Talk:Notable phrases from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

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42, the Meaning of Life This article is part of WikiProject Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this notice, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.

I just created this article, but already feel the need to justify its existence. I know Wikipedia is not a dictionary, nor is it Wikiquote, but I think these phrases are significant enough to warrant mention (since they have usages in other contexts and they have interesting stories behind them), but not to the point they warrant their own articles. Sound good? - Furrykef 05:35, 13 Oct 2004 (UTC)


Strag is a term used to describe any non-hitchhiker.

Is the term "strag" notable enough for inclusion? By that I mean, does it ever appear outside the context of (though still in reference to) HHGttG? - furrykef (Talk at me) 07:19, 20 November 2005 (UTC)


Could you give us some more information on the origins of "strag"?

Contents

[edit] Quilliard

Would the term quilliard be appropriate for this article? Even though it was only mentioned in the television series.. DrWho42 05:47, 25 December 2005 (UTC)

Personally I don't see a problem. It's within the HHG canon IainP (talk) 14:25, 25 December 2005 (UTC)
I don't think any old made-up word that happens to be in the HHGttG canon belongs in this list. I think for it to be notable it needs to be used outside the context of HHGttG itself. - furrykef (Talk at me) 02:32, 26 December 2005 (UTC)
Ah, gotchya. So what we're really looking at are words/phrases which have passed from HHG and into (semi)common useage? Such as "Almost, but not quite, entirely unlike 'random object'"? IainP (talk) 10:32, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] God's Final Message

Hey, I just realized... what is God's Final Message to His Creation doing in here, anyway? In what context is it used outside the series? - furrykef (Talk at me) 00:00, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

I've seen it referenced On The Internets maybe twice in ten years when not related to the series. I myself remember more distinctly the serially reincarnated Arajagar (sp?) and the concept of flying as "falling, and missing the ground." Anyone got a second-hand reference for this? --205.201.141.146 22:54, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Somebody had added this to the article:

The message is never actually written down in the books, merely spoken letter by letter for Marvin. Arthur and Fenchurch did this because Marvin's electronic eyes had died after being 37 years older than the universe.

I removed it, partly because the way it was written, it feels more like it belongs here, but also because it's wrong. It wasn't spoken letter by letter for Marvin; it was spoken letter by letter by Marvin. His eyes went out after he read the message, not before. He did require the help of Arthur and Fenchurch to read it, but they helped him by supporting his head, not reading it to him. (Also, his eyes, assuming they had never been replaced, were 37 times older than the universe, not merely 37 years. But they probably had been, as Marvin remarked that every part of him has been replaced except for the aching diodes in his left side.) - furrykef (Talk at me) 21:11, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

btw - that thing about Fenchurch finding it to be the ultimate question: doesnt seem right. She says "Yes, that was it." shes referring to the last words left by the creator (past tense) and it had an impact on her - it doesnt mean it was the question (does she even know the answer? she never refers to it). also if its personalised, then we only know what marvin saw - doesnt make much sense really. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.138.88.7 (talk) 01:00, August 28, 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mostly Harmless

"Harmless." was the entire description of Earth in the Hitchhiker's Guide. Ford Prefect carefully researched and painstakingly detailed information on Earth's cultures, history, and species. The entry was later edited to read, "Mostly harmless." Ford Prefect's frustration at this dismissal of his hard work parallels the frustration of many an engineer or computer scientist whose intellectual work is later deemed to be unimportant to the project, and erased or severely revised. This is especially true of Wikipedia, where someone who posts an incredibly detailed revision to an article returns a week later to find it gone, without even a note as to why on the talk page. This also illustrates the central theme of the Increasingly Inaccurately Named Trilogy, which is the post-modern British nihilism that no matter what you try to achieve, the universe will foil you, and then you die. This also relates to the Ultimate Question and Answer being a very dry mathematical proposition without any emotional significance, and inaccurate too, frustrating the desires of those who want some Grand Universal Truth. What is Nine multiplied by Six? Forty-two. --205.201.141.146 22:51, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lewis Carroll

I find the link between 42 and Lewis Carroll to be dubious. The article also states Lewis Carroll to be one of Douglas Adams's favorite authors, which I do not believe was the case. In fact, I seem to recall that Adams disliked Lewis Carroll, although I could be wrong. I do remember him denying that Carroll was an inspiration, though. In any case, I'm removing this section because the link is too tenuous. - furrykef (Talk at me) 10:48, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

In my copy of HHGTTG omnibus, the introduction states quite clearly that Adams "had disliked what little he had read of Alice in Wonderland" 68.97.181.129 (talk) 14:18, 10 February 2008 (UTC)