BIG GAME, by Rich Little

X sound: Big Game,Rich Little.mp3

The scene: Ronald Reagan (R) has invited his predecessors in office Jimmy Carter (C), Gerald Ford (F)  and
                  Richard Nixon (N) for a game of cards at the White House.                                           

R: Well, it’s good old Gerry Ford. Come on in, Gerry, we’ve been waiting for you. Dick and Jimmy are already
      here.

F:
Sorry I'm late, Ronnie, but I couldn’t  find the house (!).
R:
Well, this is the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
F:
I went to 1500.
R:
Well, that's all right. Oh listen, watch out for the ....... china!
F:
Hi Dick, hi Jimmy!
C:
(Carter’s southern accent is a bit hard to understand!) Hallo (or: hi?) Gerry, how are you all, you ol’ dingbat?
N:
Sit down, Gerry. Let’s get this show on the road.
R:
Well, all right. Now the name of the game is draw poker.
C:
I fold.
R:
I didn't deal the cards yet, Jimmy.
C:
I fold anyway. Nothing goes ever right for me.
N:
If there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s a crybaby.
C:
Oh, all right, I’ll take a chance.
R:
Now let’s ante up. Here we go.
C:
Wait a minute, the pot’s a nickle short.
N:
Well, what's everyone looking at me for? - Oh for goodness sake, it  must have got stuck in my coin changer.
      Deal them out, I feel really lucky.

R:
All right, who wants to start it off?
C:
Well, I open for a dime, but I know I’m gonna lose.
N:
I’m in.
R:
Well, it’s up to you, Gerry.
F:
Gimme all your eights.
R:
No, Gerry, we are not playing fish.
N:
Don’t explain anything to him. Throw in your dime, Gerry.
R:
All right, boys. I’ll see that dime and raise you a quarter just to keep you honest.
C:
(gloating) It's too late for Dick.
R:
Fellas, please! We are here to play cards. I just raised you a quarter.
C:
Okay, I'll see you.
N:
I’m in, too.
R:
Well, what do you say, Gerry?
F:
I'll knock with five.
N:
Gerry, we are not playing gin, we are playing poker, you imbecile.
R:
Dick, please! You are speaking to a former President of the United States.
N:
You are right. Pardon me, Gerry.
F:
I already did (!).
R:
Listen, are you guys gonna play cards or not?
F:
Well, that’s not  air. Why do I only have five cards when Dick has ten?
N:
What  ten? What are you talking about?
F:
Five in your hand and five up your sleeve.
C:
(telling on “Tricky Dick”)   I(’ve) seen him, I(’ve) seen him!
N:
Oh/(hold?) just a minute. I wanna make one thing perfectly clear. I am not a crook*). (The other players  leave
     the room, banging the door behind them.
)
Ronnie, Gerry, Jimmy. Gerry, fellas, come back. Come back I
     wanna play. I've got five aces. Won't anybody play with me? Pardon me, lady, little boy, baby ........ Come
     here, boy .....................

*) "'m not a crook": www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxeFMHyOx3I
Nixon resigns: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XqMgFroU64&feature=related

ANNOTATIONS:

1)1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: address of The White House (1500 Pennsylvania Avenue: address of The Treasury)
2) china:
Porzellan
3) to watch out for: aufpassen auf
   (distinguish between “watch out” = aufpassen, auf etwas achten and “to pay attention”: im Unterricht etc, aufpassen)

4) dingbat
(slang): an eccentric, silly or emptyheaded person = Trottel
5) to fold:
(hier) passen (beim Kartenspiel)
6) crybaby:
Heulsuse
7) to ante up:
seinen Einsatz machen, setzen
8) nickel = 5 cents (dime = 10 cents, quarter = 25 cents)
9) to play fish
(slang): fish (here) an incompetent player whose incompetence can be exploited = (etwa) “blutiger Anfänger”
10) to gloat:
Schadenfreude empfinden
11) imbecile:
beschränkter Mensch, Dummkopf, Schwachkopf (LATIN: imbecillus: schwach)
12) Pardon me, Gerry: PUN on the two meanings of the word “pardon”:
Verzeihung begnadigen, amnestieren

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