Top 20 Most Quotable Monty Python Moments

#20: The Holy Hand Grenade

One of the most hilariously drawn-out scenes in the series is when the Rabbit of Caerbannog meets its demise. This nefarious bunny is taken down by Brother Maynard’s Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, which is not confusingly explained by Maynard’s brother. The monk’s explanation is ridiculously long, making it a challenge to get through this scene with your sides intact. For those unaware, it’s inspired by the globus cruciger, a famous orb and cross used in medieval religious imagery. As you can expect, these weren’t explosive, making them a poor choice for exploding unusually powerful rabbits.

#19: Nudge Nudge Wink Wink

Our next entry comes from the third episode of “Flying Circus,” but it’s since become a staple, so you may have seen various iterations of it. It centres around Eric Idle approaching Terry Jones in a pub, then asking painfully awkward questions about his love life. It was so popular that even Elvis Presley supposedly referenced it frequently. It’s pretty unique because it ends with a traditional punchline, unlike most of their sketches, which tend to come to abrupt, surreal conclusions. A lesser-known fun fact about it is that it was created for Ronnie Barker, but he wasn’t impressed by the script, so it became a Python bit.

#18: Swallow Science

The first scene of “Holy Grail,” excluding the ridiculous moose credits, sees the heroic King Arthur struggling to assert his authority over a pair of guards. They’re perplexed by his decision to replace his horse with a squire and some coconuts, failing to realise the film had a minuscule budget. They then end up in an argument over how the coconuts were acquired, getting comedically focused on whether or not a swallow could have carried them. With modern science on our side, we can finally accurately answer this question. On average, a coconut is 34 times the weight of a European swallow, meaning it’s likely impossible for one to carry a coconut.

#17: The Knights Who Say Ni

Another especially absurd sketch from “holy Grail” is the Knights of Ni. They’re a group of intimidating knights, and they get their way by shouting “ni” at people, for some unexplainable reason. Then, they go on to request a shrubbery from our heroes, until finally being foiled by the word “it.” As you can expect, it’s referencing nothing at all historical. It’s instead a satirisation of 20th-century medieval research, alongside poking fun at Middle English, which was a nightmare to pronounce on account of the Great Vowel Shift. Hysterically, in the play “Spamalot,” they changed their Achilles heel from being the word “it” to “Andrew Lloyd Webber.”

#16: He's Not the Messiah

This is a quote so celebrated that it became the name for Eric Idle’s oratorio, based on “Life of Brian.” It comes from one of the most memorable scenes in the original picture, which says a lot, given that every single moment is ingrained in our brains. It’s not just Brian’s mother we can’t stop quoting; we also love that random extra in the crowd who confidently announced he’s not an individual. It’s one of the most sidesplitting moments in the movie, and interestingly, it was completely improvised. The Pythons loved it so much that he was given a pay rise, and it was left in.

#15: The Bridgekeeper

Also known as the Old Man From Scene 24, the Bridgekeeper turns out to be a formidable foe for the Knights of the Round Table. Assuming they know not only their favourite colour, but also the capital of Assyria. The gang first meets him in scene 24, then he teleports King Arthur to the Knights Who Say Ni. His whimsical questions have been repeated countless times by fans in the 50 years since he first asked them. If you’re still wondering, the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow is roughly 20 miles per hour for a European one, then double that for an African. The specific species isn’t stated, though, so don’t take these figures as fact on the Bridge of Death.

#14: Argument Clinic

Like most of the greatest sketches from “Flying Circus,” this one was recreated multiple times following its first recording. It featured Cleese and Chapman having a priceless argument, with Cleese doing a terrible job at it. Well, it’s not actually priceless, as it’s a business and it costs by the minute. The modern internet adds an extra layer of humour to it, too, as it feels exactly like a social media comments section, despite being written in the 70s. It’s such a quotable sketch that it’s even used for teaching English grammar in some places.

#13: She's a Witch

“Holy Grail” is a movie loaded with witty remarks, hence why it’s appeared on our list so many times. Yet another standout exchange of dialogue comes when King Arthur stumbles upon a village eager to burn a witch. It’s loaded with lines you can’t forget, making it a scene many consider the film’s peak. As you can guess, it’s a satirisation of real-life witch trials. Those happened centuries after the movie’s set, though, so it’s not accurate in that respect, but if it was, then it wouldn’t be a particularly funny watch.

#12: Dead Parrot

Graham Chapman became the first Python to tragically lose his life in 1989, and at his memorial service, John Cleese famously quoted the Parrot Sketch. The sketch was conceived by both Cleese and Chapman, inspired by a real-life interaction with a car salesman. Like most of their greatest sketches, it’s been performed tons of times since its first broadcast. Part of the appeal comes from how relatable it is, with almost everyone having a similar story of poor customer service. It’s so internationally famous that it was even referenced heavily in a Vancouver court case in 2021.

#11: Political Peasant

Monty Python’s comedy was highly anti-authoritarian in its undertones, with few sketches displaying this better than the anarcho-syndicalist peasant. Shortly after the film begins, Arthur stumbles upon this pair digging a hole with their bare hands. It degenerates into Arthur attacking him after a hilariously eloquent political conversation. The discrepancy between a medieval peasant, from an era when most people couldn’t read, having such strong opinions based on modern political theory, makes it side-splitting. As you could expect, there weren’t any established anarcho-syndicalist communes in medieval Britain.

