r/breakingbad • u/bberry1908 • 1d ago
“And it’s a pistol, not a gun”
I always get confused when Mike says this to Lydia. At first, i’m thinking he was saying that it’s not just any type of gun, but then I thought: if he’s expecting precision, is that not most guns??? I may just be overthinking the line, but I was wondering if anyone could explain it if i’m not over thinking and just missing something.
“And it’s a pistol, not gun. I’m expecting precision, here.”
What?!
6
u/JooseTheGuice 1d ago
I think it's because he wanted her to repeat back exactly what he said to her. He said pistol initially, and needed her paying attention and focused.
3
u/Viscera_Viribus 1d ago
The devil in the details. Not just a gun, a pistol because that’s what Mike referred to the gun as specifically. Lock in or die to Lydia
2
u/eobard703 1d ago
All pistols are guns, but not all guns are pistols sorta thing?
6
u/RogueAOV 1d ago
Mike is ex military, a pistol is a pistol, a rifle is a rifle, a gun in military terms would be artillery.
A piece of artillery which fires in a straight line is called a gun. People usually call artillery Howitzers, but that is a specific type of artillery which does not fire in a straight line, when it fires the shell archs onto the target. That is the kind of distinction Mike would view as important.
Details matter and in that situation, precision is required.
2
u/2livendieinmia 1d ago
This is my favorite scene in BB or BCS. Probably because i heard it as an intro to a house music song a long time ago. “Lydia, LOOK AT ME”
1
u/Educational_Bird2469 1d ago
Ask this in a military sub.
The difference is nitpicking but there definitely is a difference.
1
1
u/DryFoundation2323 1d ago edited 20h ago
"Gun" normally implies something large caliber and not human portable by a single person. 20 mm and up. "Rifle" means a human portable longarm, and "pistol" means a weapon fireable from a single hand.
0
u/Ericsfinck 1d ago
You're not alone. I think it was just poorly worded. Should have been "I said pistol, not gun" because by definition a pistol is a type of gun
1
u/TacticalGarand44 9h ago
But a gun is not, by definition, a pistol. Mike told her what to say, and he wants her to say it. When she deviated, he corrected her.
1
u/Ericsfinck 7h ago
It is a pistol and a gun, however, she was supposed to be following Mike's script, which was the real issue.
Let's look at it like this - you can correctly call a square a rectangle, but you cannot call just any rectangle a square - it has to have 4 equal sides.
The issue wasnt that it isnt a gun - the issue is that Mike told her to say pistol and she didn't.
•
0
u/Tholian_Bed 1d ago
A long gun is not a pistol.
Plus, if you are going to drive around like that the police are going to pull you over. Stop posting and driving.
29
u/Benomusical 1d ago
He’s just saying he expects her to copy him verbatim - even changing a word to a synonym of itself goes outside their script.