Edwin Lutyens? Arthur Wimperis? Geoffrey Willans? John Poole? Malcolm Sterling Mackinlay? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: A wit at a restaurant was served a plate of cod which looked unappetizing. The rejected fish inspired this memorably hilarious pun:
A piece of cod which passeth all understanding.
The wordplay was based on a biblical verse:
The peace of God which passeth all understanding.
This quip has been attributed to English architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, English playwright Arthur Wimperis, and English writer Geoffrey Willans. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match for this pun located by QI appeared within an anecdote published in “London Society: An Illustrated Magazine” in 1886. The person delivering the joke was not precisely identified. His last name was Poole. The phrase “out at elbows” meant living in poverty. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
He was dining at one of the cheap restaurants over the water the other evening, with three or four fellows as out at elbows as himself, when a dish of fish was served up, a mysterious looking edible which no one present could put a name to.
One thought it might be intended for turbot, another voted it brill, and at last it came to Poole’s turn. After staring and sniffing at it for a minute or two, ‘I may be mistaken,’ he said, ‘but if my eyes and nose don’t deceive me, it is a piece of cod which passeth all understanding.’
The tale above was set about forty years before the publication date, i.e., circa 1846. The punster might be the playwright John Poole who was known for penning satires and farces in that time period.
The pertinent biblical verse is Philippians 4:7. Here is the phrasing from the King James Bible:2
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Here is the translation from the New International Version:3
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Another version of the pun appeared in the 1906 book “Antoinette Sterling and Other Celebrities: Stories and Impressions of Artistic Circles” by the English singer Malcolm Sterling Mackinlay. The book presented the story of a new Scottish art student who was asked by fellow students about the ethics of sketching models au naturel. The student consulted with elders who told him he could do it without harm if he maintained the proper mental attitude. The following excerpt employed non-standard spelling to represent dialect:4
“After grave discussion they gave me tae understand’ that I might do it wi’oot ony harrrm, sae lang as I kept in my Heart the Peace of God.”
There are none so deaf as they that will not hear. Grievous to relate, therefore, one of his audience pretended to have misunderstood his last words, and replied with more humour than reverence, “I beg your pardon. Did I understand you to say that you always used a Piece of Cod in your Art? I suppose you mean Cod-Liver for your Oil-paintings I’ve never tried it myself.”
In 1929 the London periodical “The Bystander” printed a short article which attributed the pun to Arthur Wimperis:5
Arthur Wimperis is at work on a new play, one much to his liking, and so immersed is he that he has not even had time to do any hunting lately. His tongue is as quick as ever and his wit as brilliant.
Not long ago his choice at lunch was boiled cod and oyster sauce—an excellent choice, too, when the cod is good. On this occasion, alas! The cod had seen better days, and was swiftly approaching the time when it would see far worse ones. “Waiter!” called “the Wimp” softly, “this is the piece of cod which passeth all understanding!”
In 1942 Robert Lutyens published a biography of his father titled “Sir Edwin Lutyens: An Appreciation in Perspective”.6 Robert stated that Edwin employed the pun while they were dining together at a restaurant. The pertinent passage was reprinted in “The Dictionary of Biographical Quotation of British and American Subjects”:7
Then, as the fish was served, he looked at me seriously over the rims of his two pairs of spectacles and remarked: ‘The piece of cod passeth all understanding.’
In 1950 the “Sheffield Telegraph” of Sheffield, England printed a brief piece which attributed the pun to British civil servant Edward Marsh:8
Monocled, immaculately dressed, Sir Edward Marsh (78 today) looked, and was, the typical clubman of the Edwardian era.
He was private secretary to half-a-dozen Cabinet Ministers in succession, and was looked upon as the most precious of their fruits of office. To all of them he became a close friend.
A deep lover of literature, he has succoured many young writers, especially poets Rupert Brooke was his protege.
His conversation sparkles with wit. He passed dubious fish at dinner with the remark: “It appears to be the piece of cod which passeth all understanding.”
