Slang terms in Ocean's Eleven
 

I was watching this movie the other day and this line once again caught my ear,

"You'll need a Boesky, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethro's, a Leon Spinx, not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever."

I realize that these are obviously slang terms for different types of specialists in the heist world, but does anyone know which is which? I searched google and came up with nothing. Any help would be appreciated.

Great question!! I always wondered that myself.

The two Jethro's might mean somebody who is smart but can play the role of a dumbass if need be...hence the brothers.

The others...I can't even guess.

How cool! I have been wondering the exact same thing for a while now, and have been meaning to post the question but keep forgeting to do so.

The only one I can figure is that "Boesky" refers to Ivan Boesky, the junk bond trader from the late 80's, which turns out to be Carl Reiner's character,Saul/Limon Zerga, the phony rich investor or whatever he was.

Leon Spinx was a boxer, so that may have something to do with the fact that the plan relies heavily on the boxing match... Not really sure though about that one.

Anyone else?

I was under the impression a Leon Spinx was a demolitions expert (a la Basher)

And don't forget your "grease man", Yen the gymnast. Now my thinking is that a grease man is a small, lithe individual who can fit in small places - through a heating duct...with a little grease applied to the body. Ergo...grease man.

I too have wondered about the terms. I think we have some of the players, but who does that leave? Ella, Brown and Daisy to match up with Livingston (tech guy), Frank (Bernie Mac) and Ruben (Gould). Let's try some logic here people...

Miss Daisy = an old lady?
Ella = a noisy distraction?

I always thought the Miss Daisy bit meant a driver...as in, Driving Miss Daisy.

hmmm...Jim Brown was an NFL player, known for his speed.

This is what I come up with.

Boesky = Frank Catton inside man
Jim Brown = explosives expert Basher Tarr
Miss Daisy = surveillance specialist Livingston Dell
Jethro = Turk and Virgil Malloy experts with transportation
Leon Spinx = Reuben Tishkoff bankroll
Ella Fitzgerald = Saul Bloom scam artist actor

Boesky = inside trader
Jim Brown = "explosive fullback"
Miss Daisy = watched from a far
Jethro = mules
Leon Spinx = heavy hitter
Ella Fitzgerald = artist

damn... well done, iamnormal. i like the conclusion.

Thanks for the help everyone. I wonder if they just made these up strictly for the movie?

I think this might be what your looking for:

Interpreting Oceans Eleven

Rusty (Pitt): You'd need at least a dozen guys doing a combination of jobs.
Danny (Clooney): What do you think?
Rusty: Off the top of my head, I'd say you're looking at a Boesky, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethro's and a Leon Spinx, not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald....ever!

According to the director, Steven Soderbergh. here is the meaning of the line. It is a description of people and events needed to carry off the heist.

Carl Reiner's character, Saul Bloom, is the Boesky. That's Ivan Boesky, a hot-shot wall-street trader who got caught committing securities fraud. He's supposed to be a wealthy man to foot the bill who also has some inside information.

The Jim Brown represents a confrontation between Bernie Mac's character (Frank Catton, the inside man) and Matt Damon (Linus Caldwell) that is staged to distract. It is after a famous football (american) player who later went on to play leg-breaking thugs in a bunch movies. (Don't mess with me or you're in for it.)

The Miss Daisy refers to the SWAT van, their "getaway" vehicle. It comes from the movie, Driving Miss Daisy.

The two Jethros are "hillbilly gear-head types" to take care of Miss Daisy. They are Casey Affleck and Scott Caan (Virgil and Turk Malloy)

The Leon Spinks is the disruption of the boxing match, after Leon Spinks' famous surprise upset victory over Mohammed Ali.

And the Ella Fitzgerald is the tape they make and play in a loop in order to get into the vault. This is based on a Memorex commercial from the 70's in which a recording of Ella's voice breaks a glass and the quesiton is asked, "Is it live or is it Memorex?"

Five and a half years. Is the oldest bump ever around here? :p

I've always like the "'We're into Barney.' *blank stares* 'Barney. Barney Rubble. TROUBLE!'" part.

this one was revived after almost 6 yrs:

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/tilted-...ne-song-9.html


but that's what happens when people are encouraged to use the search function for threads before starting to create new ones..:thumbsup: