Original artwork, not a still
This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! ... This is an ex-parrot!
— Monty Python's Flying Circus · 1969
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is a masterclass in escalation: a customer-service complaint pushed until the euphemisms for death run out. Cleese's mounting fury against Palin's bland denial turned a pet-shop dispute into the shorthand for any seller refusing to admit the obvious. Fans quote the list wholesale, the Norwegian Blue became its own icon, and a Radio Times poll once crowned it the top alternative comedy sketch.
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In context
Spoilers for Monty Python's Flying CircusShow the scene
The Dead Parrot sketch, also called the Pet Shop sketch, was first performed in series 1, episode 8 of Monty Python's Flying Circus, "Full Frontal Nudity" (7 December 1969). Written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman, it has a customer, Mr Praline (Cleese), returning to a pet shop with a "Norwegian Blue" he insists is dead; the shopkeeper (Michael Palin) insists it is only resting or pining for the fjords. After slamming the cage on the counter, Praline unleashes his list of synonyms for dead, ending with the ex-parrot.
Sources (1)
- Wikipedia: Dead Parrot sketchLead and PlotReference checked
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