Original artwork, not a still
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy · 1979
Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It sounds like a mystic aphorism and works as a joke about both mysticism and the working day: time is unreal, but lunch is unreal twice as much. It captures Ford's habit of saying the cosmic thing while the practical thing is about to happen. Arthur's deadpan reply tells the reader how to take it. People quote it when the afternoon has vanished, and it is a staple of Adams fans' quote lists.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyShow the scene
Ford Prefect says it to Arthur Dent in the pub near Arthur's house on the day the Earth is to be demolished. Ford, a researcher for the Guide who has been living on the planet as an out-of-work actor, is steering Arthur away from the clock, and Arthur answers dryly that it is very deep and Ford should send it to Reader's Digest. In the novel it comes in chapter 2, in the same stretch where the barman jokes that the end of the world would be a lucky escape for Arsenal. The line first appears in the radio series, in Fit the First, broadcast on 8 March 1978.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyChapter 2Reference checked
- Hitchhiker's wiki: Ford PrefectQuote box and articleReference checked
Context reviewed
