--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 30 November. My dustbin has been on its…" description: "\"“30 November. My dustbin has been on its last legs for some time, and after the binmen have called this morning I find no trace of it. Never having hea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94e/alan-bennett-1922_time_30-november-my-dustbin-has-been-on-its-l_1748717.jpg" --- # 30 November. My dustbin has been on its last legs for some… ![“30 November. My dustbin has been on its last legs for some time, and after the binmen have called this morning I find no trace of it. Never having heard of tautology, the binmen have put the dustbin in the dustbin.” quote by Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94e/alan-bennett-1922_time_30-november-my-dustbin-has-been-on-its-l_1748717.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94e/alan-bennett-1922_time_30-november-my-dustbin-has-been-on-its-l_1748717.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94e/alan-bennett-1922_time_30-november-my-dustbin-has-been-on-its-l_1748717.jpg) > ““30 November. My dustbin has been on its last legs for some time, and after the binmen have called this morning I find no trace of it. Never having heard of tautology, the binmen have put the dustbin in the dustbin.”” [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A humorous observation about the absurdity of bureaucracy and language, highlighting how a simple object can become a paradoxical joke **In simple terms:** The bin is gone because the binmen put it in itself Key Takeaway Notice how language can create comedic loops Themes humor bureaucracy absurdity Mood playful ironic Type satirical observational When to use this quote - office jokes - writing satire - public services - language lessons Key Concepts paradox semantic play Questions to Reflect On - How does bureaucracy turn ordinary tasks into comedy? - What does this reveal about our relationship with language? A Different Perspective The joke relies on the audience knowing the literal meaning of “dustbin” ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dustbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dustbin/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [It wasn't until a year later, when a young woman with Danish pastries on either side of her head knelt down in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/it-wasn-t-until-a-year-later-when-a-young-woman-with-danish-pastries/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [“Create a "library" of positive thoughts & a "dustbin" for negative, if you want to kick some ass in future".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaushal-yadav/create-a-library-of-positive-thoughts-a-dustbin-for-negative-if-you/) Kaushal Yadav > [I have always had severe problems with Austrians. ... Musical, churchy, uptight... nice legs... hypocritical... authoritarian... always insist their dustbins are very clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-have-always-had-severe-problems-with-austrians-musical-churchy/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [Web standards keep you out of the dustbin of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-greenberg/web-standards-keep-you-out-of-the-dustbin-of-history/) [Joshua Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-greenberg/) > [Once journalists have been rifling through your dustbins, you do try and keep them at arms' length.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-charles/once-journalists-have-been-rifling-through-your-dustbins-you-do-try/) [Craig Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-charles/) > [Yesterday, some hooligans knocked over a dustbin in Shaftesbury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/yesterday-some-hooligans-knocked-over-a-dustbin-in-shaftesbury/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [We can't throw the worst part of racism into the dustbin of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-kamau-bell/we-can-t-throw-the-worst-part-of-racism-into-the-dustbin-of-history/) [W. Kamau Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-kamau-bell/) > [Sleep is when all the unsorted stuff comes flying out as from a dustbin upset in a high wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/sleep-is-when-all-the-unsorted-stuff-comes-flying-out-as-from-a/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [No one knows what it's like … to be a dustbin … in Shaftesbury … with hooligans …](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/no-one-knows-what-it-s-like-to-be-a-dustbin-in-shaftesbury-with/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [It's quite sad to see how many people I've known over that years that just die off, you know like wilted flowers. Well, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/it-s-quite-sad-to-see-how-many-people-i-ve-known-over-that-years-that/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [It is natural that people do not want to be involved with us too much. 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For meditation-oriented religions God is a useless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/for-a-prayer-oriented-religion-the-concept-of-a-personal-god-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“A maid’s yard, house, wardrobe, fridge, etc. sometimes also serve as her master’s dustbin or dumpsite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-maid-s-yard-house-wardrobe-fridge-etc-sometimes-also-serve-as-her/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [A friend at school was always being laughed at because his father emptied dustbins for a living. 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It's just one fucking thing after another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/how-do-i-define-history-it-s-just-one-fucking-thing-after-another/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) [Explore all 188 Alan Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## More Dustbin quotes > [It wasn't until a year later, when a young woman with Danish pastries on either side of her head knelt down in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/it-wasn-t-until-a-year-later-when-a-young-woman-with-danish-pastries/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [“A maid’s yard, house, wardrobe, fridge, etc. sometimes also serve as her master’s dustbin or dumpsite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-maid-s-yard-house-wardrobe-fridge-etc-sometimes-also-serve-as-her/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [For a prayer oriented religion the concept of a personal God is needed - to relate to. For meditation-oriented religions God is a useless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/for-a-prayer-oriented-religion-the-concept-of-a-personal-god-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [You are pitiful isolated individuals; you are bankrupts; your role is played out. Go where you belong from now on - into the dustbin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/you-are-pitiful-isolated-individuals-you-are-bankrupts-your-role-is/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [It is natural that people do not want to be involved with us too much. There is no problem down to the smallest egotistical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhard-heydrich/it-is-natural-that-people-do-not-want-to-be-involved-with-us-too-much/) Reinhard Heydrich > [It's quite sad to see how many people I've known over that years that just die off, you know like wilted flowers. Well, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/it-s-quite-sad-to-see-how-many-people-i-ve-known-over-that-years-that/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [No one knows what it's like … to be a dustbin … in Shaftesbury … with hooligans …](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/no-one-knows-what-it-s-like-to-be-a-dustbin-in-shaftesbury-with/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Sleep is when all the unsorted stuff comes flying out as from a dustbin upset in a high wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/sleep-is-when-all-the-unsorted-stuff-comes-flying-out-as-from-a/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [We can't throw the worst part of racism into the dustbin of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-kamau-bell/we-can-t-throw-the-worst-part-of-racism-into-the-dustbin-of-history/) [W. Kamau Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-kamau-bell/) > [Yesterday, some hooligans knocked over a dustbin in Shaftesbury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/yesterday-some-hooligans-knocked-over-a-dustbin-in-shaftesbury/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Once journalists have been rifling through your dustbins, you do try and keep them at arms' length.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-charles/once-journalists-have-been-rifling-through-your-dustbins-you-do-try/) [Craig Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-charles/) > [Web standards keep you out of the dustbin of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-greenberg/web-standards-keep-you-out-of-the-dustbin-of-history/) [Joshua Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-greenberg/) > [I have always had severe problems with Austrians. ... Musical, churchy, uptight... nice legs... hypocritical... authoritarian... always insist their dustbins are very clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-have-always-had-severe-problems-with-austrians-musical-churchy/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [“Create a "library" of positive thoughts & a "dustbin" for negative, if you want to kick some ass in future".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaushal-yadav/create-a-library-of-positive-thoughts-a-dustbin-for-negative-if-you/) Kaushal Yadav > [A friend at school was always being laughed at because his father emptied dustbins for a living. But those who laughed worshipped famous footballers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-icke/a-friend-at-school-was-always-being-laughed-at-because-his-father/) [David Icke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-icke/) [Browse all 28 Dustbin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dustbin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“30 November. My dustbin has been on its last legs for some time, and after the binmen have called this morning I find no trace of it. 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