# Bathtubs size of oceans...



## liber arce

Hi, this is from Futurama:

Bathtubs size of oceans,
hookers size of bouncers.

How do you think, in this quote oceans are compared with bathtubs or vice versa?


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## RCA86

A bathtub _the_ size of the Ocean is just a really really big bathtub.


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## liber arce

Thank you very much.


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## bibliolept

In many cases, this phrasing would have included the article "the":
"bathtubs the size of oceans, hookers the size of bouncers"


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## BenderR

Original phrase is


> Bathtubs size of oceans,
> hookers size of bouncers.


And a correction; it is not


> A bathtub the size of the Ocean


as RCA86 wrote it down.

It is


> "Bathtubs size" of "oceans"


meaning


> Bathtubs size oceans of all oceans


Please watch the movie and take the context into consideration.

There is also another line spoken right after the line above. The line is uttered by another character, and it is:


> Hamburger!


indicating how ridiculous and meaningless a "bathtubs size ocean" is.


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## BenderR

<Non-contributory comment deleted>
========
*Woman:
*- Out here in the desert, we're gonna build bigger, better Vegas.*
Man:
*- Bathtubs size of oceans, hookers size of bouncers.*
Robot:
*- Hamburger!*
=======

*Is there anyone here who thinks 





> Bathtubs size of oceans,


actually means


> A bathtub _the_ size of the Ocean


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## zefee

No, it just means that the bathtubs will be huge, it is used in a metaphorical sence as oceans are huge.

zef


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## Nunty

1. Bathtubs size of oceans
2. Bathtubs the size of oceans

Both phrases mean the same thing. The second is the standard way of writing or saying it. The first is abbreviated (perhaps a characteristic or accent of the character who is speaking?) but the meaning is not changed at all.


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## zefee

Nun-Translator said:


> 1. Bathtubs size of oceans
> 2. Bathtubs the size of oceans
> 
> Both phrases mean the same thing. The second is the standard way of writing or saying it. The first is abbreviated (perhaps a characteristic or accent of the character who is speaking?) but the meaning is not changed at all.



I would also say that with the first sentance in this type there would usualy be a slight but noticable pause where the "the" should be, I don't know if thats just me, but that is how I would say it.

zef


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## BenderR

No, there is no "pause" for the "the" in between. It is obvious, if you listen to the dialog.

Let me give you a little more explanation for the sake of the context:

First of all, the dialog is spoken at a New Vegas construction site. The man owns more than half of Mars, and building a New Vegas on Mars. The woman is his wife. Robot is an acquaintance. 

Futurama (the movie) takes place in the future (year 3000), and some man-made objects are enormously huge, _<for example>_ space ships. Some space-ships resemble nautical ships.

So, by bathtub, actually a huge old boat is meant.

By bouncer, a huge bouncer object is meant. Not the security guards waiting at the door.

The man is also building up a tremendously big golf course in space, and by bouncer he means the planets that the golf ball will bounce off.

Hooker is also a huge seaman's ship.


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## Nunty

It doesn't matter. The phrases mean what people are telling you mean. I don't know what other meaning you are trying to assign to them. No matter how "bathtub", "bouncer" and "hooker" are defined, the sentences are a simple comparison, probably exaggerated for effect.

If you think it means something else, please just tell us and we can discuss it.


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## zefee

I still see it as a metaphorical way of speaking, and as you pointed out "So, by bathtub, actually a huge old boat is meant.". I don't find it weird to have the word "the" missing in the sentance, however, only when it is being used in a descriptive sence (I also believe there are other exceptions to missing words). You might also find that other sentances may come after what is being described in past tense (this is for future reference) such as, Bathtubs big as oceans they where, somthing like this could be used when a person could have visited the new Vegas and was describing it to somone.

zef


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## BenderR

No, I'm not trying to assign different meanings. The screenplay writer deliberately gave double-meanings to words: bathtub, hooker and bouncer; to confuse the viewer.

"Bathtubs size object" means an object as big as a bathtub, just like when you say a "Mens size cloth".

If you read my posts above, I explained my points and reasons.


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## Nunty

> No, I'm not trying to assign different meanings. The screenplay writer deliberately gave double-meanings to words: bathtub, hooker and bouncer; to confuse the viewer.
> 
> "Bathtubs size object" means an object as big as a bathtub, just like when you say a "Mens size cloth".
> 
> If you read my posts above, I explained my points and reasons.





Yes, fine, but you seem to be insisting that there is some other meaning besides the simple comparison we are explaining. There is none.


