big alphabet?

[NileCat]

Could anyone tell me the meaning of the following phrase?
"Plan A didn't work -- but it's a bi-ig alphabet! I'll show them! They can't ignore me!"
It's a dialogue delivered by a so-called mad scientist in a drama. I don't get the meaning of "big alphabet".
My bilingual friends are all taking New Year's vacation now and I have no one to ask.
I'd appreciate it if someone kindly explain about it for me.
Thanks in advance.

[Dustin]

Aha!

Plan A didn't work, but it's a big alphabet, ( so he can use a plan B, a plan C, D, etc )

It's just saying that he can keep trying!

[NileCat]

Thanks, Dustin.
But, which does the big alphabet mean, the plan A or possible plan B?
I’m not quite sure about the nuance of “a big” here. “Alphabet” means the letter such as A or B, correct? Does it mean “it’s only a letter”?

Or: "Plan A didn't work but it was a great plan and it wasn't a waste of time" or something like that?

[Jack W]

I would say the "big alphabet" has to do not with the plans themselves, but with the labelling of the plans.

The idea is that there are 26 letters in our "big alphabet" (which is pretty small compared to the Russian alphabet, to say nothing of the Japanese syllabary, but that's another story). I called my first plan "Plan A." It didn't work. But I can have up to 25 more plans (Plan B, Plan C, Plan D, etc.) without even running out of letters. So I have many more chances to find something that works. Once I find something that works, then "I'll show them! They can't ignore me!"

Hope this helps!

[Dustin]

Thanks, Dustin.
But, which does the big alphabet mean, the plan A or possible plan B?
I’m not quite sure about the nuance of “a big” here. “Alphabet” means the letter such as A or B, correct? Does it mean “it’s only a letter”?

Or: "Plan A didn't work but it was a great plan and it wasn't a waste of time" or something like that?

Big alphabet simply means that he has 26 opportunities ( that is what is big, the # of tries he can label using the alphabet ) ( Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, .....Plan Z ) until he runs out of letters in the alphabet.

It's simply a play on words because people commonly have a "Plan B" but it's rare that you use many more. Plus having more letters to label your plans has nothing to do with how well they will work, it's just a joke that means he can keep trying new plans

[NileCat]

Thanks, Dustin and Jack W! I got it!
Which means, the adjective ‘big” here doesn’t refer to the size of the letters but the amount, “big numbers”, of the alphabet. That makes sense to me!
My mistake was that I misunderstood the meaning of the word “alphabet”. I thought it means the letters themselves. But it means the system as a whole here.
Thanks again!

[Ongakuka]

But it means the system as a whole here.

Well, the term 'alphabet' only ever refers to this letter system, and never individual letters, as far as I am aware. Saying the word 'alphabet' to an English speaker should create an image equivalent to that which is formed in a Japanese speaker's mind when the word 五十音表 is spoken.

[NileCat]

I feel like the scales fell from my eyes.

A,B,C....
　↑
This is a big A.
This is a big letter.
But you never call it a big alphabet.

Am I correct?

[Dustin]

I feel like the scales fell from my eyes.

A,B,C....
　↑
This is a big A.
This is a big letter.
But you never call it a big alphabet.

Am I correct?

You are correct.

Big alphabet only refers to the number of letters, in the entire alphabet, and NEVER refers to the size of a LETTER

[AJBryant]

Right.

The alphabet is EVERYTHING from A to Z, not just one letter.

[NileCat]

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,than are dreamt of in my knowledge.