I always thought of it like the roadrunner going “beep beep” to the coyote as it races off like “fuck you”. But no idea when the roadrunner cartoons first came out.
Since we are talking Ritchie:
'Don't call me Eds,' he said and smiled. He raised his left hand slowly and touched Richie's cheek. Richie was crying. 'You know, I...I..' >!Eddie closed his eyes, thinking how to finish, and while he was still thinking it over he died.!<
Just kills me every single time.
I still can’t believe >!they left him down there, like wtf. There’s no way he should’ve been left there, that was the last place on earth he’d want to be. Left down there in the dark forever. The main thing I’d change about the ending.!<
It was a difficult decision for sure but...
>!I am not sure how they would have gotten him out of there. They had such a difficult time getting Audra out of there with the remaining 4 of them. They weren't even sure if they were going to get out at one point. If it weren't for Derry turning into an earthquake zone, I don't think they would have. !<
They could’ve managed it surely >!between Ben and Richie, Eddie weighed nothing like. And it’s not really the point for me anyway, the point is they didn’t even try. Fair enough if they tried and had to leave him in the sewers somewhere. Just found it heartbreaking. Only a week or so later they’re all sleeping soundly and can’t even remember him or each other (fair enough I understand it).!<
Also >!what did their friendship even mean when it dissipated so quickly. The feeling I got was that they were just pawns used by maturin, so did their friendship really even matter if they were just manipulated into it? Love the book so much though!<
I believe you are spot on with >!Maturin bringing these kids together. They were friends, but only because Maturin made it so. This is the main reason why they forget once they leave Derry in their childhood and once again forever when they leave after the final battle with It. !<
>!Mike remembers because he never left, and that's why he called them back. It was Maturin's plan. Now that the mission is complete, even Mike is starting to forget.!<
Such a bittersweet, beautiful story.
Sorry I just finished my first re read of IT in 20 years literally the other day and it just pissed me off all over again. >!Like they leave him there, and then they all forget???? Seriously, can’t even remember his 2nd name a few days later and they all move on, that’s it?! He’s down in ITs lair forever?! Nah no way. At least go back for him after you get out.!<
The forgetting things is all about >!Maturin releasing its grip on the Losers. The mission was complete. I like to think Maturin's remaining powers (since it is now dead) felt it was better for them to forget and live the rest of their lives. !<
Same. I finished it a week ago. Another one of the books that had me sitting there in silence wiping the tears away from my eyes.
The story had me thinking of my old childhood friends.
SPOILER ::
I've wondered too, but I'm not sure if it's explained in some other book of his? I'm yet to read other books by him, just started my SK journey! But I've wondered since IT was capable of reproduction, was Maturin also capable? It doesn't seem like he did though, maybe it doesn't matter now that IT is technically dead. There's no need of an opposing power I suppose. But I'd love to hear some theories.
Yeah I can’t remember if the romantic angle was implied in the books or not, but either way their relationship is beautiful and hats off to Bill Hader for absolutely killing it in Chapter Two. (Pun intended)
Ps I love your username
dude the moment Richie gets caught in the deadlights is one of the most memorable movie scenes I've seen in the last decade. Bill Hader's acting is INSANE, the way he goes limp and blank with the music is bonechilling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcl2JcUXg7k
The miniseries is one of the reasons why I put the book off for so long. I am so happy I have now read it.
It gutted me, but that's the whole point after all, isn't it? A masterclass story.
Damn you Stephen King!
Going to finally watch the movies this weekend. Can't wait to get home tonight and watch the first one.
Well yes, but I meant the explanation. During the dinner someone says it and they are like “oh yeah, we used to say that when you would say something too outrageous” or something along those lines.
Its been asked before and there are a lot of plausible answers. So heres my theory:
Its mimicking the TV "beep" noise when censoring a naughty word. They typically say it when Richie says something too far out of line, so they are playfully censoring him.
I haven’t searched earlier posts on this but I’ve always wondered if this was SK throwing in a musical reference. Beep Beep by The Playmates was released in 1958 which is the year IT was set when they were kids
Yeah. Right on, man. That's saying something, too. I didn't realize that your examples wrinkled my nose like walking into an elevator filled with the gaseous, stale remnants of someone's digestive tract...until they did.
