EMILY: I mean, it [Rory’s bedroom] may not be exciting or bohemian, but at least it doesn’t have shovels propped up against the sofa either, now does it?
LORELAI: I’m sorry. I missed the chequered flag, when did the argument start?
Motor sport races traditionally end with a black and white chequered flag waving to signal their completion. However, Lorelai seems to think that the flag is waved at the beginning of a race, as she wonders where the signal was that she and Emily were about to have a fight. (She can’t think that the fight is over – they are clearly in the middle of one).
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 