Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The joke is that the phrase promises a brilliant solution and delivers something so stupid that Blackadder usually dismisses it with contempt. That formula outlived the show: 'cunning plan' is now British shorthand for a daft scheme, and Baldrick's closing grin and 'just a minute' pause are still impersonated. In Goes Forth, the phrase takes on pathos, because the one plan we never hear is the only one that might work.
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In context
Spoilers for BlackadderShow the scene
In Blackadder, Baldrick, the dim-witted servant played by Tony Robinson, has a habit of announcing a "cunning plan" to rescue his master from whatever crisis the series has devised, from Tudor court intrigue to the Western Front. The plans range from the useless to the demented; in Blackadder Goes Forth, Private Baldrick suggests carving his name on a bullet so the old saying about bullets with your name on them will work in his favour. In the last episode he never gets to reveal his final plan before the order to go over the top, though Blackadder judges it as cunning as a fox who has just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University.
Sources (2)
- Blackadder Wiki: Private BaldrickBiography sectionReference checked
- Blackadder Wiki: BlackadderSummaryReference checked
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