Are You Being Served?

A porcelain figurine from Dresden, Germany, known for its fine decorative ceramic tradition associated with the Meissen porcelain manufactory.

“This Dresden Shepherdess? A peace offering I made to Maris when I was foolish enough to point out an extra syllable in a Haiku she'd written.”— Niles

Louis XIV style, referring to the ornate decorative arts style from the reign of French King Louis XIV (1643-1715). Here referring to a candelabra in that style…

“Louis Quatorze! What better way to apologise for the time I attempted to grow a moustache?”— Niles

A French cooking technique involving braising meat in a white sauce, typically used for chicken or veal.

“Well, at least you stopped short of saying, 'I'll be fricasseeing you.'”— Roz

A culinary preparation, as in steak tartare or tartar sauce. Used here as a pun on 'ta-ta' (goodbye).

“let's not say goodbye, but rather 'tartar' for now”— Frasier

A restaurant mentioned in the show, likely fictional, used as the venue for a family dinner.

“Now we thought it might be nice to have a family dinner this evening at Chez Shea”— Frasier

A traditional Scandinavian dish of seasoned ground meat formed into small balls, a staple comfort food.

“Wait. Tuesday is Swedish meatball night for the staff. Cook always keeps them in the refrigerator.”— Niles

King of France from 1643 to 1715, known as the Sun King, whose reign defined an era of ornate decorative arts and architecture.

“Louis Quatorze! What better way to apologise for the time I attempted to grow a moustache?”— Niles

A traditional form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable structure.

“A peace offering I made to Maris when I was foolish enough to point out an extra syllable in a Haiku she'd written.”— Niles

A Sherlock Holmes novel by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring a legendary ghostly hound. Frasier's 'Lady Baskerville' allusion compares Maris to the sinister figure a…

“Well I guess we're just going to have to wait until Lady Baskerville comes back from the spa!”— Frasier

British sitcom that aired on BBC from 1972-1985, set in a department store. The episode title is a play on this show's name and the phrase 'being served' (with …

“Are You Being Served?”— Frasier

Expanded polystyrene foam known for being extremely long-lasting and virtually non-biodegradable.

“Well, in that case you should outlive Styrofoam!”— Frasier

An allusion to the gentleman thief archetype popular in literature and film, such as Cary Grant's character in 'To Catch a Thief.'

“Even as a child I always fancied I might make a first-rate society cat burglar.”— Niles

An ornamental pond stocked with koi fish, a symbol of luxury in Japanese-influenced garden design.

“that's three meatballs in a row right in the koi pond!”— Frasier

A school of psychology founded in the early 20th century emphasizing that the whole of experience is different from the sum of its parts. Used here as a dog's n…

“Hello, Gestalt! Hello, Gerhardt!”— Niles

City in New Mexico known as an arts and cultural destination in the American Southwest.

“bubble-wraps his crepe pan and heads south towards sunny Santa Fe”— Frasier