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## cuchuflete

The additional context in post #10 adds a dimension.  The literal meaning, in that context, is changed from the normal uses of the words.  A native speaker will hear those words and smile.  This is wordplay.  

Puns bold as brass.


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## zefee

Ahh so you mean that these objects are named "Bathtub" and "Bouncer"? Sorry I didn't pick up on that when I first read what you posted.

zef


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## panjandrum

Tell us more about "Man" who speaks this line.
OK, so I know this is way in the future, but does he speak normal English or does he speak some kind of modified English?

In the huge proportions you are talking about (hookers the size of bouncers/planets) a bathtub that is literally the size of an ocean doesn't sound implausible - perhaps a bit small (regardless of what a bathtub is in the movie).


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## BenderR

> I still see it as a metaphorical way of speaking, and as you pointed out "So, by bathtub, actually a huge old boat is meant.". I don't find it weird to have the word "the" missing in the sentance, however, only when it is being used in a descriptive sence (I also believe there are other exceptions to missing words). You might also find that other sentances may come after what is being described in past tense (this is for future reference) such as, Bathtubs big as oceans they where, somthing like this could be used when a person could have visited the new Vegas and was describing it to somone.
> 
> zef



If you listen to the dialog, "bathtubs size" is spoken fast and attached to each other, and also "oceans" is stretched out; in order to emphasize

"bathtubs size" is used like "mens size".


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## JamesM

BenderR said:


> So, by bathtub, actually a huge old boat is meant.
> 
> By bouncer, a huge bouncer object is meant. Not the security guards waiting at the door.
> 
> The man is also building up a tremendously big golf course in space, and by bouncer he means the planets that the golf ball will bounce off.
> 
> Hooker is also a huge seaman's ship.


 
I admit to watching and enjoying Futurama with my son.  Bender is a very lecherous robot. I am quite sure this interpretation is incorrect.

"Bathtubs size of oceans" means "_huge _bathtubs". The current Las Vegas is famous for having ridiculously large bathtubs, ironically located in the middle of a desert. 

"Hookers size of bouncers" is a typical Bender remark. I'm sure he is referring to the security men posted at the doors and elsewhere in casinos. They are usually very large, burly men that look like they could lift a car with one hand. "Hookers size of bouncers" is a humorous (and unappealing) exaggeration.

All of the imagery is consistent with Las Vegas stereotypes. Stretching it to mean "some bouncing object" makes no sense at all and, frankly, is not funny. Bender is a very funny (and raunchy) guy. I am sure he would not refer to golfballs when he could refer to prostitutes. He has a one-program brain. 

I agree with all the other feedback you've gotten.  This is exaggeration and hyperbole.  It does not mean that one bathtub will be built on Mars that is the size of the Atlantic.


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## zefee

JamesM said:


> I admit to watching and enjoying Futurama with my son.  Bender is a very lecherous robot. I am quite sure this interpretation is incorrect.
> 
> "Bathtubs size of oceans" means "_huge _bathtubs". The current Las Vegas is famous for having ridiculously large bathtubs, ironically located in the middle of a desert.
> 
> "Hookers size of bouncers" is a typical Bender remark. I'm sure he is referring to the security men posted at the doors and elsewhere in casinos. They are usually very large, burly men that look like they could lift a car with one hand. "Hookers size of bouncers" is a humorous (and unappealing) exaggeration.
> 
> All of the imagery is consistent with Las Vegas stereotypes. Stretching it to mean "some bouncing object" makes no sense at all and, frankly, is not funny. Bender is a very funny (and raunchy) guy. I am sure he would not refer to golfballs when he could refer to prostitutes. He has a one-program brain.
> 
> I agree with all the other feedback you've gotten.  This is exaggeration and hyperbole.  It does not mean that one bathtub will be built on Mars that is the size of the Atlantic.



I too enjoy the program, but haven't yet managed to see the film, so I was unsure on what BendeR was trying to get across, however, what you have said seems to fit the norm for the program, I would have to agree with this post.

zef


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## Franzi

panjandrum said:


> Tell us more about "Man" who speaks this line.
> OK, so I know this is way in the future, but does he speak normal English or does he speak some kind of modified English?
> 
> In the huge proportions you are talking about (hookers the size of bouncers/planets) a bathtub that is literally the size of an ocean doesn't sound implausible - perhaps a bit small (regardless of what a bathtub is in the movie).


 
Based on a google search, it looks like this dialogue is from Into the Wild Green Yonder.  Wikipedia describes this part of the plot as: "Leo Wong attempts to demolish an arm of the Milky Way to make way for a miniature golf course"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Wild_Green_Yonder

I think most Futurama characters have generic American accents of one sort or another, but I suspect Leo probably has a stereotypical Chinese accent based on other quotes I see on google.


