Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2017 February 11

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February 11

"A.O." to refer the the asteroid belt in The Expanse

I'm watching The Expanse and they keep on using the phrase "A.O." to refer the the asteroid belt. What is the abbreviation referring to? I'm assuming Asteroid Something, but I can't figure the latter part out. ECS LIVA Z (talk) 03:35, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

I've not watched the show, but looking at a transcript here, it's being used as an abbreviation for area of operation. "A.O." is a common standard military abbreviation (at least in the US military).--William Thweatt ^TalkContribs 05:44, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

Thanks! Is the average viewer expected to know this phrase? I imagine quite a few viewer could be confused just like I was. ECS LIVA Z (talk) 08:47, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

It's a common technique in movies to use jargon to try to make it seem real. Here the goal isn't so much to convey facts as to achieve the suspension of disbelief. In some cases they will go so far as to make up jargon, where nobody will understand it, because it doesn't actually mean anything. In the Star Trek franchise, some of the scripts were initially written with the word "tech" inserted anywhere they wanted jargon inserted later, such as "The tech is down to 7% and the tech is nearing collapse !". So, in such a case, it's obvious that the meaning of those words is not what's important, but rather the feeling they convey. StuRat (talk) 14:42, 12 February 2017 (UTC)

Queen of spades

In The Queen of Spades, what exactly were they playing at the casino -- was it faro or blackjack (or maybe something else)? If faro, then what's the significance of the card combination "three, seven, ace" (it's a winning hand in blackjack, but not in faro)? If blackjack, then how come Hermann took his own life after drawing the queen of spades instead of the ace he hoped for (I presume that he did it because he lost the last bit of money he had, but in blackjack this hand would actually be a winning hand unless the dealer scored a natural)? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:F88D:DE34:7772:8E5B (talk) 10:30, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

Since you mention Hermann committing suicide, I imagine you are referring to the Tchaikovsky opera instead of the original Pushkin story? I haven't checked the opera, but (if Google Translate has not failed me) Pushkin quite clearly states that it is faro: "Молодежь к нему нахлынула, забывая балы для карт и предпочитая соблазны фараона обольщениям волокитства. Нарумов привез к нему Германна." We can, I suppose, presume artistic licence. Also, in the short story he bets on the three, the seven, and the ace on three different days. Double sharp (talk) 13:27, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

Thanks! I guess I got confused because 3, 7 and ace just happens to also be one of the best hands to have in blackjack.  :-) 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:F88D:DE34:7772:8E5B (talk) 03:45, 12 February 2017 (UTC)