Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker uses a double negative to say they disagree, making the point harder to read.
In plain terms
I disagree with you.
What can you take from it?
Confusing language can soften a disagreement.

Where it applies

  • debates
  • negotiations
  • diplomacy

Putting it to work

  • softening blows
  • avoiding conflict
  • verbal games

Questions to consider

  • Does indirectness help communication?
  • Why do we avoid directness?

Another view

It reduces clarity and can annoy listeners.

More from Groucho Marx

  1. Ever since they found out that Lassie was a boy, the public has believed the worst about Hollywood.

    Permalink to quote #66
  2. I chased a girl for two years only to discover that her tastes were exactly like mine: We were both crazy about girls.

    Permalink to quote #68
  3. Eventually I smoked Havanas. A cigar makers' organization once said that I was the most famous cigar smoker in the world. I don't know if that's true, but once…

    Permalink to quote #65

Related quotes

  1. 'Fuck you.'

    Paul WolfowitzPaul Wolfowitz quote #7
  2. Words calculated to catch everyone may catch no one.

    Adlai StevensonAdlai Stevenson quote #8
  3. Poetry is a double-edged sword. You learn to use language at its most intense - but this is far too intense for prose fiction. I've been teaching myself to pro…

    John ScottJohn Scott quote #9