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Gamboler Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary
Too bad a fresh [cape] had to be a lemmon
From the dialogue of an American movie, a crime-noir film released in 1949.
Context: The boss of a gang of shoplifters is speaking of one of the new members, a beautiful woman who failed in her first job. She is not in the room in this scene.
Boss: Too bad a fresh [cape] had to be a lemon.
Harris (another member of the band): Yeah, but, she's a good thief. We can use her, don't you think so?
I am positive that here "lemon" doesn't refer to the fruit but to a person o thing considered useless or defective (slang). But what about the word "cape" or something that sounds alike? (keip, caipe...). I'm sure he doesn't say "cake". Is it some kind of fruit used here to make a word game? Does it have another meaning related to "new member" such as when you use fish applied to a new prison inmate?
Context: The boss of a gang of shoplifters is speaking of one of the new members, a beautiful woman who failed in her first job. She is not in the room in this scene.
Boss: Too bad a fresh [cape] had to be a lemon.
Harris (another member of the band): Yeah, but, she's a good thief. We can use her, don't you think so?
I am positive that here "lemon" doesn't refer to the fruit but to a person o thing considered useless or defective (slang). But what about the word "cape" or something that sounds alike? (keip, caipe...). I'm sure he doesn't say "cake". Is it some kind of fruit used here to make a word game? Does it have another meaning related to "new member" such as when you use fish applied to a new prison inmate?
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4 Answers
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When I listened to the sentence, I thought that it was. "Too bad her first escape had to be a lemon" or "Too bad her fast escape had to be a lemon", but that doesn't make sense in the context. That's why I put "fresh cape had to be a lemon" instead.. Anyway, Clive, you asked for the audio clip and I'm giving you the link. Thanks in advance.
jumpshare.com/v/bdTzBmUozuLjhY9ggkCu (add https://
jumpshare.com/v/bdTzBmUozuLjhY9ggkCu (add https://
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If you don't hear the "-er" at the end of "cape," this might be regional dialect or slang:
"Too bad 'er fust cape had to be a lemon." ("Cape" here is a shortened form of "caper." "First" can be pronounced something like fust in regional US dialect. And "her" is shortened to 'er.)
"Too bad 'er fust cape had to be a lemon." ("Cape" here is a shortened form of "caper." "First" can be pronounced something like fust in regional US dialect. And "her" is shortened to 'er.)
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