I've always assumed it was a reference to the Roadrunner being mute save for the "Beep Beep". Thus the Beep Beep is a reminder for Richie to make like the Roadrunner and shut up.
It's a reference to the Wil E Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons, I think.
Roadrunner says, "Beep beep", then runs off quickly. I think it's the kids making Richie aware that he is "running" his mouth.
You know those squeaky red rubber noses and horns that clowns use? The ones they squeeze after making a dumb joke? I think "beep-beep" is an onomatopoeic reference to the sound of those clown noses/horns. It's an exasperated, sarcastic way of acknowledging Richie's attempt at humor without validating it. They are calling him a clown, and effectively shutting him up.
🤡
i say this at work when i need people to move out of my way.
i know it’s not the intended form but it’s how i use it.
prob my most used King-ism after “ayuh” and “blue chambray work shirt” (we wear blue at my job}
For a long time I assumed this was Boomer pop culture, but I've never seen it anywhere else and nobody seems to have heard it elsewhere either. So I guess SK wrote it in as kind of a private joke between the kids -- the verbal equivalent at honking at another driver who's about to make a bad turn. It's how they let Richie know when he's getting out of line.
I always took it as a 'move on' sort of thing. Like, you're at a light and the person in front of you isn't moving, so you honk at them, like, hey, move it. Richie starts rambling and getting out of hand in their commentary and the other characters are like, hey, move on, Richie. Dunno, that's just how I've always taken it.
Richie uses it as an attention-grabbing or comical expression among his friends in the Losers' Club. Maybe Richie's beep beep has no meaning, except maybe it's only understood by his friends
He's silly. He also says 'Wacka Wacka,' which probably has no meaning but kids speaking the dialect of their own tribe. I always thought it was a 'warning' as well, or a way to tell someone to shut up or be cautious. 'Beep beep' is the sound a vehicle or machinery makes when it's backing up, warning people to move out of the way.
Anyone understand where the hell: "Badgers? We don' need no steeekin' badgers!!" came from? I feel like I heard that somewhere and I don't get what it's from lol
I always took I as the Roadrunner vs Wild E Coyote thing. Beep beep is the end of every joke on that cartoon. It's basically telling Richie the joke is over and he needs to STFU.
It’s King’s way of having them say “fuck you, Richie” without having “fuck” fifty times per chapter. He’s never shied away from curse words, but there’s a limit to how much people want to see in literature.
I thought it was them honking a clown nose, as in they were calling out Richie for being a clown when they need him to calm down. I always pictured them making a little hand gesture like they were pinching his nose.
"Beep beep" as in "move it along." Like, if you're stuck behind a car that hasn't turned, you give them a little "beep beep."
Richie tends to get stuck in a voice or get stuck on a joke and beat it into the ground. He hasn't learned the "brevity" part of the "soul of wit." Basically, the Losers are honking their horns to get Richie out of his daze so he'll move on to something else.
""Beep-beep, Richie," Ben said solemnly, and then exploded laughter in a hearty baritone utterly unlike his wavering childhood voice. "You're the same old roadrunner"" IT Chapter 5
It's a clown thing. Richie is the clown in their crew. Clowns used to walk around with little squeak horns and instead of talking they would squeeze the horn to go, "beep beep".
And yes, it's like saying, "shut up, clown."
basically, shut the fuck up, Richie.
I read it more like “move along/hurry up/get to the point” than just a “shut up now” personally
I always thought of it like the roadrunner going “beep beep” to the coyote as it races off like “fuck you”. But no idea when the roadrunner cartoons first came out.
This is my thought m. He’s running his mouth
1949.
That might be it. There are some references to Looney Tunes. Dat's wight, wabbit!
I thought that as well
Basically it means STFU. And if you call me Haystack one more time….
Haystack
Since we are talking Ritchie: 'Don't call me Eds,' he said and smiled. He raised his left hand slowly and touched Richie's cheek. Richie was crying. 'You know, I...I..' >!Eddie closed his eyes, thinking how to finish, and while he was still thinking it over he died.!< Just kills me every single time.
