# Monty Python. So she was actually a witch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540 "2020-04-11T01:02:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/21 "2020-04-11T16:44:42Z")
I seen this discussion on this board once before and couldn’t understand why it was even a question. Of course she was a witch, its obvious that she was a witch, the very joke is that she is a witch. The whole point of the joke is that those stupid meaningless tests actually did catch a witch. The phrase “Its a fair cop” is what a career criminal would say when they have been caught bang to rights, it is equanimity that they have been caught and acceptance about what follows. It is what the guy in the bank vault says when the alarms are ringing and he is surrounded by the police. It is what a witch would say when the common witchcraft tests of the day say that she is a witch. And since she is a witch they must be right. She is a witch. They got her. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/22 "2020-04-11T17:01:00Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Actually, we have a phrase in the US “Cop to it,” which means, pretty much, “Admit to it.” I could figure out the UK phrase from that. It did get me wondering about the origin of “Cop to it.” > > I used to think of it in my head as “Kop to it,” which is how the Yiddish word for head, “kop,” is usually transliterated. Even though “Head to it” isn’t a Yiddish expression, I realized that somehow, I was hearing that, as somehow meaning “acknowledge it.” > > But apparently, “Cop” is a variant pronunciation of “caught.” So “Cop to it,” essentially means, “everyone knows the truth, so just admit it,” which is pretty much what is means. > > “Cop out” has a similar derivation. If you let yourself be convicted of a lesser plea, instead of standing up to the charges, you are “caught.” Or “copt.” That’s how “copped” would have been spelled by people who used the pronunciation, and also spelled burned “burnt.” It was explained to me that “cop” was derived from “take” or “grab” or “seize”, as in _carpe diem."_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/23 "2020-04-11T17:09:09Z")
You guys all missed the real revelation; the duck was the real witch. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/24 "2020-04-11T17:34:12Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > It was explained to me that “cop” was derived from “take” or “grab” or “seize”, as in _carpe diem."_ The confusion is that English apparently has two "cop"s : one means to take, seize, grasp-- it does not mean “head” (even in expressions such as “cop [yourself] on”). But there is an (unrelated?) word “cop” (cf “cob”), as in ball/mass of thread, spider (aka (atter)cop), top of a hill, etc., which _is_ related to Kopf. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/25 "2020-04-11T17:46:57Z")
> [@Calavera](#): > > She was a witch. The fact that witches float, ducks float and therefore witches weigh the same as ducks is perfectly good science. That being the case, they should have built a bridge out of her. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/26 "2020-04-12T12:59:55Z")
Why a duck? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/27 "2020-04-12T13:30:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Why a duck? Because it _floats_. [Weren’t you listening](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp_l5ntikaU)? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/28 "2020-04-12T13:31:08Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > That being the case, they should have built a bridge out of her. Ah, but you can also build bridges out of stone. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/29 "2020-04-12T13:34:04Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Of course she was a witch, its obvious that she was a witch, the very joke is that she is a witch. The whole point of the joke is that those stupid meaningless tests actually did catch a witch. Exactly this. We’re taught in history classes that really horrifying, stupid, illogical tests were used to, essentially, justify the killing of many completely innocent women. The joke here is that the woman really was a witch… and even admitted being a witch once she’d been properly tested in a manner that she accepted as being completely fair & correct. Plus, the very obvious fact that she had turned at least one nice young man into a newt! (at least temporarily) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/30 "2020-04-12T13:44:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Why a duck? I’m alright, how are you? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/31 "2020-04-12T13:49:37Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Ah, but you can also build bridges out of stone. Answer me these questions three, ere the other side you see. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/32 "2020-04-12T17:33:29Z")
Burn’er! Burn’er! > [@RealityChuck](#): > > “A fair cop” is a common UK phrase used by someone caught red handed (at least, in popular culture). It was also used in the Monty Python TV Show: > > “It’s a fair cop, but society is to blame.” > “We’ll be arresting them in the morning.” Also, the confectionery sketch: “It’s a fair cop.” “Stop talking to the camera.” > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > It was explained to me that “cop” was derived from “take” or “grab” or “seize”, as in _carpe diem."_ Like in “copping a feel” (which could very well be the grossest phrase in the English language). At least it was a duck and not Brian Equator or Mr. Creosote. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/33 "2020-04-13T19:50:54Z")
> [@Calavera](#): > > She was a witch. The fact that witches float, ducks float and therefore witches weigh the same as ducks is perfectly good science. > > The witch understood she had been caught fairly. We did do the nose. And the hat. But she is a witch! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/34 "2020-04-13T20:15:40Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > And it worked, didn’t it? Good thing he was so wise in the Ways of Science. Of course, this is the whole point of the scene, and since it hasn’t been addressed I think it should be called out that this is an example of perfectly logical reasoning giving incorrect (or at least unsupportable) results due to false premises (e.g. that witches burn because they are made from wood, or that a witch-shaped mass of wood would weight the same as a small aquatic bird). Of course, the witchcraft trials in Early Modern Britain (and elsewhere in Catholic-controlled Europe) was an outshoot of the various Inquisitions, where manufactured evidence and twisted logic were used to convict people of various and often absurd complaints (“The turn’d me innu a newt!”), stirring up a moral panic that fed the end goal of driving people toward the Church. The actual King Arthur, if he existed at all, would have lived in the post-Roman, pre-Norman Celtic Britain, and so the concept of ‘witches’ in the modern sense did not exist, even among the Roman Britains who lived among the pagan Celtic and Saxon tribes. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/35 "2020-04-13T20:34:21Z")
This new learning amazes me, **Stranger**. Explain to me again how sheep’s bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/36 "2020-04-14T00:30:26Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > At least it was a duck and not Brian Equator or Mr. Creosote. I, uh, think your logic is a bit faulty here. :dubious: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/37 "2020-04-14T02:36:13Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Of course, this is the whole point of the scene, and since it hasn’t been addressed I think it should be called out that this is an example of perfectly logical reasoning giving incorrect (or at least unsupportable) results due to false premises (e.g. that witches burn because they are made from wood, or that a witch-shaped mass of wood would weight the same as a small aquatic bird). And that’s how we know the world to be banana shaped! ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/38 "2020-04-14T15:15:17Z")
Explain again how sheep’s bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/39 "2020-04-14T19:05:15Z")
Teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old. ---
**Author:** ![Calavera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calavera/32/70_2.png) [@Calavera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calavera)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540/40 "2020-04-14T19:18:04Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > We did do the nose. And the hat. But she is a witch! The nose and the hat would be like if the arresting officer forced me to wear a striped jumper and carry a bag marked “swag”. Naturally I’d complain to the judge, but when the bank’s CCTV shows a perfect view of me robbing the place, I’d accept that I’d been caught. The witch gave up because Bedivere’s science was impeccable and she was caught. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-python-so-she-was-actually-a-witch/851540.md?page=3)