There's life for you. Spend the best years of your life studying penmanship and rhetoric and syntax and Beowulf and George Eliot, and then somebody steals your pencil.
Dorothy ParkerRead
The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of preparing oneself mentally and verbally for the day ahead.
Dorothy Parker's quote highlights a morning routine that signifies both physical and mental preparation. Brushing one's teeth symbolizes self-care and readiness, while sharpening the tongue suggests a preparation of wit and communication skills, essential for effective interaction throughout the day. It implies that just as we care for our physical health, we should also cultivate our ability to speak thoughtfully and cleverly.
Themes
Morning RoutineCommunicationPreparationSelf-CareWit
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about daily routines, one could reference this quote to emphasize mental readiness.
More from Dorothy Parker
All quotes βMy land is bare of chattering folk; / the clouds are low along the ridges, / and sweet's the air with curly smoke / from all my burning bridges.
Dorothy ParkerRead
Prince or commoner, tenor or bass, Painter or plumber or never-do-well, Do me a favor and shut your face - Poets alone should kiss and tell.
Dorothy ParkerRead
They say of me, and so they should, It's doubtful if I come to good. I see acquaintances and friends Accumulating dividends And making enviable names In science, art and parlor games. But I, despite expert advice, Keep doing things I think are nice, And though to good I never come Inseparable my nose and thumb.
Dorothy ParkerRead
It is that word 'hunny,' my darlings, that marks the first place in The House at Pooh Corner at which Tonstant Weader fwowed up.
Dorothy ParkerRead
I canβt write five words but that I change seven.
Dorothy ParkerRead
Similar quotes
On matters beyond his ken a gentleman speaks with caution. If names are not right, words are misused. When words are misused, affairs go wrong. When affairs go wrong, courtesy and music droop, law and justice fail. And when law and justice fail them, a people can move neither hand nor foot. So a gentleman must be ready to put names in speech, to put words into deeds. A gentleman is nowise careless of words.
ConfuciusRead
It is more difficult to rule yourself than to rule a city.
Jordan PetersonRead
Do you prefer that you be right or happy?
Norman CousinsRead
Hurting a man in his dignity is a crime.
Dale CarnegieRead
Your past is important but it is not nearly as important to your present as the way you see your future.
Tony CampoloRead
As long as you keep one foot in the real world while the other foot's in a fairy tale, that fairy tale is going to seem kind of attainable.
Aaron SorkinRead