Painterly black tire partly buried where rough soil meets broken grey pavement.

Original artwork, not a still

Last Chance To See ‧ 1990

Douglas Adams

The road suddenly turns out to be impassable because it's being rebuilt by the Chinese, only we're not supposed to know that. And exactly what is meant by 'suddenly' I don't know because they've apparently been at it for ten years.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Adams describes a road that is abruptly closed because of a rebuild nobody is meant to mention. Then he questions 'suddenly', since the work has apparently run for ten years. Broken pavement fits the joke: a long-running roadblock dressed up as a surprise.

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