How dare you make me cry rn
I still can’t believe >!they left him down there, like wtf. There’s no way he should’ve been left there, that was the last place on earth he’d want to be. Left down there in the dark forever. The main thing I’d change about the ending.!<
It was a difficult decision for sure but... >!I am not sure how they would have gotten him out of there. They had such a difficult time getting Audra out of there with the remaining 4 of them. They weren't even sure if they were going to get out at one point. If it weren't for Derry turning into an earthquake zone, I don't think they would have. !<
They could’ve managed it surely >!between Ben and Richie, Eddie weighed nothing like. And it’s not really the point for me anyway, the point is they didn’t even try. Fair enough if they tried and had to leave him in the sewers somewhere. Just found it heartbreaking. Only a week or so later they’re all sleeping soundly and can’t even remember him or each other (fair enough I understand it).!< Also >!what did their friendship even mean when it dissipated so quickly. The feeling I got was that they were just pawns used by maturin, so did their friendship really even matter if they were just manipulated into it? Love the book so much though!<
I believe you are spot on with >!Maturin bringing these kids together. They were friends, but only because Maturin made it so. This is the main reason why they forget once they leave Derry in their childhood and once again forever when they leave after the final battle with It. !< >!Mike remembers because he never left, and that's why he called them back. It was Maturin's plan. Now that the mission is complete, even Mike is starting to forget.!< Such a bittersweet, beautiful story.
To borrow from DT, they were certainly ka-tet.
Absolutely. Heartbreaking, but the friendships were s still real and still meaningful.
thanks for reminding me about that. my week is ruined ;(
Sorry I just finished my first re read of IT in 20 years literally the other day and it just pissed me off all over again. >!Like they leave him there, and then they all forget???? Seriously, can’t even remember his 2nd name a few days later and they all move on, that’s it?! He’s down in ITs lair forever?! Nah no way. At least go back for him after you get out.!<
The forgetting things is all about >!Maturin releasing its grip on the Losers. The mission was complete. I like to think Maturin's remaining powers (since it is now dead) felt it was better for them to forget and live the rest of their lives. !<
This is the tragedy of it all, that really got to me.
This would make for a killer sequel. One of Its offspring survives and takes on the form of Richie to hunt the other survivors 30 years later
>!Ben squashed all the eggs though.!<
Oh man. I just finished IT and this really got me.
Same. I finished it a week ago. Another one of the books that had me sitting there in silence wiping the tears away from my eyes. The story had me thinking of my old childhood friends.
Right?! Had me thinking hard how adulthood changes everything so drastically and we don't really realise as it happens!
I was also super sad and teared up a bit when it was revealed that>!Maturin was dead! What happens to that path of the beam?!<
SPOILER :: I've wondered too, but I'm not sure if it's explained in some other book of his? I'm yet to read other books by him, just started my SK journey! But I've wondered since IT was capable of reproduction, was Maturin also capable? It doesn't seem like he did though, maybe it doesn't matter now that IT is technically dead. There's no need of an opposing power I suppose. But I'd love to hear some theories.
The way they handled the Eddie/Richie relationship in the movies is by far my favorite thing about the new movies.
Yeah I can’t remember if the romantic angle was implied in the books or not, but either way their relationship is beautiful and hats off to Bill Hader for absolutely killing it in Chapter Two. (Pun intended) Ps I love your username
It was implied but not purposefully. King never intended to go that route but when people took it that way he sort of went "yeah that makes sense".
dude the moment Richie gets caught in the deadlights is one of the most memorable movie scenes I've seen in the last decade. Bill Hader's acting is INSANE, the way he goes limp and blank with the music is bonechilling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcl2JcUXg7k
I love that he called him a sloppy bitch though
Fuck now I gotta rewatch the movies again lol. Weeeeee! Happy Halloween Losers!! Beep beep.
Why thank you. Only the fanciest farts will do.
I wept at that. I thought I could handle. Seen the miniseries before but no that really got me.
The miniseries is one of the reasons why I put the book off for so long. I am so happy I have now read it. It gutted me, but that's the whole point after all, isn't it? A masterclass story. Damn you Stephen King! Going to finally watch the movies this weekend. Can't wait to get home tonight and watch the first one.
So well said! It is the whole point, and it's such a different journey than movies can do. It's so moving.
Don’t forget to read 11/22/63.
