Blackadder Upends Johnson's Complete Dictionary Claim With Fake Words

BBC Comedy Greats

Edmund Blackadder punctures Dr. Samuel Johnson's claim of compiling an exhaustive English dictionary by confronting the scholar with fabricated vocabulary like 'contrafibularity.'

AI-assisted summary of C is for Contrafibularity | Blackadder The Third | BBC Comedy Greats — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published: 2010-01-15

Key ideas

Dr. Samuel Johnson arrives at the palace to present his newly completed English dictionary to Prince George following ten years of continuous labor. (0:00)
Dr. Johnson declares the manuscript to be an exhaustive work containing every single word in the English language. (0:48)
Prince George repeatedly misinterprets Dr. Johnson's florid, scholarly jargon as lewd and scandalous innuendo. (0:25)
Blackadder deflates Dr. Johnson's claims of total linguistic completeness by inventing nonsensical vocabulary on the spot, including 'contrafibularities' and 'pericombobulation.' (1:08)

Detailed notes

## Background Published by the BBC Comedy Greats channel on YouTube on January 15, 2010, this clip features an excerpt from 'Blackadder the Third'. The video description highlights Dr. Samuel Johnson's arrival at the palace to present his life's work—a dictionary containing every known English word, save for the dubious vocabulary invented on the spot by Blackadder.

## TL;DR Dr. Samuel Johnson arrives at the palace to present his newly completed English dictionary to Prince George, boasting of his decade-long achievement in florid, incomprehensible jargon that the Prince misinterprets as saucy innuendo. Edmund Blackadder intervenes to translate Johnson's pomposity into plain speech, prompting Johnson to adamantly claim that his monumental work contains every single word in the English language. Eager to burst the scholar's arrogant certainty, Blackadder politely offers his 'contrafibularities' and fabricates a string of nonsensical terms, including 'anespeptic' and 'pericombobulation.' The scene concludes with the great lexicographer left thoroughly flustered and horrified at having his exhaustive masterwork seemingly undermined.

## Atmosphere & style The sketch is an exercise in sharp, period-sitcom wit, driven by the stark contrast between Dr. Johnson's overblown academic grandiloquence and Prince George's cheerfully dim-witted bawdiness. Blackadder serves as the dry, cynical linchpin, shifting the energy from awkward confusion to gleeful sabotage with deadpan poise. The scene feels brisk, theatrical, and deliciously mischievous, reveling in linguistic playfulness as it systematically deflates scholarly arrogance.

## Bulletin - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=0s) Dr. Samuel Johnson arrives at the palace to present his newly completed English dictionary to Prince George following ten years of continuous labor. - [00:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=48s) Dr. Johnson declares the manuscript to be an exhaustive work containing every single word in the English language. - [00:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=25s) Prince George repeatedly misinterprets Dr. Johnson's florid, scholarly jargon as lewd and scandalous innuendo. - [01:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=68s) Blackadder deflates Dr. Johnson's claims of total linguistic completeness by inventing nonsensical vocabulary on the spot, including 'contrafibularities' and 'pericombobulation.'

## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=0s) Dr. Samuel Johnson arrives at the royal palace to announce the culmination of his life's work to Prince George. - [00:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=15s) Dr. Johnson describes the completion of his dictionary in impenetrable, polysyllabic rhetoric regarding the vocabulary of the post-Norman tongue. - [00:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=25s) Prince George fails to comprehend Johnson's vocabulary and mistakes the academic pronouncements for sexual innuendo. - [00:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=48s) Blackadder acts as an interpreter, cutting through the pomposity to explain simply that Dr. Johnson finished his book after a decade. - [00:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=55s) Prince George dismisses the monumental ten-year investment of time by remarking that he is a slow reader himself. - [00:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=58s) Dr. Johnson claims the manuscript represents the very cornerstone of English scholarship and includes every single word in the language. - [01:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=68s) Blackadder exposes Dr. Johnson's arrogance by offering his 'most enthusiastic contrafibularities.' - [01:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=78s) Blackadder defends his fabricated term by falsely insisting it is common parlance in his local area. - [01:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=85s) Blackadder compounds the lexicographer's distress by rattling off further fabricated words like 'anespeptic,' 'frasmotic,' and 'pericombobulation.'

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=0s) Dr. Johnson’s Grandiloquent Announcement

Dr. Samuel Johnson arrives at the palace and is announced to His Highness, Prince George. Remarking on the bitter chill outside, the Prince greets the scholar, who enthusiastically agrees about the weather but proclaims it to be a joyous occasion nonetheless. Dr. Johnson launches into an intensely florid, polysyllabic declaration, announcing that he celebrated the previous night for having achieved the grand culmination of his linguistic labors. When the bewildered Prince confesses that he failed to comprehend a single word, Dr. Johnson rephrases his triumph in equally labyrinthine jargon: “I simply observe sir that I'm felicitous since during the course of the penultimate solar sojourn I terminated my uninterrupted categorization of the vocabulary of our post-Norman tongue.”

