makes me nervous; They’re crickets...
and those screens with dead moths behind them.
     "Crickets" are loud flying insects, and moths are
     a type of flying insects related to butterflies.

You got the Manson family.
     A famous group of young murderers back in the early 1970s.

My head is throbbing.
     "To throb" is to beat or shake strongly and quickly (and
     thus if you have a throbbing head, you have a bad headache).


              Alvy remembers the day he met Annie.


The failure of the country to get behind New York city is anti-Semitism.
     In this case, to "get behind" a city is to support it. "Anti-Semitism"
     is another word for racism against Jewish (and Arab!) people. In the 1970s,
     New York City asked the federal government to help it financially because
     it was so deeply in debt.

The city is terribly run. :: But I’m not discussing
politics or economics. This is foreskin.
     The flap of skin on a penis that all Jews and most Americans have
     removed as a baby. Alvy’s way of referring to anti-Jewish racism.

That’s a very convenient out. Every time some
group disagrees with you, it’s because of anti-Semitism.
     "A convenient out" is another way of saying a bad excuse.

Everything our parents said is good is bad; Sun, milk, red meat, college.
     A very funny but still accurate line! (Except for the joke about college).

Egad, here he comes!
     A funny word that expresses surprise, enthusiasm or other emotion.

You want a lift?
     Another way of saying a ride (in a car).

I was going to take a cab.
     Another word for a taxi.

What the hell. It would be nice having company.
     A common way of saying "It isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough."

You’re driving a tad rapidly.
     "A tad" is a fun way of saying "just a little,"
     and "rapidly" is another way of saying quickly.

That’s OK, we can walk to the curb from here.
     The "curb" is the edge of a sidewalk that borders the street.

You want your tennis stuff? You want your gear?
     Note that in most cases, "stuff" is a general way of saying "things,"
     and "gear" is another word for equipment (Or in this case, tennis rackets).

Your "granny?" What did you do, grow up in a Norman Rockwell painting?
     "Granny" is a very old-fashioned word for grandmother. Rockwell is a very famous
     painter who painted happy and healthy American families, often from small towns.

Sylvia Plath, whose tragic suicide was misinterpreted
as romantic by the college-girl mentality.
     Plath was a famous poet who became extremely popular among students
     after her 1962 suicide. "To misinterpret" something is to misunderstand
     it, and a "mentality" is a way of thinking.

I don’t know; Some of her poems seem neat.
     "Neat" is an overused word that means good, appealing or more colloquially,
     cool, but it can be silly when an educated person uses it.

Narcolepsy.
     A condition in which people suddenly and uncontrollably fall
     asleep, even while in the middle of talking to somebody else.

The union always gave George this free turkey at Christmas
because he was shell-shocked in the first world war.
     In this case, the "union" is a labor union. If a person is "shell shocked,"
     they are deeply upset or disturbed emotionally due to war or violence.

It’s pretty awful.  :: It’s a great story; It really made my day.
     "It made my day" is a way of saying that it made you very happy.

I think I should get out of here cause I think I’m imposing.
     "To impose" on a person is to interfere in their
     lives, or perhaps to trouble them or get in their way.

I don’t like to show my body to a man of my gender.
     This is a ridiculous but funny line, since a
     person’s "gender" is their sex (male or female).

She hates Jews; She thinks they just make money,
but she’s the one. Is she ever, I’m telling you.
     Annie’s way of saying her grandmother dislikes Jews because she
     thinks they make so much money, but in fact she herself makes a lot.

I sort of dabble around, you know.
     "To dabble" in the arts, such as photography or painting, is to try
     doing it, but not really seriously ("To dabble around" is rare).

He probably thinks I’m a yo-yo [written]
     A "yo-yo" is a small children’s toy, but here Annie
     uses it as a word to mean a silly person or fool.

A set of aesthetic criteria have not emerged yet.
     "Aesthetic" means related to beauty or the senses,
     and "criteria" are established principles or standards.

I’m not smart enough for him. Hang in there! [written]
     A common way of saying "Don’t give up."

She senses I’m shallow.
     A person who is "shallow" does not think
     seriously or deeply about important issues.

To me, it’s all instinctive.
     An important word that refers to the natural feelings or behaviors
     that people are basically born with, rather than learn.

I hope he doesn’t turn out to be a schmuck like all the others.
     An excellent Jewish word for a jerk, creep or other unpleasant person.

Christ, I sound like FM radio. Relax.
     Radio stations are divided into AM and FM radio waves.

I’ve got to get there and begin whining soon.
     "To whine" is to complain in a high and annoying voice.

Do you have plague? :: I meet a lot of jerks.
     The "plague" is a famous and very contagious disease that killed
     millions of people in the 1300s in Europe. A "jerk" is an excellent
     word for a stupid, obnoxious or very unpleasant person.

