in act i of the 1885 gilbert and sullivan opera "the mikado", the emperor of japan, having learned that the town of titipu is behind on its quota of executions, has decreed that at least one beheading must occur immediately. in the dialogue preceding the song, three government officials, pooh-bah, ko-ko and pish-tush, discuss which of them should be beheaded in order to save the town from "irretrievable ruin". pooh-bah says that although his enormous "family pride" would normally prompt him to volunteer for such an important civic duty, he has decided to "mortify" his pride, and so he declines this heroic undertaking. he points out that since ko-ko is already under sentence of death for the capital crime of flirting, ko-ko is the obvious choice to be beheaded.