"Oh, SHUT up!"


One of the aspects to Lucy that grabbed me even as a kid,
was her often brazen way of telling people off, both
friends, Ricky, and even strangers.

Her frequent "You keep out of this" was one thing. But
Lucy's tart and nasty "Oh, SHUT up!" were pretty
powerful rebuttals then and now.

When I was kid, I would've been spanked or very punished
if overheard using that phrase, even to other kids. As
an adult, it's not something I'd say to friends - unless I wanted
to lose them! And strangers? Uh, I don't think so.

"Shut up!" hasn't lost its zing, and it doesn't even need the
more modern "Shut the F$%k up!" to justify its POW factor.

One scene that comes to mind is in "Ethel's Birthday." That poor man
is holding Lucy's chair for her as the show starts. Lucy is arguing that
she and Ethel haven't made up. The man says, "Please, lady, I can't
hold this seat forever." Lucy's sudden, loud retort to "Oh, shut up!"
is ruder than rude (Ricky doesn't even apologize to the guy).

Lucy could be one rude babe when she wanted to be.

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Lucy, rude? LOL Yes, she did speak her mind!

In the Don Loper episode, which you are not too fond of as I remember, Lucy is rude to Ethel.

Lucy tried to act so high class as though she "belonged" in such a fancy salon. Ethel proclaims "Fancy, shmancy!"

Lucy tells her to sit down and be quiet! Why couldn't Ethel speak her mind?

Lucy seemed to think that she was the boss of every situation.

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And, as you pointed out, Lucy had such a large ego.

To me, a lot of Lucy's behavior is unique. One would never hear Harriet Nelson, June Cleaver or Alice Mitchell
yell "shut up!" The closest who came to speaking her mind was Alice Kramden. But "Oh, SHUT up!" to
neighbors and strangers? Never. In this vein, Lucy's closest competitor is Archie Bunker!

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Haha, can you imagine Lucy telling Ricky to "stifle it!" She called him "Sir", but I think she was just kissing up to Ricky to placate him. She always did what she wanted.

Lucy never hid her light under a bushel. Remember in "Ethel's Home Town" how Lucy was just as upset as the fellas when Ethel got all the attention?
They said that Ethel was a shrinking violet. And Lucy said, "That shrinking violet just got sanforized." Lucy couldn't stand to see anyone else get the spotlight.

Lucy was no shrinking violet herself. She had to be in the center of every situation. But that's how the show was written. Lucy was the star.

Alice Kramden, yes she spoke her mind but only in self defense! Ralph was a big blowhard. But he was the only one who ever got the rough side of Alice's tongue. She never told Trixie or Norton to shut up.

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Exactly what I'm saying! Lucy is unique in how she could intimidate, or just start fighting with total strangers
(the tiny woman in the wine vat). She could also Be intimidated. Like the mud on the rug of Verna Felton's
floor (Lucy got scared, and picked it up by hand). Or when Verna was the maid.

Ethel: "Why, Lucy Ricardo, are you AFRAID of the maid??"

As Dick Van Dyke stated, Lucy's comedy "was a study in human behavior."

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