--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was easy, terribly easy, to become…" description: "\"“It was easy, terribly easy, to become with time a middle-aged spinster with a sharp tongue. She would have to guard against this.”\" — Alexander McCall..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/alexander-mccall-smith-372_middle-age_it-was-easy-terribly-easy-to-become-with_3178785.png" --- # It was easy, terribly easy, to become with time a… ![“It was easy, terribly easy, to become with time a middle-aged spinster with a sharp tongue. She would have to guard against this.” quote by Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/alexander-mccall-smith-372_middle-age_it-was-easy-terribly-easy-to-become-with_3178785.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/alexander-mccall-smith-372_middle-age_it-was-easy-terribly-easy-to-become-with_3178785.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/alexander-mccall-smith-372_middle-age_it-was-easy-terribly-easy-to-become-with_3178785.png) > ““It was easy, terribly easy, to become with time a middle-aged spinster with a sharp tongue. She would have to guard against this.”” [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A woman warns that without vigilance she may drift into a solitary, bitter life as she ages. **In simple terms:** Aging can lead to loneliness and sharpness if not guarded. Key Takeaway Stay socially engaged and self‑aware. Themes loneliness aging self‑awareness relationships Mood reflective cautious Type advice literary. When to use this quote - career transition - family gatherings - community volunteering - friendship maintenance Key Concepts personal growth social connection emotional health Questions to Reflect On - How can you nurture warmth while maintaining honesty? - What habits prevent isolation in later life? A Different Perspective May overlook the value of positive relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aged Spinster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aged-spinster-5727575/) [Middle age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-age/) [Middle aged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-aged/) [Sharp tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sharp-tongue/) [Spinster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spinster/) [Spinster Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spinster-sharp-5815614/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Given her ladyship's propensity for attracting deceased persons. Like an aged spinster attracts cats.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verity-bright/given-her-ladyship-s-propensity-for-attracting-deceased-persons-like/) [Verity Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verity-bright/) > [“You have got a sharp tongue, haven't you honey? You'll have to watch it or you'll go to a lonely spinster's grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-way/you-have-got-a-sharp-tongue-haven-t-you-honey-you-ll-have-to-watch-it/) [Margaret Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-way/) > [“You’re young, and like anything new. It’s change you want. I’m middle-aged, and there’s nothing staler to me than change. Constant comfort and little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-davidson/you-re-young-and-like-anything-new-it-s-change-you-want-i-m-middle/) [John Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-davidson/) > [Of middle age the best that can be said is that a middle-aged person has likely learned how to have a little fun in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/of-middle-age-the-best-that-can-be-said-is-that-a-middle-aged-person/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [It is the fear of middle-age in the young, of old-age in the middle-aged, which is the prime cause of infidelity, that infallible rejuvenator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/it-is-the-fear-of-middle-age-in-the-young-of-old-age-in-the-middle/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [“There comes a time in one’s life, perhaps in middle age, when we stop and assess who we are, and the life we have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fennel-hudson/there-comes-a-time-in-one-s-life-perhaps-in-middle-age-when-we-stop/) [Fennel Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fennel-hudson/) > [“Like many men his age, he occupied a kind of limbo, not young enough to be the new face in the bars that everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-thomas-ford/like-many-men-his-age-he-occupied-a-kind-of-limbo-not-young-enough-to/) [Michael Thomas Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-thomas-ford/) > [I have a feeling there is no ideal situation, unless she could go back in time and be 22 again. I think some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-peet/i-have-a-feeling-there-is-no-ideal-situation-unless-she-could-go-back/) [Amanda Peet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-peet/) > [“Isn't it enough to be middle-aged and impeccably beautiful? Why must one be economically useful?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietros-maneos/isn-t-it-enough-to-be-middle-aged-and-impeccably-beautiful-why-must/) [Pietros Maneos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietros-maneos/) > [“The young have aspirations that never comes to pass,the old have reminiscences of what never happened. It's only the middle-aged who are really conscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saki/the-young-have-aspirations-that-never-comes-to-pass-the-old-have/) [Saki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saki/) > [“Lisette was born without the ability to speak, but she'd been brazen with written words as a child, substituting a sharp tongue for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/lisette-was-born-without-the-ability-to-speak-but-she-d-been-brazen/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [I have a very sharp tongue, I'm very impatient, and it's a lifelong struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-have-a-very-sharp-tongue-i-m-very-impatient-and-it-s-a-lifelong/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Having a sharp tongue with cut your throat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-a-sharp-tongue-with-cut-your-throat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If your blade were as sharp as your tongue, you'd have sliced my through years ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-goros/if-your-blade-were-as-sharp-as-your-tongue-you-d-have-sliced-my/) [Erica Goros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-goros/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) ## More by Alexander McCall Smith > [“old-fashioned, gentle Scottish physician, unmoved by the considerations of profit and personal gain that could so disfigure medicine. That doctors should consider themselves businessmen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/old-fashioned-gentle-scottish-physician-unmoved-by-the-considerations/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“She had not made a lot of money, but she had not made a loss, and she had been happy and entertained. That counted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/she-had-not-made-a-lot-of-money-but-she-had-not-made-a-loss-and-she/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [And that, in a way, was the burden of being a philosopher: one knew what one had to do, but it was so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-that-in-a-way-was-the-burden-of-being-a-philosopher-one-knew-what/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“To use strong language, she thought, was