Flushed Grollings

A customer (Stephen Fry) enters a hardware store and orders various items with absurd technical names like "flushed grollings," "greased nipples," and "parping couplets." The shop assistant (Hugh Laurie) expertly navigates the bizarre terminology, asking clarifying questions about specifications. The sketch is a masterful play on the already arcane nomenclature of actual hardware items, pushing it into comedic absurdity while maintaining the format of a real hardware shop conversation. The sketch ends with the customer slapping the assistant after he suggests something inappropriate.

Also known as "Hardware Shop" sketch. The sketch runs approximately 2 minutes and 28 seconds. The humor derives from the juxtaposition of realistic hardware shop customer service interactions with completely nonsensical product names, delivered with complete deadpan sincerity by both actors.