Original artwork, not a still
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy · 1979
Beware of the Leopard.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The joke is bureaucracy as a defence: the duty to publish is met in letter and defeated in spirit by hiding the notice where nobody will go. The sign is the best touch, a warning dressed up as courtesy. Fans use Beware of the Leopard as shorthand for information buried on purpose, and the phrase has outlived the scene as one of the book's most recognisable running jokes.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyShow the scene
Chapter 1. Arthur Dent has lain down in front of the bulldozer sent to demolish his house for a bypass, and Mr Prosser of the local council insists the plans were on public display. Arthur replies that he had to go down to the cellar with a torch to find them, and that the notice was on show at the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, in a disused lavatory, behind a door with a sign reading Beware of the Leopard. So the warning was on the door of the room where the plans were kept, not on the plans themselves.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyChapter 1 section, the 'But the plans were on display' exchangeReference checked
- Wikipedia: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (novel)Plot, second paragraphReference checked
Context reviewed
