[Idiom] Ten for princess?

Status
Not open for further replies.

hyperform

New member
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Hi. I watched an episode of The Simpsons and there is a dialogue between Homer and someone else (headmaster). The dialogue is:

Headmaster: Thank you for coming to our fund raiser. I'm headmaster Sinjin Van Hoekstraton.
Homer:Ten for princess.
Homer:Is that your beer tent?
Headmaster: Monkeys point.

So what does "Ten for princess" mean here? I dont understand it. What is the usage of "ten for" in this sentence and generally? Is there anyone to explain it?

Thanks for help.
 

MrPedantic

Key Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2005
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Hello Hyper, welcome to Using English!

I haven't seen that episode; but from what follows, is it possible that Homer wishes to contribute $10, on behalf of Lisa?
 

hyperform

New member
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Hello Hyper, welcome to Using English!

I haven't seen that episode; but from what follows, is it possible that Homer wishes to contribute $10, on behalf of Lisa?

Thank you very much for your reply. This episode is 13x11. Actually at first I thought he wants to bet ten dollar for princess but it doesnt make any sense because there is no any princess mentioned through this episode. I am not a native spekar so I thought it might be an expression that I dont know and then searched on the net but I couldnt find any meaningful clue about it. You can watch the speech on the following video. It's just 10 seconds. Anyway it seems very likely your comment and what Homer means are the same. But if you will have any other comment after watched the video please share it.


vimeo.com/8940988

ps: I dont have the right to post web links, you need to copy and paste the link to view the video.
 

MrPedantic

Key Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2005
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Ah! Ignore my last post.

He says "Ten-four, princess."

"Ten-four" is used by amateur radio enthusiasts to mean "message received".

"Princess" here is derogatory: it seems to suggest that the headmaster is effetely punctilious.

Best wishes,

MrP
 

hyperform

New member
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Thank you again and again. I guess it's a small but great example that shows us the differences between a native speaker (you) and a foreign learner (me) :) Although I have spent studying on listening for many hundreds hours so far, it's impossible for me to understand it as "ten-four" instead "ten for" as long as I dont see the original script or get help from someone like you.

I appreciate your interest and help.
 

MrPedantic

Key Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2005
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
My pleasure!

(To add to the complications, a native speaker might not hear the phrase "ten four" from one decade to the next. It has all but died out in ordinary speech, since a brief bubble of popularity in the mid 1970s.)

Best wishes,

MrP
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top