Cross-Eyed Mary

[RiTm]

Hi all!

I don't get a joke from "Friends", 01x18 - The One With All the Poker. Guys win a game of poker with girls.

Ross: So, Phoebs owes $7.50, Monica, you owe $10... And Rachel, you owe fifteen big ones.
Joey: But hey, thanks for teachin' us Cross-Eyed Mary. You guys, we gotta play that at our regular game.

Cross-Eyed Mary is reference to a song? Or some trick in poker, or what? And what is a joke about?

Thanks.

 

[RiTm]

Maybe this is some simple trick in poker? But i can't found any information about that, all links are about song or Friends subtitles )).

 

[5jj]

The fact that you haven't received a response yet suggests that none of us knows the answer. We may learn something when our American colleagues get out of bed. It's still very early over there.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's possible that it's a reference to the album of the same name. Maybe one of the people introduced them to the album and they will now play the album as background music at their regular poker game. I did watch Friends but I don't specifically remember the episode. If someone didnt teach them a new game called Cross- Eyed Mary, and no music was introduced, then I don't know what they could have been alluding to.

 

[bhaisahab]

"Cross Eyed Mary" is a track on the 1971 Jethro Tull album "Aqualung". But it's unlikely to be anything to do with that.

 

[RiTm]

Audience is laughing... :-? Maybe video helps.

 

[SoothingDave]

Who did he direct the line to? Calling a man a "Mary" can be a way of saying he is effeminate. It was likely just a crude put down. The "cross-eyed" part is probably borrowed from the song.

 

[RiTm]

No, hi direct the line to Rachel, she is a girl.

 

[SoothingDave]

It would seem than that it is the name of a variation of poker. That would be my best guess.

 

[ARGMAN]

Hi all!

I don't get a joke from "Friends", 01x18 - The One With All the Poker. Guys win a game of poker with girls.

Ross: So, Phoebs owes $7.50, Monica, you owe $10... And Rachel, you owe fifteen big ones.
Joey: But hey, thanks for teachin' us Cross-Eyed Mary. You guys, we gotta play that at our regular game.

Cross-Eyed Mary is reference to a song? Or some trick in poker, or what? And what is a joke about?

Thanks.

i guess it is a straightforward approach that he means thanks for teaching us about the song, so we will play it later whenever we play poker??

the other option would be about the song itself, so in the song Cross eyed mary is a rich girl in a rich school who tries to mingle with dirty poor men and try to teach them about the life and happiness, and that what would look like with Rachel and the boys in friends. It may be a silly analytic but I gave it a shot lol.

 

[HanibalII]

Ahh the memories. Friends is a great show. They're referring to a particular 'move' in poker. It holds no relation to any song etc.

 

[Rover_KE]

I guess it is a straightforward approach that he means thanks for teaching us about the song, so we will play it later whenever we play poker​. [STRIKE]??[/STRIKE]

The other option would be about the song itself, so in the song 'Cross-Eyed Mary is a rich girl in an expensive school who tries to mingle with dirty poor men and tries to teach them about [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] life and happiness, and that what would look like with Rachel and the boys in 'Friends'. It may be a silly analysis but I gave it a shot. [STRIKE]lol.[/STRIKE]

Welcome to the forums, ARGMAN.

Please read this extract from the Posting Guidelines:

You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post.

Thank you.

Rover

 

[ARGMAN]

Welcome to the forums, ARGMAN.

Please read this extract from the Posting Guidelines:

You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post.

Thank you.

Rover

how can I change the signature? I don't wanna repeat the sentence every time

 

[MikeNewYork]

I have never heard of Cross-Eyed Mary as a variant of poker, but from the context, that would be my guess. Perhaps they made the name up for the show. When a group of people play poker, it is common for the dealer to choose the game for that hand. Some of the variants have very strange names.

 

[emsr2d2]

How can I change the signature? I don't [strike]wanna[/strike] want to repeat the sentence every time.

You might not want to do it, but you will have to. As shown in the posting guidelines, the fact that you are not a teacher has to be posted at the top of each post. If you put it in your signature line, it will appear below the post. People can choose not to see the signature lines by changing their settings so the people who choose to hide signatures won't see the information that you are not a teacher. It is not arduous. Simply type "Not a teacher" at the beginning of every post.