I turned on the pillow with a little moan, and at this juncture Jeeves entered with the vital oolong. I clutched at it like a drowning man at a straw hat.
P. G. WodehouseRead
It was one of the dullest speeches I ever heard. The Agee woman told us for three quarters of an hour how she came to write her beastly book, when a simple apology was all that was required.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote humorously criticizes a lengthy explanation that overshadowed a simple need for an apology.
In this quote, P.G. Wodehouse highlights the absurdity of over-explaining situations that require straightforward communication. The speaker's frustration with a long-winded explanation about a book, when a simple apology would suffice, exemplifies how communication can often become unnecessarily convoluted, leading to boredom and irritation.
Themes
CommunicationHumorApologyCritiqueSimplicity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about effective communication, you might use this quote to illustrate the importance of brevity.
More from P. G. Wodehouse
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Memories are like mulligatawny soup in a cheap restaurant. It is wiser not to stir them.
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