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From: kre@ucbvax.ARPA (Robert Elz)
Newsgroups: net.movies,net.games.trivia
Subject: Re: Witch question
Message-ID: <8826@ucbvax.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 6-Jul-85 01:55:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8826
Posted: Sat Jul  6 01:55:16 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 6-Jul-85 10:37:24 EDT
References: <767@burl.UUCP> <903@mtgzz.UUCP>
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
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Xref: watmath net.movies:6899 net.games.trivia:2025
Summary: Explanation of "It's a fair cop."

In article <903@mtgzz.UUCP>, leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) writes:
> 
>  >In "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", villagers accuse a
>  >local maiden of being a witch.  After going through some
>  >rather twisted and amusing logic, they finally put her to
>  >the test - if she weighs the same as a duck then she is
>  >surely a witch.  As the balance is struck, the maiden speaks
>  >under the noise and celebration of the delighted villagers.
>  >What did she say?
>  >
> 
> She says "It's a fair cop." ....
> The phrase may be a Britishism. ....
> On the other hand it may be just a
> Pythonism.  Someone out there know more about this particular phrase.
> 

"It's a fair cop" is phrase that the (Brit, Aust) police say that you
said when they verbal you in court.  It is famous for being something
that no criminal that's caught would *ever* say.

(A "verbal" is the police rendition of a verbal confession made
by the accused, which was never reduced to writing.  It is
evidence, sometimes, the only evidence, and can convict by itself.
Needless to say, there have been occasions where a policeman,
"knowing" he has the perpertrator of some crime, will create
a verbal confession for the accused.  This is "a verbal".
The words "its a fair cop" are (were?) typically used in such cases
to indicate that the captured criminal is admitting that his being
caught ("copped") is correct, and fair -- he is admitting guilt).

I haven't seen "Holy Grail", but this sounds as if its typical
Python double humour.

Robert Elz					ucbvax!kre

ps: you wouldn't believe the amount of time my Evidence lecturer
    spent on the intracacies of the verbal...