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## BenderR

> Tell us more about "Man" who speaks this line.
> OK, so I know this is way in the future, but does he speak normal English or does he speak some kind of modified English?
> 
> In the huge proportions you are talking about (hookers the size of bouncers/planets) a bathtub that is literally the size of an ocean doesn't sound implausible - perhaps a bit small.



The man is an Asian with accent, he does not speak normal English, he sometimes omits plural ads, "is" and such just like a common Asian speaker. However the English spoken by other people is exactly the same as English today.

In one occasion, they board all the people living on Earth on to a nautical space ship; this is an indication how big a bathtub (a boat) can be.

Yes, "a bathtub that is literally the size of an ocean" is implausible, but this is done on purpose, as I explained above. And just to further confuse the new-comer viewers (who haven't watched Futurama before) of Futurama, Robot says "Hamburger!" out of nowhere.


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## panjandrum

Thank you.
In the circumstances, as "Man" does not speak normal English, I think it is safe to assume that he is saying his version of "Bathtubs the size of oceans."

I think you may have misread my point about the size of the bathtubs - it seems entirely reasonable, in this context, for him to be talking of bathtubs that are literally the size of oceans.


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## BenderR

> "Bathtubs size of oceans" means "_huge _bathtubs". The current Las Vegas is famous for having ridiculously large bathtubs, ironically located in the middle of a desert.


 No, you haven't watched the movie yet. He means "a bathtub size ocean".


> "Hookers size of bouncers" is a typical Bender remark. I'm sure he is referring to the security men posted at the doors and elsewhere in casinos. They are usually very large, burly men that look like they could lift a car with one hand. "Hookers size of bouncers" is a humorous (and unappealing) exaggeration.


This is not even a Bender remark. This is a Leo Wong remark. One of the richest people in the universe. He owns more than half of Mars.


> All of the imagery is consistent with Las Vegas stereotypes. Stretching it to mean "some bouncing object" makes no sense at all and, frankly, is not funny. Bender is a very funny (and raunchy) guy. I am sure he would not refer to golfballs when he could refer to prostitutes. He has a one-program brain.


Agreed. But Bender does not even speak other than saying "Hamburger!". Please read my posts above. Also, later in the movie the golf ball banks (bounces) off Jupiter. I think this shows how big a bouncers can be in the movie. 		

So, I don't agree with you completely. You should first watch the movie.


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## BenderR

Please delete this post.


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## Franzi

BenderR said:


> This is not even a Bender remark. This is a Leo Wong remark. One of the richest people in the universe. He owns more than half of Mars.
> Agreed. But Bender does not even speak other than saying "Hamburger!".


 
It sounds to me like Bender is using 'hamburger' in place of the actual (though dated) exclamation "Hot dog!"  He hears Leo's remark about hookers and bouncers (which I agree has a special meaning in the context of Futurama space golf), and imagines enormous prostitutes instead of an enormous golf course.


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## BenderR

Franzi said:


> It sounds to me like Bender is using 'hamburger' in place of the actual (though dated) exclamation "Hot dog!"  He hears Leo's remark about hookers and bouncers (which I agree has a special meaning in the context of Futurama space golf), and imagines enormous prostitutes instead of an enormous golf course.


You're right! But for people who don't know Bender, it is out of nowhere.


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## JamesM

I have read a portion of the subtitles. I haven't seen the film. I still say that the lead-in line "...we'll build a bigger, better Vegas" makes it clear that he isn't talking about golf. Although Las Vegas has golf courses, this is _not_ what the city is famous for. 

The line describes a new Vegas that is bigger and better than the older one. Does it not make sense that the comparisons would be to what is famous in the current Vegas? Other than the gondolas at the Venetian and the pirate ship at Treasure Island, there are no ships in Las Vegas. It makes no sense that the comparison would have anything to do with ships.

"Bathtubs size of oceans" sounds like "the" is missing to me.   The explanation of the Asian accent stereotype is a good reason for this.   

This is the same type of comparison as "hail the size of softballs", which does _not_ mean "the softballs were as small as hail", but "the hail was as large as a softball".


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## BenderR

JamesM said:


> I have read a portion of the subtitles. I haven't seen the film. I still say that the lead-in line "...we'll build a bigger, better Vegas" makes it clear that he isn't talking about golf. Although Las Vegas has golf courses, this is _not_ what the city is famous for.
> 
> The line describes a new Vegas that is bigger and better than the older one. Does it not make sense that the comparisons would be to what is famous in the current Vegas?  Other than the gondolas at the Venetian and the pirate ship at Treasure Island, there are no ships in Las Vegas.  It makes no sense that the comparison would have anything to do with ships.



