--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: British conversation is like a game of…" description: "\"British conversation is like a game of cricket or a boxing match; personal allusions are forbidden like hitting below the belt, and anyone who loses hi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b6/andre-maurois-3217_allusion_british-conversation-is-like-a-game-of-c_1763565.jpg" --- # British conversation is like a game of cricket or a boxing… ![“British conversation is like a game of cricket or a boxing match; personal allusions are forbidden like hitting below the belt, and anyone who loses his temper is disqualified.” quote by Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b6/andre-maurois-3217_allusion_british-conversation-is-like-a-game-of-c_1763565.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b6/andre-maurois-3217_allusion_british-conversation-is-like-a-game-of-c_1763565.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b6/andre-maurois-3217_allusion_british-conversation-is-like-a-game-of-c_1763565.jpg) > “British conversation is like a game of cricket or a boxing match; personal allusions are forbidden like hitting below the belt, and anyone who loses his temper is disqualified.” [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He compares British conversation to a polite sport where personal attacks are taboo and losing composure leads to exclusion. **In simple terms:** Conversation is a courteous game with strict etiquette. Key Takeaway Maintain decorum and avoid personal attacks. Themes etiquette communication culture Mood wry observational Type cultural insightful When to use this quote - formal meetings - dinner parties - media interviews - online forums Key Concepts social norms conflict avoidance Questions to Reflect On - When does politeness become insincere? - How can you express truth without breaking etiquette? A Different Perspective Such strict rules can stifle honesty and depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allusion/) [Boxing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxing/) [Boxing matches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxing-matches/) [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Cricket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cricket/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Temper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temper/) ## Related quotes > [When I had a boxing match, all I wanted to do was put the guy on his back. That's why I chose to chase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-hecht/when-i-had-a-boxing-match-all-i-wanted-to-do-was-put-the-guy-on-his/) [Jake Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-hecht/) > [New York's like a boxing match. In Hollywood, it's like a Fellini movie or something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/new-york-s-like-a-boxing-match-in-hollywood-it-s-like-a-fellini-movie/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [That's right, Mitt Romney took on Evander Holyfield in a boxing match for charity, and it was a pretty one-sided fight. But it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/that-s-right-mitt-romney-took-on-evander-holyfield-in-a-boxing-match/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [In a boxing match, the fighters absorb some vicious blows because they’re ready for them. And usually, the knockout punch is the one they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/in-a-boxing-match-the-fighters-absorb-some-vicious-blows-because-they/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [If you're in a boxing match, try not to let the other guy's glove touch your lips, because you don't know where that glove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/if-you-re-in-a-boxing-match-try-not-to-let-the-other-guy-s-glove/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [People are hurt in love affairs and never recover, more than a boxing match.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/people-are-hurt-in-love-affairs-and-never-recover-more-than-a-boxing/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [A boxing match is like a cowboy movie. There's got to be good guys and there's got to be bad guys. And that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonny-liston/a-boxing-match-is-like-a-cowboy-movie-there-s-got-to-be-good-guys-and/) [Sonny Liston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonny-liston/) > [Mitt Romney announced he will fight former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield in a charity boxing match. You can tell that Romney is serious about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/mitt-romney-announced-he-will-fight-former-heavyweight-champion/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [Fighting is dancing. Look at a great boxing match, and it's a dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lyons/fighting-is-dancing-look-at-a-great-boxing-match-and-it-s-a-dancing/) [David Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lyons/) > [I saw on HBO they were advertising a boxing match "It's a fight to the finish". That's a good place to end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-saw-on-hbo-they-were-advertising-a-boxing-match-it-s-a-fight-to-the/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I never boxed until 17 and a half, I was in the Olympics at 19, and I was world champion when I was 20.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fenech/i-never-boxed-until-17-and-a-half-i-was-in-the-olympics-at-19-and-i/) Jeff Fenech > [As a child, I was into cricket and boxing in school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rana-daggubati/as-a-child-i-was-into-cricket-and-boxing-in-school/) [Rana Daggubati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rana-daggubati/) > [The Queen rarely loses her temper, but when she does, she brooks no argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-seward/the-queen-rarely-loses-her-temper-but-when-she-does-she-brooks-no/) [Ingrid Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-seward/) > [It may, indeed, be assumed that a man who loses his temper while he is speaking is endeavouring to speak the truth such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/it-may-indeed-be-assumed-that-a-man-who-loses-his-temper-while-he-is/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [I'm a stubborn guy that loses his temper, sometimes driving the station wagon in the wrong direction for hours and hours and never admitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-berninger/i-m-a-stubborn-guy-that-loses-his-temper-sometimes-driving-the/) [Matt Berninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-berninger/) ## More by Andre Maurois > [Style is the outcome of constraint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/style-is-the-outcome-of-constraint/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [To reason with poorly chosen words is like using a pair of scales with inaccurate weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/to-reason-with-poorly-chosen-words-is-like-using-a-pair-of-scales/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [No one can be profoundly original who does not avoid eccentricity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/no-one-can-be-profoundly-original-who-does-not-avoid-eccentricity/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [It is not events and the things one sees and enjoys that produce happiness, but a state of mind which can endow events with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/it-is-not-events-and-the-things-one-sees-and-enjoys-that-produce/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [One has very little influence upon one's children. Their characters are what they are and one can do nothing to change them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/one-has-very-little-influence-upon-one-s-children-their-characters/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [The art of growing old is the art of being regarded by the oncoming generations as a support and not as a stumbling-block...