A tall glass of green drink with citrus slices and a small bandage-wrapped mummy figure sit on a brass tray.

Original artwork, not a still

The Inimitable Jeeves • 1923

P.G. Wodehouse

There is no doubt that Jeeves's pick-me-up will produce immediate results in anything short of an Egyptian mummy.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

This is a joke built on exaggeration. Jeeves's restorative drink is praised as so powerful that the only thing it might fail to revive is a centuries-dead mummy. The absurd exception is the punchline, and it makes the tonic sound almost miraculous.

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