Yes, but what do you think he means when he says "hooker"? If he means a woman then it doesn't make sense. The man we are talking about is Leo Wong, he doesn't have anything to do with hookers. I think he actually means "a gigantic boat". He also means an another type of a gigantic boat by "bathtub"; he does not mean the bathtubs in New Vegas.

Also the golf course will be in space, not in Vegas.



> "Bathtubs size of oceans" sounds like "the" is missing to me. The explanation of the Asian accent stereotype is a good reason for this.


I agree with you as I pointed it out a few times in my previous posts. However I don't think there should be a "the" in between.


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## JamesM

BenderR said:


> Yes, but what do you think he means when he says "hooker"? If he means a woman then it doesn't make sense. The man we are talking about is Leo Wong, he doesn't have anything to do with hookers.


 
Perhaps I've misunderstood. Leo Wong is building a new Las Vegas, correct? And you don't think that one of the features of new Las Vegas, which is going to be bigger and better than the old Vegas, will be hookers? 

Futurama plays on current society's foibles. If you ever go to Las Vegas, you will find that you are not able to walk a hundred feet down the Strip without someone trying to hand you a lurid brochure or flyer advertising prostitutes. It is one of the most famous features of Las Vegas, unfortunately. The ground is littered with these flyers. 

If the man is building a new Vegas and trying to "outdo" the current Las Vegas, it makes perfect sense that he is talking about women.  He is demonstrating the classic American (mis)conception that bigger is always better, and the writers of Futurama are poking fun at this classic salesman-style hype.


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## panjandrum

BenderR said:


> ...
> 
> I agree with you as I pointed it out a few times in my previous posts. However I don't think there should be a "the" in between.


No, you are not agreeing with James, or me - only on the fact that "the" is absent.
Man is in fact meaning "Bathtubs the size of oceans", but omitting "the" because that is his speech style.


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## BenderR

JamesM said:


> Perhaps I've misunderstood. Leo Wong is building a new Las Vegas, correct?  And you don't think that one of the features of new Las Vegas, which is going to be bigger and better than the old Vegas, will be hookers?
> 
> Futurama plays on current society's foibles.  If you ever go to Las Vegas, you will find that you are not able to walk a hundred feet down the Strip without someone trying to hand you a lurid brochure or flyer advertising prostitutes.  It is one of the most famous features of Las Vegas, unfortunately.  The ground is littered with these flyers.
> 
> If the man is building a new Vegas and trying to "outdo" the current Las Vegas, it makes perfect sense that he is talking about women.



I know Las Vegas is famous in this respect. But, if you watch the movie, you'll notice that Leo Wong is in fact much more obsessed by building up the golf course than by constructing a New Vegas. And when he speaks this line he looks up in the sky (just watch the movie, you'll see), and raises his right hand, and he points out in the sky two times, when he says "oceans" and "bouncers".

So, what he means is

"Bathtubs (space boat) size" oceans of (all) oceans,
"Hookers (space boat) size" bouncers of (all) bouncers (objects that will bounce the golf ball, Jupiter).

Bathtubs size of oceans,
Hookers size of bouncers

is such a good wordplay, it seems to be what you say but it is not.

Think of "bathtubs size" as "mens/kids size".

P.s. and I think by oceans he means golf course obstacles like ponds.


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## BenderR

panjandrum said:


> No, you are not agreeing with James, or me - only on the fact that "the" is absent.
> Man is in fact meaning "Bathtubs the size of oceans", but omitting "the" because that is his speech style.



I don't agree with you, I think

he uses "bathtubs size" as "mens/kids size".


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## Franzi

BenderR said:


> he uses "bathtubs size" as "mens/kids size".


 
This does not sound natural to me.  I would not expect a native speaker (even one writing a character who sounds foreign like Leo) to come up with this construction.


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## bibliolept

If the character said "bathtube size oceans" then I might think he means that oceans will be as small as bathtubs.

Since he said "bathtubs size of oceans," then I have to assume that "of oceans" modifies "size": "size of oceans" will in turn describe "bathtubs."

Is the character explaining or communicating grand plans? Could he be prone to hyperbole?

To me, it makes more sense for the character to exaggerate the luxuriousness or grandiosity of the accommodations by suggesting that the bathtubs will be very large. I don't think that I'd necessarily brag about oceans the size of bathtubs... what's the point or the fun of that?


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## BenderR

Franzi said:


> This does not sound natural to me.  I would not expect a native speaker (even one writing a character who sounds foreign like Leo) to come up with this construction.