#10: Romans Go Home

A Python quote you can see graffiti'd across the UK is “Romani ite domum.” Alternatively, if whoever wrote it isn’t well-versed in Latin, or just wanted to upset a centurion, it could be spelled “Romanes eunt domus.” If you know your Monty Python trivia, you know the Latin is highly accurate. Before becoming a celebrated comedian, Cleese taught Latin in schools, so there’s a chance he had this exact interaction before, but with a young child. This has made it feel more surreal over time, as Latin learning has been gradually phased out of British schools.

#9: And Now For Something Completely Different

This entry doesn’t relate to one specific moment, but instead a plethora of bits from their first feature-length movie. It’s entirely sketches from “Flying Circus,” but remade to a higher quality and for an American audience. Between almost every sketch, we get a deadpan John Cleese repeating the film’s title. As you might expect, it didn’t make a splash in the States at first, probably because Americans weren’t accustomed to our style of humour. Still, it’s developed a massive fan base, like everything the Pythons ever did together. Since its release, the titular phrase has been repeated probably billions of times by fans.

#8: What Have the Romans Ever Done For Us?

This iconic interaction between revolutionaries is something still frequently discussed, not only among fans, but also among actual scholars. Whether or not the Romans truly did improve things for those they conquered is something people still debate. It’s originally a rhetorical question, uttered by Cleese’s character. The joke comes from the deluge of genuine responses he receives. If you want to know what they really did do for us, the BBC made a documentary in 2000 covering the exact topic. They did conquer and invade millions of people, but at the same time, aqueducts were pretty helpful.

#7: It's Just a Flesh Wound

If you had to choose a favourite of all their one-off characters, the Black Knight will definitely top a few people’s lists. He appears for only a few minutes in “Holy Grail,” but he’s easily one of the troupe’s funniest characters ever conceived. The knight refuses to let anyone pass unless you can best him in combat. Then, it turns out he’s probably immortal after losing all four of his limbs, then refusing to relent. It’s an especially gory moment, but done so whimsically that it’s hard to take seriously. Before the picture was released, the BBFC asked them to tone down the gore. Thankfully, they didn’t, or else this scene may have suffered severely.

#6: Wafer Thin Mint

The Python’s final feature-length film was “The Meaning of Life.” While it’s not as celebrated as the two before it, it’s still full to the brim with masterfully crafted jokes. You could easily argue it’s most famous is the Mr. Creosote sketch. The absurdly large customer is played by Terry Jones, and the sketch concludes with him viscerally exploding after a small mint. The moment was so funny that John Cleese could barely keep his cool when delivering his lines. While he obviously didn’t really explode, minestrone soup was used for the fake vomit, and it did do significant damage at the restaurant where they filmed.

#5: I Fart In Your General Direction

When you think of the most savage insults in human history, there’s a high chance this phrase popped into your head first. On their quest to find the Holy Grail, King Arthur stumbles upon this ridiculous Frenchman, played by Cleese. He then unleashes a torrent of sidesplitting insults, which are so silly it’s impossible to feel offended by them. You may not expect this, but it’s inspired by a real event. In 1068, William the Conqueror sieged Exeter, and according to a contemporary historian, one of the defenders farted in William’s general direction from the battlements.

#4: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Their 1979 comedy masterpiece ends with the most famous track from their career. “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” is a tune that wonderfully encapsulates the stiff upper lip attitude. In the face of hard times, Brits often try to joke about things to cheer ourselves up. It’s so adored that at points it’s been the most played funeral song in the UK, a statistic Americans online refuse to believe. At first, it was simply a comedy track, but now it’s barely contentious to call it the anthem of British culture.

#3: Spam!

The aptly titled “Flying Circus” episode “Spam” ended with this sketch, penned by Jones and Palin. It shows two customers in a café that sells almost nothing but spam, which also has a crowd of Vikings, who randomly keep singing a spam song. It came about because spam was such a common food during World War 2, people were fed up with it by the 70s. If you showed one of the younger generations this sketch, they may assume it’s referencing digital spam. Actually, this scene is the exact place we get the term spam from, hence why it’s earned itself a number three spot on our list.

#2: Biggus Dickus

Pontius Pilate becomes the primary antagonist of “Life of Brian,” but he’s also one of its most memorable characters. This is almost entirely on account of the company he keeps, plus his speech impediment. The two names he drops have become commonly used for things like prank calls, with both Biggus Dickus and Incontinentia Buttocks now being go-to fake names for many. Part of the reason this scene works so well is because of the extras. Quite a few conflicting stories exist online, but according to Michael Palin, when an extra broke into laughter, they decided to roll with it, resulting in comedy gold.

#1: The Spanish Inquisition

Bet you didn’t expect this to take our top spot, did you? It became a popular phrase among Python fans almost instantly. In the early days of the web, it developed into an internet meme, prompting countless people to ask online why no one was expecting them. It’s referencing the Spanish Inquisition from centuries prior, which a quick bit of research shows was somewhat expected. They’d give people 30-day grace periods, where you could voluntarily confess before they’d begin harsher punishments. Switching the phrase to “no one expects the Spanish Inquisition to give us a month's notice” doesn’t have the same ring to it, though.

What “Monty Python” sketch do you quote the most frequently, and did it make it onto our top 20? Let us know down in the comments below!