Original artwork, not a still
Frag-i-le...it must be Italian!
— A Christmas Story · 1983
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the Old Man at his best: loud, certain, and wrong about something simple, and too proud to care. The joke works because everyone has met someone who bluffs through a word on the label. Fans quote the line, usually with the stretched 'fra-GEE-lay', every time a package arrives marked fragile, especially in December.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for A Christmas StoryShow the scene
In Hohman, Indiana, at Christmastime 1940, the Old Man has won a "major award" in a newspaper contest, and it arrives in a big wooden crate. He orders Ralphie to fetch a crowbar and a hammer, reads the stencilled warning on the side aloud with a confident wrong pronunciation, and announces that it must be Italian. Mrs. Parker gently points out that the word is fragile. He grunts and starts prising the crate open; inside is the leg-shaped lamp that sparks the film's "Battle of the Lamp". Darren McGavin plays the Old Man in Bob Clark's 1983 film, based on Jean Shepherd's stories.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: A Christmas StoryCrate scene, Mr. Parker and Mrs. Parker exchangeReference checked
- Wikipedia: A Christmas StoryPlot and LocationsReference checked
Context reviewed