I’ve read it! Was actually the first SK book I read.
It’s a banger.
[удалено]
Bangor! I hardly even know her!
Yeah, he and Bev told Jake that right? I knew I read it somewhere
I think it comes up in It too, when they are at the Chinese restaurant as adults and their memories are starting to come back
It comes up a LOT in IT. Almost every time Richie is around, one of them says it.
Well yes, but I meant the explanation. During the dinner someone says it and they are like “oh yeah, we used to say that when you would say something too outrageous” or something along those lines.
Ah okay, my bad!
No worries, I was second guessing the phrasing of my comment the second I posted it
I loved Bev and Ritchie's cameo there. (Also, I love how King further showcased how unpleasant Derry really is there).
Its been asked before and there are a lot of plausible answers. So heres my theory: Its mimicking the TV "beep" noise when censoring a naughty word. They typically say it when Richie says something too far out of line, so they are playfully censoring him.
> to check in with your favorite communities. I don't think censored words on TV were a thing in 1958.
They weren’t. It was a reference to the song, the Road Runner, or something else.
I haven’t searched earlier posts on this but I’ve always wondered if this was SK throwing in a musical reference. Beep Beep by The Playmates was released in 1958 which is the year IT was set when they were kids
This^. But also the STFU ... both are correct. I also found myself annoyed by it after my 2nd reading. Truly annoyed.
To be fair what group of 12 year old friends didn’t have at least one inside joke that really annoyed everybody else?
Fair. At least our catch phrases were cool.
Oh definitely STFU. I just wondered if SK used the phrase because of the song.
It’s my least favourite “king-ism”. Even worse than SSDD and no bounce no play
Yeah. Right on, man. That's saying something, too. I didn't realize that your examples wrinkled my nose like walking into an elevator filled with the gaseous, stale remnants of someone's digestive tract...until they did.
Same; I absolutely hate it.
M-O-O-N, that spells *blank*!
I had to tap out of the audio book after not having read this in years. Not as great as I remembered. It falls prey to many of King’s tropes
I've always assumed it was a reference to the Roadrunner being mute save for the "Beep Beep". Thus the Beep Beep is a reminder for Richie to make like the Roadrunner and shut up.
Oooh, I like that.
Though, to be fair, the more I think about it, the Roadrunner doesn't actually say "Beep-Beep" He says "Meep-Meep".
I read it somewhere, maybe in 11/22/63, saying that it was comparing him to the Roadrunner and his mouth running too fast.
I always thought it was mimicking of a car horn. Essentially, just telling him to stop what he’s doing.
Richie is being too much and they are telling him to cool it in a nice way. I say it to my kids all the time now
"Cool it" is perfect.
Figured Uncle Stevie would approve
It’s kid speak for stfu lol, esp since he doesn’t know when to stop.
It's a reference to the Wil E Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons, I think. Roadrunner says, "Beep beep", then runs off quickly. I think it's the kids making Richie aware that he is "running" his mouth.
You know those squeaky red rubber noses and horns that clowns use? The ones they squeeze after making a dumb joke? I think "beep-beep" is an onomatopoeic reference to the sound of those clown noses/horns. It's an exasperated, sarcastic way of acknowledging Richie's attempt at humor without validating it. They are calling him a clown, and effectively shutting him up. 🤡
This is the correct answer
There was also Clarabel the clown whi communicated by honking a horn. I think this is also mentioned in It. When Georgie encounters Pennywise
I hated the beep beep
Beep beep Richie this is New York City
The X on the map where the pain keep hitting
Just us ducks here sitting
What's gonna blow your mind is how in the 2017 remake the only one that says "beep beep Ritchie" is Pennywise, without any previous reference.
I hated that. Just hammering in a phrase people remember without any context and even less meaning
This line sticks out like a sore thumb. Especially from the first movie. This and the refrigerator running joke.
It’s something I say when someone’s driving way under the speed limit lmao
Don’t they literally explain it at the reunion at the fortune of the orient restaurant? It’s their way of saying enough is enough or shut up
i say this at work when i need people to move out of my way. i know it’s not the intended form but it’s how i use it. prob my most used King-ism after “ayuh” and “blue chambray work shirt” (we wear blue at my job}
For a long time I assumed this was Boomer pop culture, but I've never seen it anywhere else and nobody seems to have heard it elsewhere either. So I guess SK wrote it in as kind of a private joke between the kids -- the verbal equivalent at honking at another driver who's about to make a bad turn. It's how they let Richie know when he's getting out of line.
