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About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker is searching for a lost buttonhole, treating it like a significant object.
In plain terms
I lost something small and am looking for it.
What can you take from it?
Small losses can feel like major events.

Where it applies

  • noting minor inconveniences
  • describing a scene

Putting it to work

  • storytelling
  • observational humor

Questions to consider

  • What small loss bothers you?
  • How do you handle minor setbacks?

Another view

It is a fragment without deep meaning beyond the immediate action.

More from Steven Wright

  1. I invented the cordless extension cord.

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  2. I know a man who is a midget dwarf, he's this tall. [holding his thumb and forefinger three inches apart] He poses for trophies.

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  3. I installed a skylight in my apartment. The people who live above me are furious!

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