1

I found this line from a movie script of The Cabin in the Woods (2012):

This house is talking a blue streak...

This line didn't make it into the movie, so I'm not sure what this "talking a blue streak" means. It's the scene where the five main characters arrived at the cabin. Some of my guesses are "this house is creepy", "this house is haunted", or perhaps "staying in this house is a jinx".

Here is the relevant part from the script:

The van pulls up and the kids come out, more slowly than they did at the gas station, taking it in. Dana's a little entranced, Holden curious, Curt pumped, Jules mildly excited, Marty wary.

JULES
Oh my god, it's beautiful!

(to Curt, sotto voce)
One spider and I'm sleeping in the Rambler. I mean it. Uno spider-o.

MARTY
(to himself)
This house is talking a blue streak...

As the boys start unloading the keg, Dana approaches the front door... slowly turns the knob...

What does this This house is talking a blue streak... mean? Is it an idiom? Or is it specific to this movie?

UPDATE: Previously, I tried to look up the phrase blue streak and didn't find anything. However, I just found out that the Free Dictionary defines talk a blue streak as "to talk very much and very rapidly".

Is there any deeper meaning than this in the movie? Or should I interpret it literally as such?

Improve this question
5
  • 2
    The line probably didn't make it into the movie because as an idiom that doesn't appear to be widely known, it would just leave audiences scratching their heads, all the more because it is used figuratively somehow since the house isn't actually talking. Unfamiliar idiom + figurative use = huh? – Kaz Jan 7 '14 at 17:45
  • 1
    Perhaps the idiom is out-dated? I consider it quite familiar, but I'm an old man, so maybe I'm just not realizing that I haven't heard it in a while. Or maybe it's a regional thing, common in New York, not so much elsewhere. Whatever. – Jay Jan 7 '14 at 18:19
  • @Jay: I'd agree with that. I'm familiar with "going like a blue streak", meaning "moving very fast", and so I could work out what was meant, but it's rare nowadays, so it's probably outdated. – Tim Pederick Oct 11 '14 at 10:51
  • I'm curious: is there any chance of a double meaning, with the use of "blue" to denote profanity or sexual content? Is the house swearing at the characters? On reflection, I think I may have heard the term used in this way somewhere, but I can't think where. – Tim Pederick Oct 11 '14 at 11:02
  • @TimPederick It's true that "blue" is a euphemism for "obscene", as in "blue movies". But it would be distinctly odd to take an idiom and substitute a different meaning for one of the words making it up, other than as a deliberate play on words, which ought to be clear from the context. So I think your theory is unlikely. If they had said, "This house is using a lot of blue talk" I would have said your theory made sense. – Jay Oct 14 '14 at 14:29
2

The definition of talking a blue streak you've found is correct. Of course it seems odd at first glance, because of course houses can't talk! Without having seen the movie, I'm going to guess that he's making a slightly snarky remark about the spider comment. It seems he's a bit annoyed with what she's saying (or perhaps she's been talking a lot, previously to this?), and is pretending the house is talking instead of her. It doesn't seem very funny (perhaps why it didn't make it into the movie?) but I think that's the best interpretation I can get out of this!

Improve this answer
4
  • Marty seems to be friendly to everyone. So I don't think that he was really annoyed by Jules, though that can't be ruled out. I reread this scene a few more times, and now I'm guessing that perhaps Marty is being cautious, and he might say in that line that the house is different things combined (creepy, haunted, scary, etc.) – Damkerng T. Jan 7 '14 at 17:52
  • @DamkerngT. Perhaps he wasn't annoyed. Or perhaps this was simply a mistake of some sort, since it was left out of the movie. But if we presume that the sentence was written as intended, he is definitely in some way saying that the house is talking a lot. And since this can't be literally true, he's attributing someone else's words to it. I picked Jules' comment because she spoke most recently. Maybe all the characters have been talking a lot, and he has been silent... And he wishes they would all be silent? I'm not sure. – WendiKidd Jan 7 '14 at 17:54
  • I haven't seen the movie, so I can only guess, but my first two thoughts are: (a) He means the people in the house are talking a lot. Like one might say, "France said no to the proposal" when of course he means the people or the government of France. But more likely, (b) The house is sending out many messages. – Jay Jan 7 '14 at 18:21
  • I watched that scene again. Marty was just looking around very cautiously without saying anything. Judging from the camera angle and sound effects, I think @Jay's (b) is correct. – Damkerng T. Jan 7 '14 at 19:38

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.