Trick 7 steps
Pop Goes the Weasel: Turning a Timid Waiter into a Boxer
Moe exploits Curly's involuntary reaction to Larry's melody 'Pop Goes the Weasel': the tune provokes a volatile outburst that transforms the timid waiter into a formidable fighter. The diagram shows how Moe signs Curly and stations Larry as the tune's provider, and how Larry improvises new sound sources—a radio and a campaign truck—after the violin is broken, keeping the trigger alive through the championship bout.
Read the 7 steps as text
- 1
The melody provokes Curly's outburst
Larry · Curly (K.O. Stradivarius) · Moe
While Moe's fighters threaten to quit over unpaid wages, Larry plays the playful melody of Pop Goes the Weasel, unintentionally provoking a volatile outburst from Curly, a timid waiter who has never matched the ferocity of a real fight.
- 2
Moe signs Curly and stations Larry at his matches
Moe · Curly (K.O. Stradivarius) · Larry
Sensing an opportunity, Moe pivots from the wage crisis: he signs Curly as a boxer and arranges for Larry to play the same tune during Curly's matches.
- 3
The tune turns Curly into a winning fighter
Curly (K.O. Stradivarius) · Larry
With Larry playing the tune at his matches, Curly's trembling composure becomes surprising, almost effortless ring skill, and he secures prize money.
- 4
Kilduff's assault drives Curly out and breaks the violin
Killer Kilduff · Curly (K.O. Stradivarius) · Larry
In the climactic bout, champion Killer Kilduff unleashes a brutal opening that drives Curly from the ring, sending him tumbling onto Larry's violin and breaking it, which leaves the plan without its music source.
- 5
Larry finds a radio broadcasting the melody
Larry · Curly (K.O. Stradivarius)
Desperate to rekindle Curly's fighting spirit after the violin breaks, Larry pursues a new way to deliver the tune, and a radio broadcasting the melody becomes a lifeline, briefly restoring Curly's resolve and sending him back into the fray.
- 6
Larry crashes a campaign truck into the arena playing the tune
Larry · Curly (K.O. Stradivarius)
In a final gambit, Larry seizes a politician's campaign truck retrofitted to carry the tune and crashes into the arena to unleash the melody once more, and the restored music reinvigorates Curly's attack.
- 7
Curly rallies to claim the championship
Curly (K.O. Stradivarius) · Larry
With the tune rekindled by the truck, Curly stages a decisive rally, rode by courage and rhythm, and claims the championship title.
