The group includes Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle (the trio from Cambridge, who are all taller than all the other members of the group, and known as the more "aggressive" half of the group), Terry Jones (from Wales), Michael Palin (from Oxford) and Terry Gilliam (Minnesota in the United States). Chapman wrote the sketches with Cleese, Jones wrote with Palin, Idle wrote alone and Gilliam did the animations. Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland have both on occasion been mentioned as the "7th Python".
Graham Chapman, widely known as "The Dead One", died of cancer on October 4, 1989, the day before Python's 20th anniversary (thus being called "the greatest party pooper of all time" by Terry Jones), is tagged as the greatest actor among the group by his fellow Pythons. He had problems with alcohol and was a dedicated smoker of the pipe (he appears with a pipe in his hand in most of the Python sketches). He was known for his outstanding and abstract sense of humour; Cleese states that during their sketch-writing partnership Chapman did not say much, but when he said something it was often brilliant. The term "pepperpot" which is used to describe middle-aged ladies was found by Chapman.
John Cleese, probably the most famous Python on the other side of the Atlantic, is most widely known for his silly walk - the famous walk that he invented for Monty Python's Flying Circus, and repeated in one episode of Fawlty Towers, where he tries very hard not to remind his German visitors of the World War II by doing impersonations of Hitler. He lives in the USA. He played the lead as Basil Fawlty in "Fawlty Towers". He has been reported to be the first man to say "shit" on British TV and the first man to say "fuck" at a British memorial service.
Eric Idle is the composer of most Python songs (along with Neil Innes) such as the Python anthem "Always Look on the Bright Side Of Life" (which is also played after Iron Maiden's shows). His outstanding linguistic abilities have earned him the name "Master of the One-Liner". He created the Beatles parody "The Rutles" along with Neil Innes, and recently adapted the Python movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" as a Broadway musical called "Monty Python's Spamalot". His most famous Python role is the character he plays in the "Nudge Nudge" sketch. He is the self-acclaimed third tallest and sixth nicest Python.
Terry Gilliam was the only American in the group and has one of the most successful post-Python careers among the six, as he is the director of hugely popular movies like Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Fisher King. His part was instrumental in helping Python gain their reputation as a unique comedy group, his animations helping them link sketches (which, of course, don't have punch lines) in an unprecedented manner. He has become a British citizen in early 2006 and renounced his American citizenship shortly afterwards. He acknowledges The Goon Show, a radio show aired in the 1950s on BBC radio, written by Spike Milligan and performed by Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers, as the main reason he chose Britain as his homeland.
Terry Jones is the most successful actor of the woman role (as demonstrated in the Spam sketch, which is only one of numerous occasions in which he has voiced the trademark of a high-pitched female impersonation). He is the director (or co-director) of all Python movies. He has also written, directed and appeared in a few more movies which featured some of his Python mates; despite the fact that these movies aren't quite a match for his work in the Flying Circus, they include some hilarious scenes, such as the singing scene in Erik the Viking. He is the writer of such excellent songs as "I'm So Worried" and "Traffic Lights". He has done a few historical documentaries, and in one of them he briefly acts the part of King Richard III (called "Ring Kichard the Thrid" by the Eric Idle character "the man who speaks entirely in anagrams", which prompts Michael Palin the interviewer to suggest that "Ring Kichard is surely a spoonerism and not an anagram", which results in Eric Idle's character leaving the studio, saying "If you are going to split hairs, I'm going to piss off" (which can serve as a pointer to the Eric Idle-John Cleese movie "Splitting Heirs")).
Michael Palin, known as the nicest python, and the favorite Python to work with for John Cleese, has done numerous travel documentaries during his post-Python career. His amazing sense of humour has inevitably permeated into what would otherwise be just ordinary documentaries (occasions like the Polushka Pole incident and thanking the goddess for her "nice mountain", to name a couple). This nice man, who finds it very difficult to say "no", is the only one who said "no" to a reunion in their 30th year. He is the inventor of the threat "If you don't cooperate, I will get nasty and start using some Dutch words".
