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I used to smoke marijuana. But I'll tell you something: I would only smoke it in the late evening. Oh, occasionally the early evening, but usually the late evening - or the mid-evening. Just the early evening, midevening and late evening. Occasionally, early afternoon, early mid-afternoon, or perhaps the late-midafternoon. Oh, sometimes the early-mid-late-early morning. . . But never at dusk. Never at dusk.

Steve Martin#12

HumorHabitStoryTime

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker humorously emphasizes a specific habit of smoking marijuana at various evening times while absurdly excluding dusk.
In plain terms
I smoked weed at almost every time of the evening except dusk.
What can you take from it?
Specific habits often have odd, arbitrary exceptions.

Where it applies

  • comedy routine
  • personal confession
  • storytelling

Putting it to work

  • recognizing quirks
  • using specificity for humor

Questions to consider

  • What odd exceptions do you have to habits?
  • Why is dusk excluded?

Another view

The joke relies on repetition which may not land for everyone.

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