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Chandler: You have to stop the Q-Tip when there's resistance!

What does the phrase 'stop the Q-Tip when there's resistance' mean?

Chandler needs new pants made and asks friends for a contact of a good tailor. Joey raises a hand - yep, he has a tailor. Chandler feels all set. But Joey starts to share way too much of boring detail.

Joey: He did my first suit when I was 15... No, wait, 16... No, excuse me, 15... All right, when was 1990?

ChandlerYou have to stop the Q-Tip when there's resistance!

What is Q-Tip? What is the whole "You have to stop the Q-Tip when there's resistance" expression is referring to? 

Apparently the joke was among few that Matthew Perry, the actor who played Chandler has improvised on the set. Also that is the joke some websites say that Matthew is the most proud of. So let's try and get it!

Q-Tip is a cotton swabs brand name. You know the ones you use to clean your ears after a bath. Q here stands of "Quality". Americans say "Q-tip" but often mean not a particular brand, but just any cotton swab.

Now when we are clear on the meaning of a Q-tip, lets take another look at the Chandler's joke. If you use cotton swab to clean your ears, you know that basic rule 'don't push the cotton swab in too far, or you can damage your eardrum'.

Every Joey's guess about the useless age-detail in this whole tailor story, Chandler takes like an attack on his eardrums. Remember how Chandler is utterly sensitive to words, how he analyzes them and the talker in search for a joke? But here Joey just yanks Chandler's attention without any real response creativity air being left. Just exhausting. So Chandler begs Joey to stop talking, while using a beautiful Q-tip metaphor. The phrase not only describes to a point how Chandler feels, but also contrasts Joey's plain talk a moment ago.

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Comments

  1. Ok

    1. Q-Tip(according to Wiki) is a cotton swabs brand name. Q here stands of "Quality". And the term "Q-tips" is often used as a genericized trademark for cotton swabs in the USA.

    2. The expression "You have to stop the Q-Tip when there's resistance" means when you are cleaning your ears you have got to stop pushing the swab inside, because you may harm yourself.

    3. The reason why Chandler says it to Joey is that is shorter way of saying "you Joey better clean your ears more carefully next time, because it seems to damage your brain"

    ReplyDelete
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  2. Добавлю.
    Чендлер "намекает", что Джо иногда такой глупый, что кажется, что он слишком далеко проталкивает палочки в ухо и задевает мозг.
    На русский я бы перевел так (учитываю экспрессию фразы):
    Когда чистишь уши и во что-то упираешься - остановись!

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    Replies
    1. It is a good way to translate it in Russian, thanks!

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    2. Tysm. I was so curious u know

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  3. This was something i could not get. thanks :)

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  4. I have to disagree with @tka about why Chandler says this to Joey. The reason why Chandler says this to Joey is not because of what you said, he says this because Joey's just giving too much information and Chandler thinks that just like Q-tip being pushed in spite of the resistance damaging the eardrum, the too much information's gonna damage his eardrum.

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    Replies
    1. @John Smith it makes sense.

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    2. absolutely not, he for sure implies that joey is stupid. how can "when was 1990" too much information? it's just stupid that he asks when that was, when he already have the answer, but is trying to calculate how long ago it was to figure out how old he were.

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    3. I prefer to agree with John Smith here..

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    4. Joe is the one in the group that is lacking emotional intellegence the most often (except all the girls business of course). Now a year later it does feel like John Smith's way of looking is the most obvious one. Joe has no that reciever that would tell him that the audible puzzle about his age is simply yanking the attention of his friend Chandler, that has been silently begging him to stop talking for awhile already) So Q-tip was in Chandler's ear in that case, not Joe's.

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  5. I feel that chandler is advising Joey not to load his (Joey's) brain with so many thoughts... Joey's brain is not capable of handling his own basic stupid questions hence resisting... Chandler's advice to Joey is not to push his little brain when it resists.

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    Replies
    1. Right that's what I was thinking.

      pushing swab{the object} for cleaning{the good thing to d} in too deep{adjective} damages the ear{oneself}

      same way:

      thinking{good thing to do} too much{adjective} damages the brain..... specially pointing to the fact that Joey's mind is not made for thinking

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    2. You are my savior. chandler's humor is hilarious when I get but it can get so frustrating when I don't as an English learner and it seemed I couldn't get it out of my brain till I found an understandable explanation. Thank you!

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  6. All these guys have trouble controlling the Q-Tip!,!

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  7. പരിപാടി നിർത്തീട്ട്‌ 23 വർഷമായി ചങ്ങായിമാരെ. ഏീന്ത്‌ തേങ്ങയെങ്കിലുമാവട്ട്‌!!

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    Replies
    1. Ishttullavar athine kurich samsaarikkatte chetta :))

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    2. Enn vech njanghalkk manasilakande

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  8. As native English speaker, I loved that line. It is a popular idea that you will damage your brain if you push a q-tip into your ear too far. Chandler is saying that Joey is dumb. And, Joey probably doesn’t understand the joke (because he’s dumb).

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