As admitted on several occasions, the group likes to dress up as women.
Having said all that, Terry Jones is actually Welsh.
Nudge Nudge
Monty Python Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Squire: (stiffly) Good evening.
Man: Is, uh,...Is your wife a goer, eh? Know whatahmean, know whatahmean, nudge nudge, know whatahmean, say no more?
Squire: I, uh, I beg your pardon?
Man: Your, uh, your wife, does she go, eh, does she go, eh?
Squire: (flustered) Well, she sometimes "goes", yes.
Man: Aaaaaaaah bet she does, I bet she does, say no more, say no more, knowwhatahmean, nudge nudge?
Squire: (confused) I'm afraid I don't quite follow you.
Squire: Are you, uh,...are you selling something?
Man: SELLING! Very good, very good! Ay? Ay? Ay? (pause) Oooh! Ya wicked Ay! Wicked Ay! Oooh hooh! Say No MORE!
Squire: Well, I, uh...
Man: Is, your uh, is your wife a sport, ay?
Squire: Um, she likes sport, yes!
Man: I bet she does, I bet she does!
Squire: As a matter of fact she's very fond of cricket.
Man: 'Oo isn't? Likes games, eh? Knew she would. Likes games, eh? She's been around a bit, been around?
Squire: She has traveled, yes. She's from Scarsdale. (pause)
Man: SAY NO MORE!
Man: Scarsdale, saynomore, saynomore, saynomore, squire!
Squire: I wasn't going to!
Man: Oh! Well, never mind. Dib dib? Is your uh, is your wife interested in... photography, ay? "Photographs, ay", he asked him knowlingly?
Squire: Photography?
Man: Snap snap, grin grin, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more?
Squire: Holiday snaps, eh?
Man: They could be, they could be taken on holiday. Candid, you know, CANDID photography?
Squire: No, no I'm afraid we don't have a camera.
Man: Oh. (leeringly) Still, mooooooh, ay? Mwoohohohohoo, ay? Hohohohohoho, ay?
Squire: Look... are you insinuating something?
Man: Oh, no, no, no... yes.
Squire: Well?
Man: Well, you're a man of the world, squire.
Squire: Yes...
Man: I mean, you've been around a bit, you know, like, you've, uh... You've "done it"...
Squire: What do you mean?
Man: Well, I mean like,...you've SLEPT, with a lady...
Squire: Yes...
Man: What's it like?
The lyrics to Monty Python's song Nudge Nudge follow a conversation between two men - a man (referred to as "Man" in the lyrics) and a squire. The man is asking questions about the squire's wife, using innuendo and suggestive language. He repeatedly uses the phrase "know what I mean?" and the gesture of nudging with his elbow. The squire is clearly uncomfortable with the conversation and doesn't fully understand what the man is asking, leading to confusion and frustration on both sides.
The song is a humorous commentary on the British tendency to use indirect language and innuendo to talk about sensitive topics such as sex. The man's persistent and suggestive questions put the squire in an awkward position, highlighting the absurdity of these kinds of conversations.
Overall, the song is a witty and sarcastic critique of traditional British manners and social codes, as well as a commentary on the absurdity and awkwardness of certain types of conversations.
Line by Line Meaning
Man: 'Evening, squire!
The man greets the squire
Squire: (stiffly) Good evening.
The squire responds to the man's greeting
Man: Is, uh,...Is your wife a goer, eh? Know whatahmean, know whatahmean, nudge nudge, know whatahmean, say no more?
The man asks the squire if his wife is promiscuous in a suggestive manner
Squire: I, uh, I beg your pardon?
The squire is confused by the man's question
Man: Your, uh, your wife, does she go, eh, does she go, eh?
The man reiterates his question about the squire's wife's promiscuity
Squire: (flustered) Well, she sometimes "goes", yes.
The squire awkwardly confirms that his wife is sexually active
Man: Aaaaaaaah bet she does, I bet she does, say no more, say no more, knowwhatahmean, nudge nudge?