Oh, shoot. Saturday night I am going to sing.
     An interesting word that is used to express frustration.

I’m auditioning at this club.
     "To audition" is to perform in front of a person who
     may want to hire you later, usually as a singer or actor.


          Alvy and Annie fall in love, and Annie move into the apartment.


So the audience was a tad restless.
     A good adjective meaning impatient or perhaps nervous or uneasy.

We never kissed before, and I’ll never know when to make the right move.
     "To make a move" is a colloquial way of saying to try and become
     romantic or sexual, such as when a guy decides to try and kiss his date.

We’ll kiss now and get it over with. We’ll digest our food better.
     "To get it over with" is to finish or complete it. "To digest" food is
     to change it chemically in the stomach so that the body can use it.

I’ll have pastrami on white bread with mayonnaise, tomato and lettuce.
     This is a funny scene for people who love Jewish food, since pastrami
     is a typical type of meat in Jewish cuisine, but it is usually served
     on Rye bread, not white bread, and usually not with mayonnaise.

Were you depressed? ::  Nothing a few mega-vitamins couldn’t cure.
     "Mega" is a prefix which means very big or huge and "to cure"
     something is to make it more healthy, or to heal it.

I don’t use any major hallucinogenics.
     A type of drug which causes hallucinations, which are fantasies in which
     people believe they’re seeing or experiencing things that in fact do not exist.

I took a puff at a party and I tried to take my pants off over my head.
     A "puff" on a cigarette is the act of inhaling or breathing in.

That’s pretty serious stuff. :: I’m obsessed with death.
     To be "obsessed with" something is to always be thinking about it.

I feel that life is divided up into the horrible and the miserable.
     "Miserable" is usually used to describe very unhappy people, but in
     this case, Alvy also uses "horrible" in the same way, which is rare.

Terminal cases, blind people, and cripples. I don’t
know how they get through life. It’s amazing to me.
     "Terminal cases" are people in such bad physical shape that they could
     die at any time. "Cripple" is a dated word for a person with a physical
     disability (It’s better to say handicapped). "To get through" life is to
     survive it. If something is "amazing," its incredible or remarkable.

He just cam back from the gin rummy finals. He placed third.
     "Gin rummy" is a card game popular among older people,
     "He placed third" is another way of saying he came in third place.

He’s the Mafia. Linen supply business or cement and contracting.
     A "linen supply business" provides sheets, pillows and similar items.
     "Cement" is a gray powder material used for making buildings.

There’s the winner of the Truman Capote look-alike contest.
     A "look-alike contest" is competition between people to see who most looks like
     somebody else (often a famous person like Capote, who is a well known writer).

You’re polymorphously perverse.
     A silly and rare way of saying very experimental in sexual matters.

You’re exceptional in bed.
     If a person is "exceptional in bed," they are a very good lover
     (Exceptional means very unusual, usually in a very postive sense).

You’re not going to give up your apartment?
     In this case, to "give up" something is to decide to no longer keep it.

I got a tiny apartment. It’s got bad plumbing and bugs.
     A useful word meaning very small.

Entomology is a rapidly growing field.
     Entomology is the study of bugs and insects. In this case,
     a "field" is an area of serious academic study.

I guess you think I talked you into something.
     "To talk a person into doing something" is to convince or
     persuade them to do it, even if they think it’s not a good idea.

My accountant will write it off as a tax deduction.
     "To write off a tax deduction" is to claim that you owe less taxes,
     because you have made less money since you had to pay for an
     expense such as a business meal, a plane ticket, or here, an apartment.

Adult education is a wonderful thing; It’s stimulating.
     If something is intellectually stimulating, it excites or fascinates.

Grass, right. The illusion that it makes a white women more like Billie Holliday.
     "Grass" is a dated slang word for marijuana ("Pot" is a more current slang word).
     An "illusion" is something that is seen which does not really exist, or something
     believed that is not true. Billie Holliday was a great African-American singer
     in the 1930s.

Have you ever made love high?
     To be "high" is to have the sensation or feelings of extreme happiness or
     relaxation that people associate with drugs such as marijuana.

I’ll give you a shot of sodium penethol; You can sleep through it.
     A drug used to put people to sleep during surgery.

Look who’s talking! You’ve been seeing a psychiatrist for 15 years!
     A great expression to use when you feel that the person you’re speaking
     to is guilty of what they are critisizing others about.

I got a little erotic artifact. Create a little old New Orleans essence.
     Something that is "erotic" is sexually stimulating, and an "artifact"
     is any useful object that is made by humans (New Orleans is a city in
     Louisiana that used to be known for having lots of prostitutes).

