QuoteProject
I think it's IMPOSSIBLE for anyone famous to come from here, because everyone around here is insane.
Terry Pratchett
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote humorously suggests that insanity is a common trait among people from a particular place, making the idea of fame seem improbable.

Terry Pratchett's quote playfully reflects on the eccentricities of his surroundings, implying that the unique and bizarre characteristics of the individuals in a given place make it unlikely for anyone to achieve fame. It underscores the notion that societal norms and expectations can heavily influence one's path to success, and that sometimes, the very traits that might seem like hindrances could also be integral to one's identity and creativity.

Themes

FameInsanityHumorEccentricitySuccess

In practice

Example use cases

Using this quote to break the ice in a humorous speech about local talent.

More from Terry Pratchett

And then Jack chopped down what was the world's last beanstalk, adding murder and ecological terrorism to the theft, enticement, and trespass charges already mentioned, and all the giant's children didn't have a daddy anymore. But he got away with it and lived happily ever after, without so much as a guilty twinge about what he had done...which proves that you can be excused for just about anything if you are a hero, because no one asks inconvenient questions.
Terry PratchettRead
They've got something they do it with, I think it's called a mocracy, and it means everyone in the whole country can say who the new Tyrant is. One man ... one vet. ... Everyone has ... the vet. Except for women, of course. And children. And criminals. And slaves. And stupid people. And people of foreign extraction. And people disapproved of for, er, various reasons. And lots of other people. But everyone apart from them. It's a very enlightened civilization.
Terry PratchettRead
Geography is just physics slowed down, with a couple of trees stuck in it.
Terry PratchettRead
You can't trample infidels when you're a tortoise. I mean, all you could do is give them a meaningful look.
Terry PratchettRead
Any fool could be a witch with a runic knife, but it took skill to be one with an apple corer.
Terry PratchettRead
People look down on stuff like geography and meteorology, and not only because they're standing on one and being soaked by the other. They don't look quite like real science. But geography is only physics slowed down and with a few trees stuck on it, and meteorology is full of excitingly fashionable chaos and complexity. And summer isn't a time. It's a place as well. Summer is a moving creature and likes to go south for the winter.
Terry PratchettRead

Similar quotes

I would like to take you seriously, but to do so would be an affront to your intelligence.
George Bernard ShawRead
If you wanted nothing done at all, Balfour was the man for the job.
Winston ChurchillRead
I’d rather have the thieves than the neighbors - the thieves don't impose. Thieves just want your things, neighbors want your time.
Larry DavidRead
My final word, before I'm done, Is "Cancer can be rather fun"- Provided one confronts the tumour with a sufficient sense of humour. I know that cancer often kills, But so do cars and sleeping pills; And it can hurt till one sweats, So can bad teeth and unpaid debts. A spot of laughter, I am sure, Often accelerates one's cure; So let us patients do our bit To help the surgeons make us fit.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
Imagine people calling you to find out if you're dead. I've led a real crazy life at times, and I've had many strange things happen to me, but that was one of the strangest.
Richard PryorRead
Chico: "Here's the book, it's a dollar" Groucho: "Here's a ten, and shoot the change." Chico: "I don't have change I'd have to give you nine more books.
Groucho MarxRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.