The man implies that he knows the squire's wife is sexually active and encourages the squire to not say anymore about the matter
Squire: (confused) I'm afraid I don't quite follow you.
The squire is still unsure about what the man is trying to imply about his wife
Man: Follow me. Follow me. That's good, that's good! A nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat!
The man clarifies that a nod of the head implies the same thing as a wink, so the squire can understand what he's suggesting
Squire: Are you, uh,...are you selling something?
The squire suspects that the man is trying to sell him something
Man: SELLING! Very good, very good! Ay? Ay? Ay? (pause) Oooh! Ya wicked Ay! Wicked Ay! Oooh hooh! Say No MORE!
The man gets excited at the squire's suggestion that he might be trying to sell something, but then tells the squire not to say anymore as he's being naughty
Squire: Well, I, uh...
The squire trails off without knowing how to respond
Man: Is, your uh, is your wife a sport, ay?
The man asks the squire if his wife enjoys sex in a sports metaphor
Squire: Um, she likes sport, yes!
The squire doesn't fully understand the man's metaphor and just responds that his wife likes sports
Man: I bet she does, I bet she does!
The man continues to imply that he thinks the squire's wife is sexually active
Squire: As a matter of fact she's very fond of cricket.
The squire clarifies that his wife enjoys the sport of cricket, but is still confused about what the man is trying to say
Man: 'Oo isn't? Likes games, eh? Knew she would. Likes games, eh? She's been around a bit, been around?
The man suggests that everyone likes games and implies that the squire's wife has been with multiple sexual partners
Squire: She has traveled, yes. She's from Scarsdale. (pause)
The squire tries to clarify that his wife has simply traveled and is from a specific place
Man: SAY NO MORE!
The man interrupts the squire and insists that he doesn't need to say anymore
Man: Scarsdale, saynomore, saynomore, saynomore, squire!
The man references Scarsdale again and tells the squire not to say anymore about it
Squire: I wasn't going to!
The squire defends himself, saying he wasn't going to say anything more
Man: Oh! Well, never mind. Dib dib? Is your uh, is your wife interested in... photography, ay? "Photographs, ay", he asked him knowlingly?
The man changes the subject and asks the squire if his wife is interested in photography in a way that suggests that he knows more than he's saying
Squire: Photography?
The squire is confused about the new topic
Man: Snap snap, grin grin, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more?
The man uses a string of gestures to imply that he knows the squire's wife takes provocative pictures and asks the squire not to say anymore about it
Squire: Holiday snaps, eh?
The squire doesn't fully comprehend the man's gesture but continues with the photography topic
Man: They could be, they could be taken on holiday. Candid, you know, CANDID photography?
The man clarifies that the pictures he's suggesting are candid and could be taken on vacation
Squire: No, no I'm afraid we don't have a camera.
The squire clarifies that they don't even have a camera to take pictures with
Man: Oh. (leeringly) Still, mooooooh, ay? Mwoohohohohoo, ay? Hohohohohoho, ay?
The man makes suggestive sounds and implies that the squire can still have sex with his wife even without a camera
Squire: Look... are you insinuating something?
The squire finally realizes that the man is insinuating sexual things about his wife and confronts him
Man: Oh, no, no, no... yes.
The man tries to deny that he's making sexual insinuations but then admits that he is
Squire: Well?
The squire wants the man to be honest about what he's trying to say
Man: Well, you're a man of the world, squire.
The man implies that the squire should know what he's implying because he's a worldly person
Squire: Yes...
The squire acknowledges that he has some worldly knowledge
Man: I mean, you've been around a bit, you know, like, you've, uh... You've "done it"...
The man explicitly tells the squire that he thinks he's had sex before
Squire: What do you mean?
The squire asks for clarification
Man: Well, I mean like,...you've SLEPT, with a lady...
The man spells out what he means by 'doing it', which is having sex with a woman
Squire: Yes...
The squire confirms that he's had sex before
Man: What's it like?
The man asks the squire what sex is like
Writer(s): Eric Idle, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam
Contributed by Austin R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.