Prince George completely misinterprets Johnson's academic boasting as something scandalous and lewd. Chuckling at the sheer bawdiness of the phrasing, the Prince remarks that although he is acquainted with plenty of open-minded women, he has never performed such acts himself: “I don't know what you're talking about but it sounds damn saucy you lucky thing; I know some fairly liberal-minded girls, but I've never penultimate any of them than that solar sojourn or for that matter been given any Norman tongue.”

[00:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=48s) The Dictionary and Blackadder’s "Contrafibularities"

Stepping into the confusion, Edmund Blackadder dryly translates the scholar's pompous rhetoric for the Prince, explaining plainly that Dr. Johnson is merely happy because he has finally finished his book, a monumental project that has taken him a full decade. Prince George blithely shrugs off the massive investment of time, quipping, “Yes, well I'm a slow reader myself.” Dr. Johnson then presents the completed manuscript with immense pride, declaring it to be an exhaustive record of human speech: “Here it is, sir, the very cornerstone of English scholarship; this book, sir, contains every word in our beloved language.” He repeats with absolute certainty that every single word is accounted for within its pages.

Seizing the opportunity to puncture the scholar's supreme arrogance, Blackadder steps forward with a mock-gracious tribute designed to expose the dictionary's limits. He politely asks if he may offer his own praise, addressing Johnson directly: “Oh, well in that case, sir, I hope you will not object if I also offer the doctor my most enthusiastic contrafibularities.” When an aghast and baffled Dr. Johnson halts, Blackadder smoothly defends the non-existent term by claiming, “Sir, it is a common word down our way.” Piling on further fabricated vocabulary to compound the lexicographer's panic, Blackadder apologizes with mock remorse: “Oh, I'm sorry, sir, I'm anespeptic, frasmotic, even compunctious to have caused you such pericombobulation.”

- Dr. Johnson claims the dictionary took a decade of labor and represents the ultimate record of the English language. - Blackadder invents several absurd words to undermine Dr. Johnson's claim of total comprehensiveness: - *Contrafibularity* - *Anespeptic* - *Frasmotic* - *Pericombobulation*

## Mentioned Dr. Samuel Johnson, Prince George, Edmund Blackadder, Blackadder The Third, BBC Comedy Greats, BBC Studios

## Video description Dr Johnson arrives at the palace, having completed his life's work. His dictionary contains every single known word in the English language except for the rather dubious ones uttered by Blackadder. Subscribe to Comedy Greats for more hilarious videos: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=BBCComedyGreats

This is a commercial channel from BBC Studios. Service & Feedback https://www.bbcstudios.com/contact/contact-us/

[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08)

中文简报

黑爵士自造词汇击碎约翰逊的“完整词典”断言埃德蒙·黑爵士通过“contrafibularity”等虚构词汇，戳穿了塞缪尔·约翰逊博士声称编纂出一部详尽无遗的英语词典的说辞。塞缪尔·约翰逊博士抵达王宫，向乔治王子呈献他新编成的英语词典，并用华丽而晦涩的行话吹嘘自己耗时十年的心血，却被王子误解为低俗的暗讽。埃德蒙·黑爵士出面将约翰逊自命不凡的话语翻译成大白话，促使约翰逊坚称他的不朽巨著收录了英语中的每一个单词。为了打破这位学者傲慢的笃定，黑爵士礼貌地送上自己的“contrafibularities”（恭贺/自造词），并随口捏造了一连串毫无意义的词汇，包括“anespeptic”和“pericombobulation”。这一幕最终以这位伟大的词典编纂家彻底陷入慌乱与惊恐而告终，因为他那详尽无遗的巨作似乎遭到了颠覆。在历经十年的不懈劳作后，塞缪尔·约翰逊博士抵达王宫，向乔治王子呈献他新近编纂完成的英语词典。 (0:00) 约翰逊博士宣称该手稿是一部详尽无遗的著作，收录了英语中的每一个词汇。 (0:48) 乔治王子屡次将约翰逊博士华丽晦涩的学术用语误解为下流而耸人听闻的暗讽。 (0:25) 黑爵士当场捏造了包括“contrafibularities”和“pericombobulation”在内的一批荒诞词汇，戳破了约翰逊博士关于词典具有绝对语言完整性的断言。 (1:08)