Was it my imagination, or are you just going through the motions?
     "To go through the motions" is to do something out of habit,
     without actually feeling excited or passionate about doing it.

If I get a laugh from a person who is high, it
doesn’t count, because they’re always laughing.
      A logical explanation for why a comedian would not want to perform
      in front of an audience where people have been smoking marijuana.

You can tell right off the bat that I don’t look like a funny guy.
     A curious expression that means "immediately."

Material has got to be sensational; I’m kind of classy, you know what I mean?
     In this case, "material" refers to written material, or more specifically,
     jokes. A person who is "classy" is stylish, elegant or  perhaps graceful.

Jesus, this guy is pathetic.
     "Jesus" is a common way of expressing emotion such as frustration, or in this case,
     disgust. "Pathetic" is a powerful and funny adjective that means hopelessly bad.

If only I had the nerve to do my own jokes.
     A person with "the nerve" to do something has the courage to do it.

Where am I? I have to reorient myself.
     "To reorient yourself" is to become familiar again
     with a place that you had known well  before.

I was thrown out of New York University my freshman year for cheating on my
metaphysics exam; I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me.
     "Freshman year" is the first year of college. "Metaphysics" is the study
     of the non-physical universal, such as emotion or religion. A person’s "soul"
     is the non-physical part of  their body that lives on after death.

My mother, an emotionally high-strung woman, locked herself
in the bathroom and took an overdose of mah-jongg tiles.
     If a person is "emotionally high-strung," they are very tense or nervous.
     An "overdose" of a drug is a quantity that’s  so  large that it is dangerous.
     "Mah-jong tiles" are square wall coverings, such as those in bathrooms,
     that are part of a Chinese game.

I was in analysis with a strict Freudian, and if you kill
yourself, they’ll make you pay for the sessions you missed.
     A "strict Freudian" is a psychologist who follows the practices of
     Sigmund Freud. A "session," in this case, refers to the meetings
     that a psychologist spends with his patient.

I think I’m starting to get more of the references, too.
     In this case, a "reference" is a social or historical facts that
     a person refers to in a speech, play or other artistic work.


           Alvy meets Annie’s family, and soon they face their first real
          crisis as Annie and her professor become more than just friends.


It’s a dynamite ham.
     "Dynamite" is a well-known and powerful explosive,
     though here it used as an adjective to mean excellent or great.

We went over to the swap meet, got some nice picture frames.
     A "swap meet" is a large open market in which people sell their
     goods from food to furniture, often in an empty parking lot.

Pretty soon, when I lie down on his couch, I won’t have to wear the lobster bib.
     A small piece of cloth or plastic worn on a person’s chest
     to cover their clothes while they’re eating messy food.

Nothing like my family; The two are like oil and water.
     A way of saying two people are very different from each other.

Diabetes.
     A disease in which people don’t have the right amount of blood sugar.

He had a coronary.
     Another word for a heart attack.

We fast. No food, to atone for our sins.
     "To fast" is to intentionally not eat food, often for a day or longer.
     "To atone for your sins" is to ask forgiveness for the bad or immoral things
     that you have done (A sin is an act that would upset God).

I see two headlights coming toward me, and I have this sudden
impulse to turn the wheel head on into the on-coming car.
     A "sudden impulse" is an uncontrollable or strong desire to do
     something, especially that which could be dangerous or foolish.

I can anticipate the explosion, the sound of shattering glass.
     "To anticipate" something is to look forward to it, or expect it.
     If glass "shatters," it breaks into thousands of very small pieces.

Following is different; I was spying.
     A very clever line!; Strictly speaking, to "follow" a person is simply to
     walk behind them, while to "spy" on them is to watch them secretly.

That is the worst kind of paranoid.
     A person who is "paranoid" is always convinced people are trying to do
     bad things to them (though note it’s usually an adjective, not noun).

You wanted to keep the relationship flexible. Remember, it’s your phrase.
     If a romantic relationship is "flexible," this probably means that it’s
     OK for both partners to go out and even have sex with others.

Existential Motifs in Russian Literature. :: What’s
the difference?; it’s all mental masturbation.
     "Existential" is a word from philosophy that deals with the idea that life
     has no point or meaning, and a "motif" is a theme or subject."Mental masturbation"
     is a clever phrase that refers to the act of just thinking nice thoughts because
     it feels good ("To masturbate" is to give yourself sexual pleasure).

Don’t knock masturbation; At least it’s sex with someone I love.
     Another great line! "To knock" something is to criticize it.

Next he’ll find you keen and peachy.
     Two very old fashioned words that mean attractive or admirable.
     For Alvy, they are similar to the word "neat," which he hates.

