Original artwork, not a still
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ‧ 1979
[The Guide] says that the effect of a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Adams turns a hangover into a precise act of violence: the lemon is the sharp sourness, the gold brick the dense luxury of it. The sentence is the template for his comic similes, a cosy fruit used as a weapon. It made the drink the series' emblem, and the name is now fans' shorthand for any suspiciously strong cocktail.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyShow the scene
Early in the novel the narration quotes the Guide's verdict on the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, which it calls the best drink in existence, and gives the effect as the lemon-and-gold-brick simile. Fans know the cocktail as the invention of Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed future President of the Galaxy, and a drink based on Janx Spirit. It recurs across the adaptations: in the 1981 television series two drinkers collapse open-eyed while the spilled drink burns through the floor, and Milliways in the second book serves a particularly fine one.
Sources (3)
- Wikiquote: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyChapter 2 sectionReference checked
- Wikipedia: Zaphod BeeblebroxPan-Galactic Gargle Blaster sectionReference checked
- Hitchhikers Wiki: MilliwaysOpening paragraphsReference checked
Context reviewed
