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The prime minister is never short of a word or two, never short of a colourful phrase or metaphor.

When we sat down with him this afternoon there was no suggestion of him being the Hulk, but Remain-tending MPs were accused of "rope-a-doping" the government, planning eventually to batter the prime minister and his Brexit deal into submission until he would have had to give up.

But in Downing Street there is a serious awareness that trademark Johnson verbal gymnastics are no guarantee of success at the ballot box in six weeks' time, no guarantee at all.

That's not just because there are even friends, like Donald Trump, and of course foes, like Jeremy Corbyn, whose words and actions will hamper his attempt to secure a majority to call his own.

But also because this is a snap election, not a routine poll, and the public is hardly in a forgiving mood of our politicians right now.

So before the Conservatives can really move on to make their pitch to the electorate, the prime minister has to convince the country that this election is more than a product of political vanity, more than a cold inconvenience on dark nights and short winter days, but a pressing political requirement.

His pitch - those pesky MPs wanted to go on and on with this grisly stalemate, they made me do it!

But it was his decision and his opening challenge is to win that argument first.

Lose that and Number 10's hopes of improving their standing might fade before the campaign proper has really begun.