Men at Arms: A Discworld Novel:15

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This drink consists of Sloe Gin (hence the 'slow'), Southern Comfort (hence the 'comfortable'), Orange Juice (which is what makes a screwdriver a screwdriver and not merely a bloody big vodka; hence the 'screw'), a float of Galliano (which is in a Harvey Wallbanger; hence the 'up against the wall'), served in a long glass. In the film, the British, French, American and Russian occupation troops in Vienna patrol the city in groups of four, one from each country, to keep an eye on each other. Said originally by Napoleon, though of course he would have pronounced it as "Tout soldat francais porte dans sa giberne le baton de mere'chal de France. Every number, no matter how large can be represented in binary (29, for instance, is 11101; sixteen + eight + four + one).

People conveniently forget that life was often brutal and short, with no safety net, poor health outcomes, high infant and childbirth mortality and widespread poverty and dwell instead on the few positives and the false perceptions - the idea of a safer simpler time. Page 35 - "Steal the secret of Fire from the gods" is a reference to Prometheus stealing fire from the gods for mankind in Greek mythology. Page 177 - When the Troll Detritus gets locked in the pork futures warehouse, he creates an elaborate "theory of everything" equation all over the walls, in an attempt to pass the time until he is rescued. This line also resonates with Stanley Kubrick's 1987 movie Full Metal Jacket and the line from Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann, "Tonight, you men will sleep with your rifles. Pratchett commented: "Almost a trademark of the basic Murphy character in a tight spot is to whip out any badge or piece of paper that looks vaguely official and simply gabble official-sounding jargon, which sounds as if he's making it up as he goes along but nevertheless browbeats people into doing what he wants.This is the Discworld Troll version of an old military yell to get the soldier or sailor up in the morning: "Hands off cocks, on with socks! Its name stems from the medieval era when street names reflected the occupations conducted there - Baker Street, Market Square, etc.

Pratchett is playing with the tradition from Christian, heterosexual weddings that the bride's parents sit in the first row on the left side of the aisle, while the groom's parents sit n the first row on the right side. This entire scene is a loose parody of Twin Peaks, where the protagonists are forever eating doughnuts and drinking "damn fine coffee". From its invention in 1656 by Christiaan Huygens, inspired by Galileo Galilei, until the 1930s, the pendulum clock was the world's most precise timekeeper, accounting for its widespread use. Page 13 - "Find the man who put the sword in the stone in the first place" Something no one thinks about when the sword is pulled out of the stone.See annotation on Page 115 for explanation of Trolls counting in base 4 when they have not been taught the other numbers like 8, 16 and 29. Generally the first bell to start was that on in the Teachers' Guild, in response to the universal prayers of its members". In Roundworld, this type of thinking has led to the rise of the ultra-right, the increase in the number of dictatorships and/or the racism of anti-immigration policies where people in countries such as Russia long for the good old days of the Soviet Union empire, the USA sees increasing racial tension against African Americans and moves to stop Mexican migration north, Britain and France (to pick on only two) have seen the rise of Farange and LePen, Australia has immigrant detention centres on Manus and Nauru Islands, and countries which initially embraced democracy such as Hungary, Turkey, South Africa and many other African countries (again to pick on only a few) slide closer and closer to, or have become, dictatorships. The Matchgirls is a musical by Bill Owen and Tony Russell about the London matchgirls strike of 1888.

Note that on page 264 Detritus repeats the phrase as "You got a field-marshal's button in your knapsack", while on page 269 Cuddy creatively manages "You could have a field-marshal's bottom in your napkin". Pratchett was familiar with computer language and regularly uses Monty Python references in his works so this is not likely a coincidence. Page 67 - Bjorn Hammerhock's description of the Gonne resonate with the standard Smith and Weston or Colt revolvers. Pratchett added that "'I'm too short for this shit' is a line that has appeared in at least two grunt movies.Page 104 - "interesting examples of dwarf bread" Dwarf bread is characterised by being as hard as rock (in fact it often has bits of gravel forged - not baked - into it.