By Nick A. Zaino III Globe correspondent, Updated September 9, 2022, 6:00 a.m.
In his 2021 Netflix special, “The Greatest Average American,” Nate
Bargatze tells a story about his marital spat over the meaning of the phrase
“one fell swoop.” He admits it was a meaningless argument with his wife, but
the type of thing that can go nuclear.
She wanted to visit her parents, who
live apart. “And then when she went to describe this ‘one fell swoop’ trip, she
goes, ‘We’ll go to my mom’s, come home, then go to my dad’s.’” Nonplussed,
Bargatze pointed out “that’s not what one fell swoop means.” Both dug in, she
insisting she had used the phrase correctly, and Bargatze sure he was finally
going to win an argument. “What do you think two birds/one stone means?” he
says. “Let’s just go through them all.”
Bargatze has been doing comedy for roughly as long as he’s been married, and he’s come to recognize the moments that inspire new material. “I could drive you to a spot where that happened,” he says, speaking by phone from Nashville, where he lives. “I remember the fight. And I remember thinking: This is very funny.”
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FALL ARTS PREVIEW Comedian Nate Bargatze is no ordinary everyman
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