Sir Humphrey: With Trident we could obliterate the whole of Eastern Europe. Jim Hacker: I don’t want to obliterate the whole of Eastern Europe. 

Sir Humphrey: It’s a deterrent. 

Jim Hacker: It’s a bluff. I probably wouldn’t use it. 

Sir Humphrey: Yes, but they don’t know that you probably wouldn’t. 

Jim Hacker: They probably do. 

Sir Humphrey: Yes, they probably know that you probably wouldn’t. But they can’t certainly know. 

Jim Hacker: They probably certainly know that I probably wouldn’t. 

Sir Humphrey: Yes, but even though they probably certainly know that you probably wouldn’t, they don’t certainly know that, although you probably wouldn’t, there is no probability that you certainly would.

Quentin D Fortesqueue is a founding editor of The Rochdale Herald. Part time amateur narcissist and full time satirist Quentin is never happier than when playing his lute and drinking a full bodied Bordeaux. He rarely plays the lute and never gets to drink Bordeaux.