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About this quote

What does it mean?
He had a satisfied look of someone who never succeeded in boring himself.
In plain terms
His expression showed he never managed to be bored.
What can you take from it?
A satisfied demeanor often means an engaged mind.

Where it applies

  • character description
  • psychology

Putting it to work

  • observing body language
  • inferring inner states

Questions to consider

  • What cues tell you someone is truly engaged?
  • Can a satisfied look ever be a mask?

Another view

Looks can be misleading; satisfaction may hide discontent.

More from Peter Ackroyd

  1. The English can laugh and at the same time strike you down, without the least compunction. It is the secret of their success as a nation.

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  2. One can forgive Shakespeare anything, except one's own bad lines.

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  3. What captivity has been to the Jews, exile has been to the Irish. For us, the romance of our native land begins only after we have left home; it is really only…

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