Original artwork, not a still
Buttercup / Westley
We'll never survive! / Nonsense. You're only saying that because no one ever has.
— The Princess Bride ‧ 1987
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Westley turns hopelessness into a punchline: the only evidence that something is impossible is that nobody has done it yet. That is why fans reach for it when facing a daunting job, a long-shot plan or a big exam. It is Westley at his deadpan best, sunny, unbothered and slightly smug, in a film that is still one of the most quoted comedies ever made.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Princess BrideShow the scene
In The Princess Bride (1987), Westley and Buttercup have just outrun Prince Humperdinck's pursuit and race along a ravine floor towards the Fire Swamp, a place nobody is known to have crossed. The scene is being read aloud by the grandfather in the frame story, who skips ahead to it for his grandson. Buttercup despairs that they will never survive, and Westley brushes the fear aside with a calm joke: she only says that because no one ever has. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from William Goldman's own adaptation of his novel.
Sources (2)
- The Princess Bride transcriptFire Swamp approach, grandfather readingReference checked
- Wikipedia: The Princess Bride (film)LeadReference checked
Context reviewed