But this usage is not that uncommon. I don't see your point.


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## Franzi

BenderR said:


> But this usage is not that uncommon. I don't see your point.


 
There are similar usages that are not uncommon.  The exact thing you were suggesting sounds 100% unnatural to me.

 bathtub size
 mens size
 kids size
 kid size
 bathtubs size


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## BenderR

bibliolept said:


> If the character said "bathtube size oceans" then I might think he means that oceans will be as small as bathtubs.



Yes, this is what I am trying to tell. But since bathtubs (nautical space ship), can be out of proportions (gigantic), we can say oceans "as big as" bathtubs.
Remember, the man, Leo Wong, who says this is extremely rich , owns half of Mars and building a gigantic (universes biggest) golf course in space.



bibliolept said:


> Since he said "bathtubs size of oceans," then I have to assume that "of oceans" modifies "size": "size of oceans" will in turn describe "bathtubs."



No, it is the other way around.


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## BenderR

Franzi said:


> There are similar usages that are not uncommon.  The exact thing you were suggesting sounds 100% unnatural to me.
> 
> bathtub size
> mens size
> kids size
> kid size
> bathtubs size



But, a Chinese man is speaking. Also, I have seen uses of this template with the "plural" suffix.

Edit:
Cars size something = something that is used or that goes in a car, that fits in the car.
Bathtubs size of oceans = oceans that can fit in a (unbelievably big) bathtub (a boat).


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## JamesM

BenderR said:


> But, a Chinese man is speaking. Also, I have seen uses of this template with the "plural" suffix.
> 
> Edit:
> Cars size something = something that is used or that goes in a car, that fits in the car.
> Bathtubs size of oceans = oceans that can fit in a (unbelievably big) bathtub (a boat).


 
I don't think you're going to get agreement on this, BenderR.  You are welcome to your interpretation.  I would say from the sampling of opinions here, though, that you are not in the majority in your interpretation.


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## BenderR

JamesM said:


> I don't think you're going to get agreement on this, BenderR.  You are welcome to your interpretation.  I would say from the sampling of opinions here, though, that you are not in the majority in your interpretation.



Ok, I am not going to discuss any further. However, I'd like to hear opinions from people who watched the movie. I wonder if they agree with me or not.

Thanks for all your comments.


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## JamesM

BenderR said:


> Cars size something = something that is used or that goes in a car, that fits in the car.
> Bathtubs size of oceans = oceans that can fit in a (unbelievably big) bathtub (a boat).


 
Can you provide some examples of this construction? I would expect "bathtub-sized" and "car-sized", not "cars size (of)".

For example:

Ford using $10,000 car-sized balloons for crash-testing

Car-Sized PSP Peripheral

Two men survive 25 days at sea in bathtub-sized cooler


Shultz cherry-picked three of his best sailors from his program — one just 12 years old — to sail eight-foot bathtub-sized dinghies across the ocean shipping lanes to Catalina Island. The trio made the journey successfully, at times sailing in waves as high as their masts.


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## Nunty

There really isn't any room grammatically for the expression to mean the opposite of what the native speakers are all saying. "A bathtub the size of a boat" can never mean 'a boat the size of a bathtub" in English. Word order is very important. I'm sorry, but your interpretation just does not work in English.


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## RCA86

Ok, I've watched the video, and I basically agree with the consensus here. Given his tone and his wording, I think he definitely means:

"[In Vegas there are] Bathtubs which are the size of oceans [metaphorically speaking]; hookers which are the size of bouncers."

The reason the hookers thing works (and is funny) is because you wouldn't expect hookers to be the size of bouncers (meaning doormen), since it would be unattractive, so it's odd that he would revere the idea so.


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## BenderR

RCA86 said:


> Ok, I've watched the video, and I basically agree with the consensus here. Given his tone and his wording, I think he definitely means:
> 
> "[In Vegas there are] Bathtubs which are the size of oceans [metaphorically speaking]; hookers which are the size of bouncers."
> 
> The reason the hookers thing works (and is funny) is because you wouldn't expect hookers to be the size of bouncers (meaning doormen), since it would be unattractive, so it's odd that he would revere the idea so.



So, why is he pointing sky (space) when he says "oceans" and "bouncers". I know a "bouncer" (a door security guy) is not something taller than 2 meters.


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## panjandrum

Enough.
This thread has become silly and is now closed.
It is not at all a question of understanding of English.
It is a matter of personal interpretation.
Any further discussion on this topic may take place by PM.
The views of everyone else are contrary to the views of BenderR.


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