Detailed notes — zh

## Background 该视频由BBC喜剧频道 BBC Comedy Greats 于2010年1月15日发布在YouTube平台上。视频简介介绍道，塞缪尔·约翰逊博士携其毕生心血——一部号称收录了英语中所有已知词汇的宏伟词典入宫，然而这部巨著却唯独漏掉了黑爵士随口胡诌出的那些荒谬词汇。 ## TL;DR 塞缪尔·约翰逊博士前往宫廷晋见摄政王乔治，展示自己历时十年编纂完成的权威英语词典，并用连篇累牍的高深辞藻夸赞自己的成就。头脑愚钝的摄政王完全误解了博士的修辞，甚至将其浮夸文辞联想为风流艳遇。冷眼旁观的管家埃德蒙·黑爵士出面翻译解围后，面对博士自负声称词典已囊括英语中所有词汇的傲慢言论，当场信手捏造出“contrafibularity”等一连串伪学术词汇致贺，瞬间让这位大文豪陷入尴尬语塞与深刻的自我怀疑之中。 ## Atmosphere & style 全片充斥着极具代表性的英式讽刺与荒诞幽默，节奏明快且机锋毕露。约翰逊博士学究式的迂腐傲慢、摄政王不学无术的荒唐愚钝，与黑爵士冷面腹黑的尖酸讽刺形成了鲜明而绝妙的三方对比。观众能够清晰感受到从博士满怀自信的高谈阔论，到黑爵士轻描淡写用胡言乱语精准拆台时的戏剧性逆转，整个过程令人捧腹又耐人寻味。 ## Bulletin - [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=1s) 塞缪尔·约翰逊博士携耗时十年编纂的划时代英语词典进宫觐见摄政王乔治，并宣称该书收录了英语中的每一个单词。 - [00:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=20s) 摄政王乔治因缺乏文化修养，将约翰逊博士关于编纂工作的华丽学术辞藻滑稽地误解为风流韵事与低俗暗示。 - [00:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=48s) 管家黑爵士用极度通俗的白话化解学术谜团，随后当场编造假词“contrafibularities”发起语言挑战。 - [01:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=80s) 面对黑爵士接连抛出的一连串伪学术生造词，自诩掌握所有词汇的约翰逊博士陷入了严重的自我怀疑与手足无措。 ## Key takeaways - [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=1s) 约翰逊博士进宫晋见摄政王乔治，为其展示自己耗费心血完成的英语词典成果。 - [00:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=10s) 约翰逊博士习惯使用极度迂腐、华丽且冗长的学术辞藻来描述日常琐事与工作成就。 - [00:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=18s) 摄政王乔治对博士高深的修辞完全摸不着头脑，直言自己一个字也没听懂。 - [00:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=30s) 摄政王因文盲般的理解水平，将“太阳驻留”与“诺曼舌头”等辞藻荒唐地曲解为风流私生活。 - [00:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=48s) 黑爵士以冷淡且直白的市井语言打破繁文缛节，一语道破约翰逊博士只是想表达花十年写完了书。 - [00:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=58s) 摄政王乔治以“自己也是个慢读者”作答，展现出极其缺乏同理心且荒诞不经的贵族愚蠢本质。 - [01:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=64s) 约翰逊博士极度自负地声称自己的巨著手稿囊括了英语中存在的所有词汇，毫无遗漏。 - [01:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=72s) 黑爵士为了击碎博士的学术傲慢，现场随口生造了毫无根据的词汇“contrafibularities”。 - [01:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=78s) 黑爵士一本正经地谎称该词是自己家乡的常见说法，令约翰逊博士瞬间语塞失措。 - [01:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=85s) 黑爵士进一步抛出“anaspeptic”、“phrasmotic”及“pericombobulation”等连串伪词进行语言补刀。 - [01:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=95s) 自负的词典大编纂者最终在虚构生词的连环轰炸下彻底陷入混乱与尴尬境地。 ## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=1s) 塞缪尔·约翰逊博士的华丽辞藻与摄政王乔治的滑稽误解塞缪尔·约翰逊博士（Dr. Samuel Johnson）来到宫廷晋见摄政王乔治（Prince George）。寒暄伊始，摄政王随口提及天气极其寒冷，约翰逊博士却立刻展现出大文豪兼词典编纂者标志性的迂腐与夸饰风格，用一连串堆砌的繁复辞藻开启了对话。他将昨夜庆祝完成词典编纂一事，描绘为对通俗盎格鲁-撒克逊语的预谋编排实现了百科全书式的落实。然而，脑袋空空的摄政王对这番宏论完全摸不着头脑，直言自己一个字也没听懂。为了解释自己的喜悦，约翰逊博士再次换上了一套令人啼笑皆非的浮夸修辞，声称自己在前一个“太阳驻留周期”内，终结了对后诺曼时期语言词汇的不间断分类归纳。不学无术的摄政王却把这些生僻的高级词汇完全听偏，误以为约翰逊在吹嘘某种放荡的私生活与风流韵事。摄政王羡慕地调侃对方艳福不浅，并一本正经地感叹自己虽然也认识不少作风开放的姑娘，却从未对谁做过什么“倒数第二的太阳驻留”，更没尝过任何“诺曼舌头”。摄政王当场困惑又猎奇地评价道：“I don't know what you're talking about but it sounds damn Saucy you lucky thing I know some fairly liberal-minded girls but I've never penultimate any of them than that solo sojourn or for that matter been given any Norman tongue”。 ### [00:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08&t=48s) 黑爵士的讽刺解密与“Contrafibularity”的造词挑衅管家埃德蒙·黑爵士（Edmund Blackadder）见状冷淡地出面打断，用极其直白的市井大白话向摄政王拆解了博士这通长篇大论的真正含义，指出博士只是想表达自己很高兴，因为他耗时整整十年编写的书终于大功告成了。摄政王听罢毫无同理心，反而一脸得意地以“我自己也是个慢读者”作为回应，尽显荒唐本质。随后，约翰逊博士庄重地呈上自己倾注毕生心血的巨著手稿，傲慢而自信地宣称这本词典是英格兰学术界的基石，并且巨细靡遗地囊括了英语中存在的所有词汇。为了彻底击碎这位大词典编纂者的傲慢自大，黑爵士故作谦恭地当场现场造词，向约翰逊博士致以最热烈的“contrafibularities”。约翰逊顿时面露震惊与茫然，黑爵士却一本正经地撒谎辩称这是自己老家那边的常见词汇。看着博士陷入手足无措的凌乱状态，黑爵士更是得理不饶人，接二连三地抛出一连串自创的荒诞高深词汇予以补刀：“Oh I'm sorry sir I'm anes peptic prasm motic even compunctious to have caused you such peric combobulation”，将自诩掌握所有英语词汇的约翰逊博士逼入了语塞与自我怀疑的尴尬绝境。 - 约翰逊博士耗时整整十年编纂完成这部划时代的英语词典，并笃定地声称：“This book sir contains every word in our beloved language every single one sir every single word sir”。 - 黑爵士为打破约翰逊的绝对自信，顺口胡诌的一系列伪学术生造词包括：“contrafibularity”（反腓骨性/自创的祝贺词）、“anaspeptic”（抗消化不良的）、“phrasmotic”（造语狂的）以及“pericombobulation”（极度困惑混乱）。 ## Mentioned 塞缪尔·约翰逊博士, 摄政王乔治, 埃德蒙·黑爵士, 英语词典, BBC Comedy Greats, Blackadder The Third ## Video description Dr Johnson arrives at the palace, having completed his life's work. His dictionary contains every single known word in the English language except for the rather dubious ones uttered by Blackadder. Subscribe to Comedy Greats for more hilarious videos: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=BBCComedyGreats This is a commercial channel from BBC Studios. Service & Feedback https://www.bbcstudios.com/contact/contact-us/ [Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08)