a sign of bad temper and lack of concern for others. Such people were not clever or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/to-use-strong-language-she-thought-was-a-sign-of-bad-temper-and-lack/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Men are very sensitive, Mma Makutsi. You would not always think it to look at them, but they are. They do not like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/men-are-very-sensitive-mma-makutsi-you-would-not-always-think-it-to/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“He is a good man, but even a good man can fall for a glamorous woman. That is well known.” “That is very well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/he-is-a-good-man-but-even-a-good-man-can-fall-for-a-glamorous-woman/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“And then the second thing you have to do is go and see your son. That is a duty of love, Andrew. It's as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-then-the-second-thing-you-have-to-do-is-go-and-see-your-son-that/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Because laughs never die away entirely,” said Jamie. “At least, if you believe in Marconi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/because-laughs-never-die-away-entirely-said-jamie-at-least-if-you/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“The trouble with having a conscience, she said to herself, is that it never sleeps.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/the-trouble-with-having-a-conscience-she-said-to-herself-is-that-it/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“And if there's bad behaviour," Mma Potokwane went on. "If there's bad behaviour, the quickest way of stopping it is to give more love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-if-there-s-bad-behaviour-mma-potokwane-went-on-if-there-s-bad/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“We never realise how transparent we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/we-never-realise-how-transparent-we-are/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Has he not got a wife back wherever he comes from? Is there no wife to say, ‘You must not go off and visit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/has-he-not-got-a-wife-back-wherever-he-comes-from-is-there-no-wife-to/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“He looked at her in the darkness, at this woman who was everything to him-mother, Africa, wisdom, understanding, good things to eat, pumpkins, chicken,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/he-looked-at-her-in-the-darkness-at-this-woman-who-was-everything-to/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“It is because you are generous in spirit; and may I be like that; may I become like you—which unrealistic wish, to become the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/it-is-because-you-are-generous-in-spirit-and-may-i-be-like-that-may-i/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni,” she asked, “do you think that our souls grow as we get older?” He did not answer immediately, but when he did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/mr-j-l-b-matekoni-she-asked-do-you-think-that-our-souls-grow-as-we/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) [Explore all 628 Alexander McCall Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) ## More Middle age quotes > [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [None of my own experiences ever finds its way into my work. However, the stages of my life - motherhood, middle age, etc. -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/none-of-my-own-experiences-ever-finds-its-way-into-my-work-however/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [As a precocious teen I dreamed of being Graham Greene. Well, as it turned out, I never wrote a great novel, sadly, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-burchill/as-a-precocious-teen-i-dreamed-of-being-graham-greene-well-as-it/) [Julie Burchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-burchill/) > [“No matter how you tell yourself It's what we all go through Those lines are pretty hard to take When they're staring back at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/no-matter-how-you-tell-yourself-it-s-what-we-all-go-through-those/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) > [“They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/they-are-not-brave-the-days-when-we-are-twenty-one-they-are-full-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [What folly made young people, even those in middle age, think they were immortal? How much better, their lives, if they could remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-folly-made-young-people-even-those-in-middle-age-think-they-were/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [A man's diary is a record in youth of his sentiments, in middle age of his actions, in old age of his reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/a-man-s-diary-is-a-record-in-youth-of-his-sentiments-in-middle-age-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [“Marriage can be made to work if both the partners can see beyond themselves and understand the limitations,needs and abilities of the other person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chitralekha-paul/marriage-can-be-made-to-work-if-both-the-partners-can-see-beyond/) [Chitralekha Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chitralekha-paul/) > [“When a man gets to middle age shouldn’t he look for a peaceful and stable existence, find a not-too-demanding sort of a job, stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/when-a-man-gets-to-middle-age-shouldn-t-he-look-for-a-peaceful-and/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [“It's that in between time Nothing really growing And nothing really dying”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-l-ratliff/it-s-that-in-between-time-nothing-really-growing-and-nothing-really/) [Richard L. Ratliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-l-ratliff/) > [After sixty, the self-questioning of middle age is obsolete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/after-sixty-the-self-questioning-of-middle-age-is-obsolete/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Middle Age is that perplexing time of life when we hear two voices calling us, one saying, 'Why not?' and the other, 'Why bother?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/middle-age-is-that-perplexing-time-of-life-when-we-hear-two-voices/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [“In good truth he had started in London with some vague idea that as his life in it would not be of long continuance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-riddell/in-good-truth-he-had-started-in-london-with-some-vague-idea-that-as/) [Charlotte Riddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-riddell/) > [“Senescence begins And middle-age ends The day your descendants Outnumber your friends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/senescence-begins-and-middle-age-ends-the-day-your-descendants/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [The world is always full of brilliant youth which fades into grey and embittered middle age: the first flowering takes everything. The great men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-world-is-always-full-of-brilliant-youth-which-fades-into-grey-and/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) [Browse all 394 Middle age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was easy, terribly easy, to become with time a middle-aged spinster with a sharp tongue. 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