Original artwork, not a still
If she’s a lady, then I’m a Vermicious Knid!
— Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory · 1971
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The line borrows the shape of 'if that's a lady, I'm a monkey's uncle' and swaps in an invented monster that only someone who has paid attention to Wonka would know. It is Grandpa Joe at his cheekiest, and it lets a made-up Dahl creature stand in for the last thing anyone would admit to being.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryShow the scene
In Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), Grandpa Joe is the one adult as thrilled as the children, and he gets some of the tour's best quips. On the tour the guests meet the Oompa-Loompas, and Wonka explains he brought them from Loompaland to escape beasts such as Whangdoodles, Hornswogglers, Snozzwangers and the rotten Vermicious Knids. The Knid is a made-up creature of Roald Dahl's, and Joe's line uses the invented name as the punchline of a sceptical aside about someone's claim to be a lady.
Sources (1)
- Wikiquote: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryDialogue sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