The English writer Geoffrey Willans created the comical character Nigel Molesworth. A series of books based on Molesworth began with the 1953 work “Down With Skool! A Guide to School Life for Tiny Pupils and Their Parents”. The title of the seventh chapter contained the pun:9
SKOOL FOOD OR THE PIECE OF COD WHICH PASSETH UNDERSTANDING
In 1965 an article in “Reader’s Digest” credited Edwin Lutyens with the pun:10
Club dining rooms offer some of the best food in London, but during World War II they found it very heavy going. While lunching at Brooks’s the late Sir Edwin Lutyens was offered a fish dish. “What on earth is this?” he inquired.
Said the waiter, “A piece of cod, sir.”
“-which passeth all understanding,” snorted the distinguished architect.
In 1970 “National Lampoon” magazine of New York printed the pun:11
GASPATCHO: (Producing fish) Cod piece, cod piece, who wilt have a piece of cod?
CAPTAIN: This piece of cod passeth all understanding.
In 1987 “The Wit and Wisdom of the 20th Century” compiled by Frank S. Pepper published the following entry:12
‘What on earth is this?’
‘A piece of cod, sir’
‘The piece of cod which passeth all understanding.’
Attr. Sir Edwin Lutyens, to a waiter at Brooks’
In conclusion, QI tentatively attributes this pun to playwright John Poole based on the 1886 citation. There is substantive evidence that in subsequent decades the pun was used by Arthur Wimperis, Edwin Lutyens, Geoffrey Willans and others.
Image Notes: Picture of sauteed cod with capers and tomato from David B Townsend at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to quotation expert Nigel Rees who discussed this pun in the April 2025 issue of “The ‘Quote…Unquote’ Newsletter”. Rees pointed out the valuable 1942 and 1953 citations.
- 1886 February, London Society: An Illustrated Magazine, Volume 49, Number 290, A Soirée at Madame Ancelot’s by Charles Hervey, Start Page 193, Quote Page 196, Printed by Kelly and Company, London, England. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- Website: Bible Hub, Philippians 4:7, King James Bible and New International Version, Website description: Online Bible Study Suite; Bible Hub is a production of the Online Parallel Bible Project. (Accessed biblehub.com on April 3, 2025) link ↩︎
- Website: Bible Hub, Philippians 4:7, New International Version, Website description: Online Bible Study Suite; Bible Hub is a production of the Online Parallel Bible Project. (Accessed biblehub.com on April 3, 2025) link ↩︎
- 1906, Antoinette Sterling and Other Celebrities: Stories and Impressions of Artistic Circles by Malcolm Sterling Mackinlay, Chapter 13: Leighton and His Contemporaries, Quote Page 262, Hutchinson & Company, London, England. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1929 February 20, The Bystander, Sir Thomas Beecham and His Detractors, Quote Page 368 (22), Column 2, London, England. (British Newspaper Archive) ↩︎
- 1942, Sir Edwin Lutyens: An Appreciation in Perspective by Robert Lutyens, Unknown Page, Country Life, London. (QI has not yet accessed this book to directly verify the quotation; the quotation was verified indirectly via “The Dictionary of Biographical Quotation of British and American Subjects”) ↩︎
- 1978, The Dictionary of Biographical Quotation of British and American Subjects, Edited by Richard Kenin and Justin Wintle, Section: Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, Quote Page 503, Alfred A. Knopf, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1950 November 18, Sheffield Telegraph, All Sorts of People by Jack Point, Quote Page 2, Column 6, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. (British Newspaper Archive) ↩︎
- 1953, Down With Skool! A Guide to School Life for Tiny Pupils and Their Parents by Geoffrey Willans, Illustrated by Ronald Searle, Chapter 7: Skool Food, Quote Page 95, Max Parrish and Company, London. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1965 August, Reader’s Digest, Volume 87, Number 520, Man With a Club by Charles Graves, Start Page 147, Quote Page 151 and 152, The Reader’s Digest Association, Pleasantville, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1970 April, National Lampoon, Volume 1, Number 1, How Old Is that Chestnut?, Start Page 82, Quote Page 82, Column 1, National Lampoon Inc., New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1987, The Wit and Wisdom of the 20th Century: A Dictionary of Quotations, Compiled by Frank S. Pepper, Topic: Food, Quote Page 148, Peter Bedrick Books, New York. (Verified with hardcopy) ↩︎