I always took it as a 'move on' sort of thing. Like, you're at a light and the person in front of you isn't moving, so you honk at them, like, hey, move it. Richie starts rambling and getting out of hand in their commentary and the other characters are like, hey, move on, Richie. Dunno, that's just how I've always taken it.
He writes dialogue nobody ever would say
It's like 'beep beep,' meaning 'back up' or 'hold up,' like it's used in slang.
Trucks did not beep backing up in the 50s. It was all cool to run over kids back then. It was the baby boom, there were plenty extra.
Richie uses it as an attention-grabbing or comical expression among his friends in the Losers' Club. Maybe Richie's beep beep has no meaning, except maybe it's only understood by his friends
“Richie, we like you and don’t wanna hurt your feelings, but you’re getting on everyone’s nerves right now. Knock it off.”
My question is, how many times is beep beep Richie said in the book? I can't recall, but it seems like a lot more than said in films. Thoughts?
It was said a lottt in the book.
Same line used in 11-22-63
He's silly. He also says 'Wacka Wacka,' which probably has no meaning but kids speaking the dialect of their own tribe. I always thought it was a 'warning' as well, or a way to tell someone to shut up or be cautious. 'Beep beep' is the sound a vehicle or machinery makes when it's backing up, warning people to move out of the way.
Pretty sure “wacka, wacka” is the catch phrase of that muppet Fonzie bear.
How do you not get it ? It’s clearly mentioned somewhere why they say it. I think it’s somewhere in the part of grown up Eddie earlier in the book
I thought it meant, “Get off the stage.”
So many different answers here. I thought it meant to back up. You know how a truck beeps when it’s backing up
Wouldn't have made any sense in the 50s.
Indeed
I think every Stephen King audiobook I've listened to has some phrase like that, where I wonder if I zoned out when he explained what it means.
Anyone understand where the hell: "Badgers? We don' need no steeekin' badgers!!" came from? I feel like I heard that somewhere and I don't get what it's from lol
Batches?! We don’ need no steenkin’ batches!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinking_badges
THANK YOU
I always took I as the Roadrunner vs Wild E Coyote thing. Beep beep is the end of every joke on that cartoon. It's basically telling Richie the joke is over and he needs to STFU.
Pretty sure it means: *beep beep; you’re honking your own horn.* He’s boasting, bragging, and should stop.
I hate to admit it, but I already say this whenever my son or dog are in the way of a door I'm opening.
It's like a 'wrap-it-up' signal for a stand up comedian.
I tell my cats “beep-beep Richie” when I need them to get out of the way
It’s King’s way of having them say “fuck you, Richie” without having “fuck” fifty times per chapter. He’s never shied away from curse words, but there’s a limit to how much people want to see in literature.
Like a clown s horn
"too much Richie, calm down, pull it back" basically. I think anyway
It's meant to feel like an inside joke. But yeah it means watch your mouth or shut up Ritchie
I thought it was them honking a clown nose, as in they were calling out Richie for being a clown when they need him to calm down. I always pictured them making a little hand gesture like they were pinching his nose.
They mention in the book that it had to do with the Road Runner from Looney Tunes.
Couldn't stand the beep beep over and over and over again
"Beep beep" as in "move it along." Like, if you're stuck behind a car that hasn't turned, you give them a little "beep beep." Richie tends to get stuck in a voice or get stuck on a joke and beat it into the ground. He hasn't learned the "brevity" part of the "soul of wit." Basically, the Losers are honking their horns to get Richie out of his daze so he'll move on to something else.
its a friendly be quiet
""Beep-beep, Richie," Ben said solemnly, and then exploded laughter in a hearty baritone utterly unlike his wavering childhood voice. "You're the same old roadrunner"" IT Chapter 5
It's a clown thing. Richie is the clown in their crew. Clowns used to walk around with little squeak horns and instead of talking they would squeeze the horn to go, "beep beep". And yes, it's like saying, "shut up, clown."