This question concerns a bit of dialogue that takes place at the beginning of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” None of the fansites I’ve seen get into its meaning.
SOLDIER: Halt! Who goes there?
ARTHUR: It is I, Arthur, [various titles], Sovereign of all England!
SOLDIER: Pull the other one!
ARTHUR: I am, and this is my trusty servant Patsy.
“Pull the other one!”??? I don’t get it.
Is this some sort of edit gone horribly awry, or is it some nuance of the Queen’s English that I don’t understand? The soldier gives a command (“Pull the other one!”), and Arthur seems to answer a question- about himself (as opposed to “the other one”)!
I just don’t get it. Could somebody kindly explain?