A continuing joke for Buffy throughout the show is her misunderstanding of common phrases or sayings. In 3.11 Gingerbread, she and Angel have the following conversation:
Buffy: “Like that kid in the story, the boy that stuck his finger in the duck.”
Angel: “Dike… It’s another word for dam.”
Buffy: “Oh. Okay, that story makes a lot more sense now.”
In 2.09 What’s My Line? (Part One), Buffy says:
“They had tools, flashlights, whole nine yards. What does that mean, anyway? ‘Whole nine yards’? Nine yards of what? Now it’s gonna bug me all day.”
And again in 2.09 What’s My Line? (Part One):
“They go together like chicken and… another chicken, or… two chickens, or… something, you know what I’m saying!”
In 5.05 No Place Like Home, she says to Giles:
“Yeah. You’ll be making money hand over fist” (holds her hand over her fist in a puzzled way) “…Which I guess is a good thing.”
In 7.21 End Of Days, Buffy says to Xander:
“Of course I’m not putting you out to pasture. …What does that even mean?”
In 3.17 Enemies:
“Just don’t like to rub your nose in it. Suddenly wondering where that expression comes from.”
In 3.20 The Prom:
“Right as rain, whatever that means.”
Related episodes: 2.09 What's My Line? (Part One), 3.11 Gingerbread, 3.17 Enemies, 3.20 The Prom, 5.05 No Place Like Home, 7.21 End Of Days
Comments on this trivia
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Skuhm on September 2nd, 2005 at 11:19 am
It’s details like this which make the show so special, and it shows how much heart and effort the script writers have made =) And I think Sarah is very funny when she says this kind of dialogue. By the way, can someone explain the duck joke for me? I’m not a native speaker, I don’t get it..
Skuhm on September 2nd, 2005 at 11:21 am
…have “put into it”, I meant!
Mullsen on September 6th, 2005 at 10:15 pm
Have a few more:
‘Enemies’: “Just don’t like to rub your nose in it. Suddenly wondering where that expression comes from.”
‘The Prom’: “Right as rain, whatever that means.”
And my personal favourite:
‘What’s My Line Part 1′: “They go together like chicken and… another chicken, or… two chickens, or… something, you know what I’m saying!”
Um, sorry no, don’t know what you’re saying. :)
locoboy on November 17th, 2005 at 1:41 pm
Probably just a play on the fact that she’s “blonde”. Really clever though =D
MagicBone on November 18th, 2005 at 12:15 am
And how when Angel tells her its dike and not duck, she looks freaked and he explains that it’s like a dam.
onlimain on November 18th, 2005 at 7:31 am
I don’t think it’s really her misunderstanding the sayings. Well, except for the duck/dike one. And that could be explained away by the fact that that was how she understood it as a child and it followed to when she was older because she was never told otherwise.
The others are valid questions. Do all of you know why all those sayings mean what they mean? I didn’t understand why ‘the whole nine yards’ and ‘hand over fist’ meant what they meant until I looked it up. And I still don’t understand where ‘right as rain’ came from.
azsx on January 25th, 2006 at 10:04 am
dyke is derrogitory slang for a lesbian
TwoToGo-Grave on January 25th, 2006 at 12:16 pm
These are some of the best examples of sharp, witty dialouge that the show is so wonderful at putting out there.
Wynter on July 12th, 2006 at 4:01 am
This is just another Buffy quality that makes her character more endearing. I also love how she mispronounces words - a couple of examples that spring to mind would be when she says Botox’s Eye instead of Beljoxa’s, and calling the Prokaryote stone a “prophylactic” stone.
Mysteryend on August 4th, 2006 at 7:02 am
Willow: Do they really stick out?
Xander: What?
Willow: Sore thumbs. Do they stick out? I mean, have you ever seen a thumb and gone, “Wow! That baby is sore!”
Xander: You have too many thoughts.
I like this one aswell I know its not Buffy buts its still funny
Wild_horses on August 22nd, 2006 at 10:14 pm
I had a sore thumb once. I was at work and people kept commenting on it, so yes, they do, it is scientifically proven!
The dyke where I live is a narrow stream for sewage. Yuck.
I also think that “I don’t like to rub your nose in it…” is the dirtiest line ever written on Buffy. Dirty scriptwriters!!!
ant4buffy on October 13th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
She also says in this episode about Spike being Shirty “Thats not even a word”. Another saying that Buffy doesn’t understand.
Meghann on June 7th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Not sure if this counts under the same category, but here ya go! :o)
Willow: You gotta. I-It’s fun, a-and you can use it as your science requirement. Anyway, Professor Walsh is supposed to be great. She’s like, world-renowned.
Buffy: How do you get to be renowned? I mean, like, do you have to be ‘nowned’ first?
Willow: Yes, first there’s the painful ‘nowning’ process…
HarFang on April 12th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
In Surprise Buffy translates “carpe diem” as “Fish of the day” ! I think that’s one of my fabourite!
BtVS really plays a lot on words, and I like the way characters sometimes stop everything to puzzle over everyday expressions !