Hibiscus Teach · Vids · Movies
The Princess Bride
Which goblet would you choose?
Follow a chain of deductions, identify a hidden assumption and challenge an opponent’s reasoning.
Created by Denis M., British English teacher.
Content note: A fictional poisoning played as dark comedy. The second excerpt reveals the outcome.
A little context: Westley sets two goblets before Vizzini. Only one man claims he can reason out which to choose.
Watch each clip, then try its activities.
Study guidance
Pause after each exchange. Give your own spoken answer before opening a model.
Choose one disagreement about the scene and explain which words support your reading.
The vocabulary and model replies are original teaching examples.
Before you watch
- When has someone sounded certain without giving you much evidence?
- Could two people use the same fact to defend opposite conclusions? Try it with an unlocked door.
One argument, two conclusions
Westley sets two goblets before Vizzini. Only one man claims he can reason out which to choose.
First watch: What makes Vizzini rule out both goblets?
English scene guide
Vizzini starts from a clever opponent’s likely choice. He then imagines that the opponent has anticipated his own intelligence. Each step lets him rule out the opposite cup.
Watch and check · 6 questions
Choose one answer for each question. Check your answers, then read the feedback.
Answer key and explanations
- They both drink after Vizzini chooses. The rules tie the decision to both men drinking.
- What an opponent of this kind would do. He reasons about Westley’s likely thinking.
- His own. He thinks a clever man would expect a fool to take what he was given.
- He rules out being a great fool. His self-assessment becomes part of the argument.
- Westley might have anticipated his response. Vizzini imagines what Westley would have counted on.
- No. He has produced reasons against either cup. The two arguments point in opposite directions.
1–2 minGrammar in a minuteC1–C2 · Degrees of commitment
You would have counted on it
New practice inspired by this scene.
Scene connection: One argument, two conclusions
Keep the speaker’s intended meaning when choosing a form.
You say: Give the same inference with one stronger and one weaker hedge.
Speaking · 3 prompts
Speak before opening the support. Different answers are possible when you explain your reasons.
Which step in Vizzini’s argument is weakest?
Support and one possible answer
My objection concerns …
He assumes that knowing someone is clever predicts a particular choice.
Follow-up: What further evidence would help?
Defend the opposite goblet using the same clue.
Support and one possible answer
That same clue could suggest …
His cleverness might lead him to expect a double bluff.
Follow-up: Does that argument actually settle it?
Interrupt politely when a speaker mistakes confidence for proof.
Support and one possible answer
Could we distinguish …?
Could we distinguish what we know from what we think he expected?
Follow-up: How would you respond if he calls that stalling?
The switch and the missing possibility
Vizzini now claims he has read Westley successfully. Watch what happens when Westley turns away.
First watch: What possibility has Vizzini never considered?
English scene guide
Vizzini creates a distraction and later boasts that he switched the glasses. Westley reveals that both were poisoned and that he had developed immunity.
Watch and check · 6 questions
Choose one answer for each question. Check your answers, then read the feedback.
Answer key and explanations
- Make him reveal information. He refuses to give anything away.
- He pretends to notice something elsewhere. Westley looks where Vizzini directs him.
- Switched the glasses. He boasts about the switch after drinking.
- He believes his trick has secured victory. The laugh comes from confidence in his concealed move.
- That only one cup contained poison. Westley explains that both cups were poisoned.
- He says he had built up immunity. The explanation resolves why the switch could not save Vizzini.
1–2 minGrammar in a minuteC1–C2 · A past choice with a present result
I switched glasses
New practice inspired by this scene.
Scene connection: The switch and the missing possibility
Keep the speaker’s intended meaning when choosing a form.
You say: Invent another past decision with a present consequence.
Speaking · 3 prompts
Speak before opening the support. Different answers are possible when you explain your reasons.
What obvious possibility did Vizzini miss?
Support and one possible answer
He assumed …, although …
He assumed one cup was safe, although the rules never guaranteed it.
Follow-up: What question could expose the assumption?
Does switching the cups count as clever reasoning?
Support and one possible answer
I would separate … from …
I’d separate a clever distraction from a sound conclusion.
Follow-up: Can a good tactic serve a bad plan?
Give a negotiator a question to ask before accepting two options.
Support and one possible answer
Before we choose, …
Before we choose, what makes us certain these are the only possibilities?
Follow-up: How would you ask it without accusing anyone?
Listen and repeat
Use these original expressions, then try the You say situation aloud before opening a possible reply.
What are we assuming here?
Question a premise.
You say: A team must choose between two costly proposals.
Possible reply
What are we assuming here? Could we change either proposal?
Stress assuming.
That would follow if …
Make a conclusion conditional.
You say: Someone says an unlocked door proves entry.
Possible reply
That would follow if we knew it was locked earlier.
Pause after follow.
I can see another possibility.
Reopen a closed choice.
You say: Both suggested explanations seem incomplete.
Possible reply
I can see another possibility. Perhaps the timing is wrong.
Stress another.
Even if that’s true, …
Concede a point and challenge its relevance.
You say: A colleague has shown one option is popular.
Possible reply
Even if that’s true, popularity doesn’t establish that it works.
Pause before the contrasting clause.
1–2 minGrammar masteryC2 · What a conditional implies
They were both poisoned
New practice inspired by this scene.
Scene connection: The switch and the missing possibility
Keep the speaker’s intended meaning when choosing a form.
You say: Challenge the relevance of a true claim using even if.
Put it all together
Two bids and a hidden assumption
What makes a confident inference safe enough to act on?
Role A
Argue for one of two bids using two plausible clues.
Role B
Find a shared assumption and ask for evidence before committing.
Optional twist: Both suppliers use the same subcontractor.
- State a premise, challenge its relevance and revise a conclusion.
One possible exchange
A: The lower bid must be quicker because the firm is smaller.
B: That would follow if both firms did the work themselves.
A: They use the same subcontractor. I’ll ask about its capacity.
Try again: Switch sides and challenge a different assumption.
Which question changed your choice?
Tutor notes
- Accept different interpretations when learners can point to a line or a gesture in the excerpt.
- Ask learners to perform the final exchange again after changing one relationship or intention.