Somewhat late in Duck Soup, the Marx Brothers’ classic takedown of war, the tragically dimwitted Chicolini finds himself on trial for the attempted burglary of Freedonia’s war plans. After a series of increasingly outrageous miscommunications on the stand, Groucho’s Rufus T. Firefly begins his suggestion for sentencing by delivering this classic insult:
“Gentlemen, Chicolini here may talk like an idiot and look like an idiot, but don’t let that fool you: He really is an idiot.”
As I wasted my Friday night watching the Yankees get blown out by the Tampa Bay Rays in a maybe-not-quite-must-win-but-still-very-important game—a game, mind you, that felt extremely winnable for about three quarters of the evening—I couldn't help but laugh.