wrapping - right pain - right pen (slang for penitentiary)

[gamboler]

I am not sure of the expression that one of the inmates of the Philadelphia State Prison uses in this dialogue (from a US movie released in 1950). They are talking about women. This is what he says:

There ain't nothing in all the world like a dame. They can be sweet and wonderful and they can tear your heart out. Somewhere there's a ***** for every guy.

I think that the expression that I replaced with ***** sounds like "wrapping", maybe, "right pen (being pen slang for Penitentiary)", or "right pain", although I can't hear the "i" sound of "pain". Can you help me? This is the audio file.



View attachment Expression.mp3

 

[teechar]

Can you post a longer excerpt or a video link?

 

[GoesStation]

So, eh/Ed … there's a right one for every guy.

 

[gamboler]

Thanks teechar, this is the link to the video clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbJYpxczwyU

As he says "somewhere, there's a right **** for every guy", I think that **** should be a synonym of woman or girl... maybe some slang word? Pen in the sense of "Penitentiary" would make sense in the context, but they are talking about women, not about prison.

Oh, sorry, I didn't see your coment, Goestation. You are right. The word ***** must be just "one".

 

[Tarheel]

If Goes says so it is so.
:-D

 

[teechar]

It sounds odd to me (especially the way he says "every"), but I can't think of a better answer than GS's in post #3.

 

[GoesStation]

It sounds odd to me (especially the way he says "every"), but I can't think of a better answer than GS's in post #3.

The character speaks with a Brooklyn, New York accent of the period, one of whose features was hyper-correct enunciation of every syllable. The male characters in Guys and Dolls take this to the extreme of eschewing contractions. I don't know whether that was a real attribute of the idiolect or a theatrical invention.

 

[GoesStation]

The male characters in Guys and Dolls take this to the extreme of eschewing contractions. I don't know whether that was a real attribute of the idiolect or a theatrical invention.

I've learned that the Guys and Dolls characters are speaking Runyonese, a unique patois invented by Damon Runyon, the author of the stories the show is based on.