Original transcript

[0:01] Dr Johnson your highness ah Dr Johnson [0:04] damn cold day indeed it is Sir but a [0:06] verifi one for I celebrated last night [0:08] the encyclopedic implementation of my [0:11] premeditated orchestration of demotic [0:13] Anglo [0:16] Saxon no didn't catch any of that but I [0:19] simply observe sir that I'm felicitous [0:21] since during the course of the [0:22] penultimate solar suran I terminated my [0:25] uninterrupted categorization of the [0:28] vocabulary of our post Norman [0:32] Tong I don't know what you're talking [0:34] about but it sounds damn Saucy you lucky [0:36] thing I know some fairly liberal-minded [0:38] girls but I've never penultimate any of [0:41] them than that solo sojourn or for that [0:43] matter been given any Norman [0:47] tongue I believe sir that the doctor is [0:50] trying to tell you that he is happy [0:51] because he has finished his book it is [0:53] apparently taken him 10 years yes well [0:57] I'm a slow reader myself [1:03] here it is Sir the very Cornerstone of [1:05] English scholarship this book sir [1:08] contains every word in our beloved [1:10] language every single one sir every [1:13] single word sir oh well in that case sir [1:16] I hope you will not object if I also [1:18] offer the doctor my most enthusiastic [1:20] Contra [1:23] fulari ularity sir it is a common word [1:27] down our way [1:29] [Laughter] [1:30] oh I'm sorry sir I'm anes peptic prasm [1:35] motic even compunctious to have caused [1:38] you such peric combobulation