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Originally Posted by ferretchucker
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31. Four Candles - The Two Ronnies
Armed with a lengthy shopping list, one man (Ronnie Barker) tries to work through it with the help of the general store shopkeeper (Ronnie Corbett). Dropping his aitches liberally, Barker pleasantly makes his requests — four candles, hose, pumps — to the increasing consternation of Corbett, who reflexively fetches all the wrong items. The "four candles" Barker wants are fork handles; "the hose" are letter O's; the pumps are ladies' shoes. We giggle with Barker, we commiserate with Corbett, but the real stars of the show are the elisions and homophones. At the end of his tether, Corbett finally stomps off when he spots "bill hooks" on the list — a way of slipping "bollocks" into the skit without actually saying it. Slapstick and pratfalls have their place in comedy, but it's refreshing to remember that wordplay can be all that's required to elicit a smile.