I’ve been encountering the phrase “The is no question #4!” a lot lately (from The Smarties FAQ and the rules at the beginning of the Midnight Madness Cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show here in Chicago.
So, from whence does this spring? I assume it’s some kind of pop-culture reference, but cannot place it. I’ve tried searching IMDB, but their search apparently doesn’t work on quotes. I’ve searched on here, all to no avail. So, I submit my question to the wisdom of the teeming millions.
mm
IIRC, it’s from a Monty Python skit… someone help me out here, I can’t remember which one…
Bruces. Though it was “There is NO question number six”.
Sorry. I meant, rule number six.
Sorry, that goes for me, too. I just saw the Smarties page most recently, and the “question” kind of stuck in m’brain.
Should’ve figured it was a Python reference. It was a toss-up between that, and The Simpsons. 
mm
“There is NO rule number 6.
Rule number 7: No poofters!”
IIRC, every other rule was “No poofters” They went through the numbers, skipped 6, and then went on to rule #7.
Yes, yes, it’s all coming back to me now…
Here’s all the rules :
The comedy of this sketch (aside from poking fun at Australians (who suffer from constant beer-drinking, homophobia, and an inability to remember names) and the brilliant Philosophers’ Song) is that the rules are read with a pause, so that the meaning changes when you hear the whole rule. This is indicated with ‘–’ in the list :
Rule One : No Poofdas!
Rule Two : No member of the faculty is to maltreat the Abbos in any way at all – if there’s anybody watching.
Rule Three: No Poofdas!
Rule Four : I don’t want to catch anybody – not drinking.
Rule Five : No Poofdas!
Rule Six : There is NO – rule 6
Rule Seven : No Poofdas!
OK, but what is an Abbos, or a poofda?
It’s not poofda… it’s poofter… slang for a homosexual.
I’m not sure what an abbo is, but the old Bushman in ‘Tie Me Kangaroo Down’ wants them let loose, so maybe they’re some sort of animal.
“Abo” is just short for “aborigine”.
One of my favorite exchanges from Monty Python:
Captor holding an Englishman: You slimy lime!
Englishman: That’s Limey slime to you!
Never been to Australia, but I get the impression that the excessive homophobia is more a cliché than a fact. Didn’t they have female impersonators parading in the Olympics (to commemorate the popular movie “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”)? I doubt that would happen at an Olympic event in the US.
You comment on the homophobia, but let alcoholism & an inability to remember names slide?
I guess I should clarify that it’s the Australians of the sketch that display those characteristics. I didn’t mean to say that they were portrayed that way in the sketch because I think they’re actually like that.
Note : not all philosophers were drunk all the time, either.
Though Socrates himself was permanently pissed.
As someone who lives in Australia, but is not, in fact, Australian (nor homosexual), let me just say here and now that the homophobia is not present.
It’s anti-homosexuality that is rife, but covered with a veneer of falsified tolerance.
Meaning, they make tasteless jokes about, foolishly misunderstand, and fear, homosexual males to a frightening degree.
Let me point out that this is not necessarily the majority of Australians, but it sure is definitely a common undercurrent.
These are the same people who think of women exclusively as ‘a root’.
Certainly not in Salt Lake City.
What is your definition of homophobia?
Leaping to the defence of myself and my countrymen.
Most foreigners have a hard time understanding the Australian custom of ‘taking the piss.’ Yes we make tasteless jokes about homosexuals. Of course we’re also quite happy to make tasteless jokes at the expense of anybody or anything, whether it be religion, height, political persuasion, ethnicity, intellectual or sporting prowess or anything else. Don’t ask me why, we’re just brought up with the attitude that virtually nothing is sacred in relaxed open social environments such as pubs, parties or even workplaces. In our defence I’ve got to say that we fully expect to get as good as we give. One sure-fire way to lose friends fast is to give curry to someone else about their differnces and then spit the dummy when it comes to your turn. In my opinion this actually makes the Austraila I live in one of the most tolerant societies I’ve experienced.
I’m going out later tonight and fully expect to have the piss taken out of me for being religious and a percieved health nut, while at the same time other freinds will be paid out for other ‘flaws’, including homosexuality. I’m not homosexual myself but I have no problem taking the piss out of homosexual freinds, and neither do they. It’s probably a kind of social bonding that says "I know you’re different, but I can live with it’
GuanoLad- Have you ever watched 'The Panel? Fairly classic Australian piss-taking on display (just not very witty). Any of the earlier D-gen stuff is far better. Watching Santo taking the piss out of wogs (for all you foreigners he’s Italian himself) was absolutely hilarious.
I was thinking of homophobia as hatred, rather than fear. I guess I was using an inaccurate definition…
Gaspode, that’s my point: you think it’s harmless fun, but there’s an undercurrent, much deeper in some than others, that is really quite frightening. It’s an ignorance, I think. Or maybe just a deeply rooted tradition.
Looking at it from the outside that I do, I stand aghast at what some people here are like.
(P.S: I hate Santo Cilauro. He annoys me)
Gaspode , thank you for taking up the cudgels. 
BTW, I think you’ll find that the phrase “taking the piss” is distinctly British in origin. None-the-less it’s a goodie, hence it’s adoption. I think the Australian venacular would be chiacking, but that is rarely heard now.