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/the-art-of-growing-old-is-the-art-of-being-regarded-by-the-oncoming/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [“O mare dragoste nu este de ajuns pentru a lega de tine fiinta pe care o iubesti, daca nu te pricepi sa umpli viata…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/o-mare-dragoste-nu-este-de-ajuns-pentru-a-lega-de-tine-fiinta-pe-care/) [André Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [Sincerity is glass, discretion is diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/sincerity-is-glass-discretion-is-diamond/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [“Old age is far more than white hair, wrinkles, the feeling that it is too late and the game is finished, that the stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/old-age-is-far-more-than-white-hair-wrinkles-the-feeling-that-it-is/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [It is often said that in prosperity we have many friends, but that we are usually neglected when things go badly. I disagree. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/it-is-often-said-that-in-prosperity-we-have-many-friends-but-that-we/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [Modesty and unselfishness - these are the virtues which men praise - and pass by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/modesty-and-unselfishness-these-are-the-virtues-which-men-praise-and/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [Inspiration in matters of taste will not come twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/inspiration-in-matters-of-taste-will-not-come-twice/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [The reading of a fine book is an uninterrupted dialogue in which the book speaks and our soul replies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/the-reading-of-a-fine-book-is-an-uninterrupted-dialogue-in-which-the/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [“Doua fiinte umane ancorate una langa cealalta sunt ca doua corabii leganate de valuri; cocile lor se ciocnesc si gem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/doua-fiinte-umane-ancorate-una-langa-cealalta-sunt-ca-doua-corabii/) [André Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [Among the idle rich, boredom is one of the most common causes of unhappiness. People who have difficulty in earning their living may suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/among-the-idle-rich-boredom-is-one-of-the-most-common-causes-of/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) [Explore all 128 Andre Maurois quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) ## More Allusion quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [Political journalists love graduate student intelligence, the ability to make clever allusions in seminars, and in 1999-2000 they hassled George W. Bush for not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/political-journalists-love-graduate-student-intelligence-the-ability/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [Hip-hop is rich in musical allusion. It takes something that already existed, respects it, and reuses it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-flay/hip-hop-is-rich-in-musical-allusion-it-takes-something-that-already/) [K. Flay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-flay/) > [“So,' I said, partly to Magda, partly to myself, 'Rema left Argentina with this An-a-to-le person.' I adopted the four-syllable pronunciation with confidence, feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rivka-galchen/so-i-said-partly-to-magda-partly-to-myself-rema-left-argentina-with/) [Rivka Galchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rivka-galchen/) > [He was extremely reticent in his religious sentiments, at least in all that he wrote. Allusions to his belief are rarely, if ever, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-coit-gilman/he-was-extremely-reticent-in-his-religious-sentiments-at-least-in-all/) Daniel Coit Gilman > [Conversation! Supple sentences, with first and second meanings and overtones beyond, outrageous challenges with cleverly planned slip-points, rebuttals of elegant brevity; deceptions and guiles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/conversation-supple-sentences-with-first-and-second-meanings-and/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“She crossed her legs and kicked out her feet, clad in thick wool socks and boots big enough to house a little old lady.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-magary/she-crossed-her-legs-and-kicked-out-her-feet-clad-in-thick-wool-socks/) [Drew Magary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-magary/) > [Fine declamation does not consist in flowery periods, delicate allusions of musical cadences, but in a plain, open, loose style, where the periods are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/fine-declamation-does-not-consist-in-flowery-periods-delicate/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Words make a world of difference. Over time, they become charged with inference and allusion and, deployed effectively, they have the power to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ephraim-mirvis/words-make-a-world-of-difference-over-time-they-become-charged-with/) [Ephraim Mirvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ephraim-mirvis/) > [The classical allusions and the Platonic disquisitions on beauty are no longer a form of cover, but integral to Aschenbach's complex sexuality. Moreover, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/the-classical-allusions-and-the-platonic-disquisitions-on-beauty-are/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [If I am allowed to give a metaphorical allusion to the future state of the blessed, I should imagine it by the orange-grove in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/if-i-am-allowed-to-give-a-metaphorical-allusion-to-the-future-state/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [I am seventy years old, a gray age weighted with uncompromising biblical allusions. It ought to have a gray outlook, but it hasn't, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/i-am-seventy-years-old-a-gray-age-weighted-with-uncompromising/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [When I die Bookchinism comes to an end, and all the allusions to it both among Marxists and anarchists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/when-i-die-bookchinism-comes-to-an-end-and-all-the-allusions-to-it/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [“Danny strolled to the town common, sat on one of the benches in Teenytown and took one of the bottles out of the bag,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/danny-strolled-to-the-town-common-sat-on-one-of-the-benches-in/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Children have no use for psychology. They detest sociology. They still believe in God, the family, angels, devils, witches, goblins, logic, clarity, punctuation, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/children-have-no-use-for-psychology-they-detest-sociology-they-still/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) [Browse all 70 Allusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allusion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "British conversation is like a game of cricket or a boxing match; personal allusions are forbidden like hitting below the belt, and anyone who loses his temper is disqualified.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andre Maurois" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/british-conversation-is-like-a-game-of-cricket-or-a-boxing-match/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Allusion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/british-conversation-is-like-a-game-of-cricket-or-a-boxing-match/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b6/andre-maurois-3217_allusion_british-conversation-is-like-a-game-of-c_1763565.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b6/andre-maurois-3217_allusion_british-conversation-is-like-a-game-of-c_1763565.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b6/andre-maurois-3217_allusion_british-conversation-is-like-a-game-of-c_1763565.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“British conversation is like a game of cricket or a boxing match; personal allusions are forbidden like…” — Andre Maurois", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andre Maurois", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "British conversation is like a game...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/british-conversation-is-like-a-game-of-cricket-or-a-boxing-match/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/british-conversation-is-like-a-game-of-cricket-or-a-boxing-match/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```