When they try to speak to the robot, he responds, “I’m Little Buttercup, sweet Little Buttercup,” and then says “There grew a little flower ‘neath a great oak tree.” One of the men asks the other, “Where did he pick up Gilbert and Sullivan?” As the story goes on, “Speedy” continues to quote fragments of Gilbert and Sullivan, including, “I’ve made a little list … the piano organist … all people who eat peppermint and puff it in your face,” and “lover’s professions when uttered in Hessians.” At one point Speedy” says, “When you’re lying awake with a dismal headache and repose is tabooed,” to which Powell murmurs, “Iolanthe!” Later in the story, “Speedy” and Powell are watching each other “without a word of Gilbert and Sullivan gibberish as a greeting” and Powell thinks to himself, “Thank God for that!” In a subsequent story in the collection, the characters of Powell and Donovan appear again and are confronted with another malfunctioning robot. He is running around in a circle, weaving and appearing to be drunk. Eventually they find “Speedy” who is obviously malfunctioning. ![]() The two men responsible for the facility, Powell and Donovan, go out in search of him. ![]() Robot SPD-13, nicknamed “Speedy,” is missing after having been sent out on a mission. The second story in the collection, titled “Runaround,” takes place on Mercury, in a mining facility. The stories, originally published independently, were compiled into a single book and woven together by a framing narrative. Isaac Asimov was a devoted Gilbert and Sullivan fan and the author of I, Robot, a collection of nine science fiction short stories about the interaction of humans, robots and morality. Pinafore, “With Catlike Tread” from The Pirates of Penzance, “The Soldiers of Our Queen” from Patience, “Three Little Maids from School Are We” from The Mikado and “There Lived a King” from The Gondoliers. The film features “He is an Englishman” from H.M.S. The protagonist, Harold Abrahams, is a devoted Gilbert and Sullivan fan. Also, I found her use of the adjective "soft," provided at least some additional support for the idea (of course, as a selling point, soft, after months of hard tack, makes far more sense).Īnywho, thank you again for providing an explanation.The 1981 film, Chariots of Fire includes multiple Gilbert and Sullivan references. I had speculated that what Miss Buttercup might be purveying was tomatoes (for reasons I’ll explain), but this explanation has never truly satisfied me.Īt one time, I’m unsure where or when, I learned that "tommys " sometimes spelled t-o-m-m-i-e-s, is, in some parts of England, a slang term for tomatoes, though the earliest use of the word being used in that sense that I'd been able to verify was is the 1920s. Thank you so much for your definition of Tommys, I've always been unsure. Little Buttercup had a song of her own which she always sang when she came on board.ĭuring 1959 in elementary school 4th grade □ I was about the age of 9 yrs old this was the part I was given in the play, I Lol.! Even to this day.! So Little Buttercup was not really popular with the crew, but they were much too kind-hearted to let her know it. ![]() She had a habit of making quite nice people uncomfortable by hinting things in a vague way, and at the same time with so much meaning (by skilful use of her heavy black eyebrows), that they began to wonder whether they hadn't done something dreadful, at some time or other, and forgotten all about it. We'll/They'll chase the lagging hours along, And if I/he find (s) the maiden coy, We'll murmur forth decorous joy. Her real name was Poll Pineapple, but the crew nick-named her ‘Little Buttercup’, partly because it is a pretty name, but principally because she was not at all like a buttercup, or indeed anything else than a stout, quick-tempered, and rather mysterious lady, with a red face and black eyebrows like leeches, and who seemed to know something unpleasant about everybody on board. Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen, The clouded sky is now serene, The god of day the orb of love, Has hung his ensign high above, The sky is all ablaze. She was what is called a ‘bum-boat woman’, that is to say, a person who supplied the officers and crew with little luxuries not included in the ship's bill of fare. 'As the sailors sat and talked they were joined by a rather stout but very interesting elderly woman of striking personal appearance. ![]() But let’s recap on the story, with the help of Alice B. He was wondering what one or two of the provisions were that Little Buttercup was trying to sell to the sailors. A few days ago I was talking to a friend about Little Buttercup’s song from Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera, H.M.S.
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