Original artwork, not a still
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
— Monty Python's Flying Circus · 1969
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The joke is the surprise itself: a line announcing that nobody expects the Inquisition, delivered by people who have just exploded through the door. Because the cardinals can never finish their entrance, the catchphrase became a running ambush, and it has since turned into an internet meme and a stock reply to any sudden, unwelcome arrival. Palin's wide-eyed zeal as Ximénez is the engine.
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In context
Spoilers for Monty Python's Flying CircusShow the scene
In series 2, episode 2 of Monty Python's Flying Circus, "The Spanish Inquisition" (first broadcast 22 September 1970), a mill worker in a 1912 Jarrow drawing room grumbles that he never expected a Spanish Inquisition. On cue, Cardinal Ximénez (Michael Palin) bursts in with Cardinals Biggles and Fang, then keeps fumbling his own introduction. Their instrument of torture is a dish-drying rack. The gag recurs all episode and ends at the Old Bailey, where a title card cuts Ximénez off mid-shout and he mutters "Oh, bugger".
Sources (1)
- Wikipedia: Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)Plot synopsis; Related sketchesReference checked
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