A brass balance holds a green jelly and white paper crown against lavender.

Original artwork, not a still

Algernon

Stop him? Me? It's more than my job's worth to stop him once he gets like this. He's out to rule the world, if he can get a government grant.

— Help! ‧ 1965

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker says stopping this man would put their job at risk, then jokes that his world-conquering ambitions depend on winning a government grant. Grand tyranny is paired with humdrum bureaucratic funding, and the deadpan exaggeration makes both the man and the speaker's reluctance sound absurd.

Context reviewed

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