It was really weird, but she’s a really nice woman.
     An excellent word that means strange or odd.

Then she mentioned penis envy; Do you know about that?
     A concept in Freudian psychology in which it is believed that women envy
     (are jealous of) men because they don’t have a penis. Today, most people
     probably think this is silly, or more colloquially, bullshit.

In my dream, Frank Sinatra is strangling me.
     "To strangle" a person is to try and prevent them from breathing,
     usually by holding their necks tightly. Sinatra was a famous singer.

You try to suffocate yourself. It makes perfect sense.
     "To suffocate" a person is to also try and prevent them from
     breathing, but this time by forcing a pillow over their mouths.

When he sings, it’s in this real high pitch voice.
     A "high pitch" voice" is one that sounds very shrill,
     like a young child that is screaming or crying.

Why do you always bring that up?
     "To bring up" a subject in a conversation is to mention it.

Adult education is just junk. The professors are so phony.
     If something is "junk," it is worthless, like trash. A "phony" is a
     fake, or a person who doesn’t really believe what they claim they do.

We should call this relationship quits.
     "To call it quits" is to finish something, in this case the relationship.

That’s how people are. Love fades.
     If something "fades," it grows weaker and more distant.

We use a large vibrating egg. :: Well. I ask a
psychopath, and I get that kind of answer.
     "To vibrate" is to gently shake very quickly (like a vibrator).
     A "psychopath" is a very emotionally disturbed or unbalanced person.

How do you account for it?
     "How do you explain it?"

Everyone fell in love with Snow White,
and I immediately fell for the wicked Queen.
     "Snow White" is a well known children’s cartoon character. "Wicked"
     is a very strong adjective that means extremely bad or immoral.


          Alvy goes out with Pam, but is soon back together with Annie.


Rolling Stone.
     A well known magazine that covers rock’n’roll music.

There’s more people here to see the maharishi
then there were to see the Dylan concert.
     The "maharishi" is a spiritual leader from India, and Dylan
     refers to Bob Dylan, who is a very famous rock singer.

I covered the Dylan concert, which gave me chills.
     If something "gives you chills," it effects
     you very strongly in an emotional sense.

"She aches like a woman, but she breaks like a little girl."
     "To "ache" is to feel great pain, and in this case, "to break" is to
     break down emotionally. These are words from a famous Dylan song.

Up to that, the most charismatic event I covered was Mick’s
birthday, when the Stones played Madison Square Garden.
     "Charisma" is great personal charm or appeal. This is a reference
     to Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, and a concert in New York.

Did you catch Dylan? :: No, my raccoon had hepatitis.
     "To catch" a performer in concert is to see them. A "raccoon" is a cute
     but dangerous animal (and not a pet!), and "hepatitis" is a liver disease.

He has millions of followers who would crawl all the way
around the world just to touch the hem of his garment.
     A "follower" of a religious leader believes they are like a God.
     "To crawl" is to move on hands and knees like a baby. The "hem" of a
     piece of cloth is its edge, and a "garment" is a piece of clothing.

I can’t get with any religion that advertises in Popular Mechanics.
     "To get with" a religion is a very slangy way of saying to follow
     or appreciate it (Popular Mechanics is a well known magazine).

I was at an Alice Cooper thing where six people
were rushed to the hospital with bad vibes.
     "Vibes" are feelings or emotions that are communicated to people without
     speaking. This was a very popular word in the 1960s, but it’s less used today.
     Alice Cooper was a popular group in the 1970s.

Sex with you is really a Kafkaesque experience.
     Kafka was an Austrian philosopher who was well known for novels
     that dealt with the emotional pain of people who have been imprisoned or
     suffered great injustice from impersonal governments. Thus, the line above
     is interesting but ridiculous.

I think there is too much burden placed on
the orgasm to make up for empty areas in life.
     A "burden" is a great responsibility that is difficult to carry or accept.

Don’t you have a can of Raid in the house?
     A well known brand of insect poison.

Did you go to a rock concert? Was it heavy?
Did you achieve total heavyiosity?
     "Heavy" was a very slangy way of saying intellectually profound
     or deep, but it’s not used today (And ‘heaviosity’ never was!)

Since when do you read the National Review?
     A politically conservative magazine, edited by William Buckley.

You’re a little hostile. You know that.
     A useful word meaning angry or aggressive.

Are you going with a right-wing rock’n’roll star?
     Politically, a "right-wing" person is usually very conservative,
     and a "left wing" person is usually very liberal.

Don’t squish it! And after it’s dead, flush it down the toilet.
     "To squish" a bug is to crush it, often between your fingers.

It’s a major spider. You got a broom or a snow shovel?
     In this case, Alvy uses "major" to mean very big.
     A broom is the tool used to sweep