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Phoebe: Are you the cutest?

Chandler is having an Internet-based relationship with some woman he has never met in person. Phoebe is reading over his shoulder:

- What does she mean by HH?
Chandler shyly:
- It means we are holding hands.
Phoebe surprised and slightly mocking:
- Are you the cutest?
Chandler accepts laughing:
- I'm afraid I might just be.

Even though all the words look familiar in "Are you the cutest?", the way Chandler respond leaves me guessing that there is a cultural background to it. And this is where I get lost. Can you help, oh, Universe of Friends Fans?
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Comments

  1. Hagop Kazanjian28 May 2014 at 03:46

    I don't think there's a cultural thing, it's just "oh you're holding hands, how cute"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Katie28 May 2014 at 04:02

      Maybe it is just a form of speach I wasn't familiar with. To my non-native-speaker's ear a regular "ooh, you are so cute!" would sound more natural, than the superlative form of the word.

      Do you use such expressions? Like lets say you did something to save lots of money for a family, would your mom than say "Are you the smartest?"

      Delete
    2. Hagop Kazanjian31 May 2014 at 07:39

      I guess you might

      Delete
    3. Katie31 May 2014 at 09:27

      Will be out in the world testing this figure of speech than)

      Delete
    4. Hagop Kazanjian31 May 2014 at 09:40

      hahaha .. cool, you should :)

      Delete
  2. Triene21 April 2015 at 23:39

    It's all about inflection here. No, there is no further meaning behind the words; they mean what you would expect them to. Instead of simply stating, "Oh, you're just the cutest" or "you're too cute," Phoebe poses it as a rhetorical question, "Are you the cutest?" Her tone and inflection are implying the same thing as if she would have said a statement.

    Chandler replies with an answer to a question that wasn't expecting an answer really to begin with, because he just can't resist admitting that, yes, he is being terribly cute right now.

    Your example about money and "Are you the smartest?" is pretty close, though it's maybe not exactly what I would expect someone to say. Perhaps something similar, like "Aren't you smart?" would be a more common equivalent, but its the same idea. "Aren't you sweet?" "Aren't you kind?" etc. Rhetorical questions, all, which imply their corresponding statements.

    Hope this long-winded explanation is helpful! I love this site, I think it's a really cool idea, especially for people for whom English isn't their first language, or who wouldn't get American (or even just older American) references.

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