MovieChat Forums > Young Frankenstein (1974) Discussion > Can someone maybe explain two gags to me...

Can someone maybe explain two gags to me?


English is not my native language, but I watch English movies in the original on principle. There is a line from Igor that I don’t understand: “Ix-nay on the otten-ray.”
What does that mean?

And: I never understood the gag at the train station where Igor says “Walk this way”. Why does Igor tell Frederic to walk with a cane, and why does Frederic suddenly look so annoyed in his close-up?

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The first gag has to do with the Monsters brain. The brain is deformed

The 2nd gag is Frederic doesn't like taking orders from Igor, so he is bothered when told where to go

Thats my interpretation. You could always claim they are plot holes though

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This gave me a good chuckle. LOL

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The first is something called pig latin. It translates to "Nix on the rotten," which means don't mention that the brain is rotten.

The second is a language gag. Telling someone to "walk this way" usually means "follow me." It's a humorous misunderstanding to interpret it as, "Walk in the same manner that I am walking."

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Just to expand on millsay72. despite them being obvious plot holes:

(1) in English there is a popular saying when you don't want to talk about something: you say "ix-nay" and then rhyme what ever you don't want to talk about.
(2) In English when a person says "walk this way" it means to follow the person in the direction they are going. the gag here is that Igor meant it literally and had Frederic walk with the cane.

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(1) in English there is a popular saying when you don't want to talk about something: you say "ix-nay" and then rhyme what ever you don't want to talk about.


It's important to mention to an non-native English speaker that "ix-nay" is pig Latin for "nix", which means "don't do it or say it" in America. For instance - "we realized it was a scam so we nixed the deal". The way pig latin works is that you move the first consonant to the end of the word or syllable and add "ay" after it. Nix therefore becomes ix-nay.

Young Frankenstein in pig Latin would therefore be Ung-yay AnkenFrayEinStay more or less.

So ix-nay on the otten-ray is pig latin (secret code language that everyone understands!) for "nix on the rotten" or don't mention rotten when describing the brain.

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