General Discussion Quick question

[Westee]

In the story, one of the MC's is contemplating earlier events and thinks:

Talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Does this offhand reference to the movie require it to be capitalized, even though it has nothing to do with the actual film?

 

[Johne]

No, the offhand reference “the good, the bad, and the ugly” does not require capitalization in this context. If the phrase is being used generically, as a common expression rather than specifically referencing the film title, it should remain in lowercase. Only when directly mentioning the movie as a title would it be capitalized and formatted as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

So, in your story, unless the character is clearly referencing the film itself, there is no need to capitalize the phrase.

 

[Westee]

No, the offhand reference “the good, the bad, and the ugly” does not require capitalization in this context. If the phrase is being used generically, as a common expression rather than specifically referencing the film title, it should remain in lowercase. Only when directly mentioning the movie as a title would it be capitalized and formatted as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

So, in your story, unless the character is clearly referencing the film itself, there is no need to capitalize the phrase.

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That's what I thought, but then, I've been wrong before. Thanks!

 

[Lynae Fisher]

I know the saying, but did not know there was any film about it.

 

[robwitty]

Hahahaha. That movie! I can hear the sound in my head, whenever there was a gun fight.
Doodle Doodle DOOOO, whaa WHAA whaaa...

 

[carolinamtne]

Oh, the many ways that words/phrases work their way into our language!

 

[Westee]

Oh, the many ways that words/phrases work their way into our language!

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There are times when a line from a movie or song fits just right. In the story I'm preparing to publish, the male MC stops an assault by hitting the perpetrator with a crowbar. He was discussing the incident later (with a therapist due to PTSD when the man ended up dying) and had a flashback to playing T-ball as a child:

“I just remembered when I was in T-ball as a kid. The only thing my bat ever connected with was the tee. Then the coach came over and talked to me. He said, ‘You’re closing your eyes when you swing. You can’t hit what you can’t see. I want you to repeat that right before you swing the bat. I can’t hit what I can’t see. Got it?’ He put the ball on the tee and stood back. I got the bat ready and said those words. When I swung, I hit the ball past the first baseman.”

“Why do you think that memory just came to you?”

I continued to stare vacantly ahead. “I hit just where I was aiming." (a line from the country song, Bubba Shot the Jukebox)