Original artwork, not a still
Now, Doctor Johnson, I may be as thick as a whale omelette, but even I know a book's got to have a plot.
— Blackadder • 1983
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
George knows he is not clever, but that does not stop him judging a dictionary by the rules of a novel. The whale omelette gives his stupidity an absurd physical scale before the plot complaint demonstrates it. It is affectionate character comedy with a sharp social edge: the least informed man in the room is also the most powerful.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for BlackadderShow the scene
In ‘Ink and Incapability’, the second episode of Blackadder the Third (1987), Samuel Johnson presents his dictionary at the Prince Regent's house. The Prince is baffled by a book that has no story. His response combines a frank assessment of his own intelligence with a confident objection to Johnson's great achievement. Blackadder, meanwhile, finds that the visit offers opportunities to torment the lexicographer with words he has supposedly left out.
Sources (2)
- Ink and Incapability — episode subtitle transcriptBlackadder the Third — Ink and Incapability; quoted conversationReference checked
- Blackadder the Third — WikiquoteInk and IncapabilityReference checked
Context reviewed
