--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fumbling for a word is everybody's…" description: "\"Fumbling for a word is everybody's birthright.\" — Anthony Burgess" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/anthony-burgess-1167_birthright_fumbling-for-a-word-is-everybody-s-birth_2460203.jpg" --- # Fumbling for a word is everybody's birthright. ![“Fumbling for a word is everybody's birthright.” quote by Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/anthony-burgess-1167_birthright_fumbling-for-a-word-is-everybody-s-birth_2460203.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/anthony-burgess-1167_birthright_fumbling-for-a-word-is-everybody-s-birth_2460203.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/anthony-burgess-1167_birthright_fumbling-for-a-word-is-everybody-s-birth_2460203.jpg) > “Fumbling for a word is everybody's birthright.” [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote humorously suggests that everyone is prone to stumbling over words, a universal human flaw. **In simple terms:** Everyone struggles to find the right words. Key Takeaway Accept occasional verbal slips. Themes communication humor human nature Mood lighthearted self‑deprecating Type observational humorous When to use this quote - public speaking - teaching - writing - casual conversation Key Concepts linguistics social anxiety Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle moments when you can't find a word? - Do you think this is a sign of deeper insecurity? A Different Perspective May overlook deeper communication issues beyond word choice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birthright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthright/) [Everybody Birthright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everybody-birthright-647144/) [Fumbling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fumbling-497099/) [Fumbling Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fumbling-word-647146/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Word Everybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word-everybody-647145/) ## Related quotes > [We're fumbling in the dark, but at least we're in motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/we-re-fumbling-in-the-dark-but-at-least-we-re-in-motion/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [But I'm not any better at relationships than you are. We'll find our way together, even if we're fumbling around in the dark for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/but-i-m-not-any-better-at-relationships-than-you-are-we-ll-find-our/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [I love fumbling around on the guitar, I love being present with people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-morgan/i-love-fumbling-around-on-the-guitar-i-love-being-present-with-people/) [Rob Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-morgan/) > [People who know me know that I am very clumsy, always fumbling, and I talk rubbish most of the times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/people-who-know-me-know-that-i-am-very-clumsy-always-fumbling-and-i/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [Perhaps creativity is fumbling that dance step, or driving the chisel the wrong way into the stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/perhaps-creativity-is-fumbling-that-dance-step-or-driving-the-chisel/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [If you fumble, you can't play. I know that, man - ever since pee wee. If you're fumbling, you're not going to play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ingram-ii/if-you-fumble-you-can-t-play-i-know-that-man-ever-since-pee-wee-if/) [Mark Ingram II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ingram-ii/) > [There was I, devouring books and yet allowing a man who had never read a book to walk me home for a bit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/there-was-i-devouring-books-and-yet-allowing-a-man-who-had-never-read/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [The moment is never perfect. It's like that right now - in my head I'm being super lucid, but you never are. You're always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/the-moment-is-never-perfect-it-s-like-that-right-now-in-my-head-i-m/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) > [“fumbling around like a bear cub playing with his dick”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl/fumbling-around-like-a-bear-cub-playing-with-his-dick/) [Karl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl/) > [“fumbling up her”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/fumbling-up-her/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“A man who serves language, however imperfectly, should always serve truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-man-who-serves-language-however-imperfectly-should-always-serve/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“You're not like other Wasps." "Aren't I?" Aagen smiled, but it was a painful smile. "No doubt you've killed my kinsmen by the score."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-tchaikovsky/you-re-not-like-other-wasps-aren-t-i-aagen-smiled-but-it-was-a/) [Adrian Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-tchaikovsky/) > [Now, we are agreed, I and my destinies. The total world, Above, below, whate'er is seen or known, And all that men, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hartley-coleridge/now-we-are-agreed-i-and-my-destinies-the-total-world-above-below/) [Hartley Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hartley-coleridge/) > [It is your birthright to live a life abundant in love. Make the commitment today to open your heart and let your love flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/it-is-your-birthright-to-live-a-life-abundant-in-love-make-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [“Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value. Let your first interest be in your home. The baby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/do-not-trade-your-birthright-as-a-mother-for-some-bauble-of-passing/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) ## More by Anthony Burgess > [If you expect the worst from a person you can never be disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/if-you-expect-the-worst-from-a-person-you-can-never-be-disappointed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Life is a wretched gray Saturday, but it has to be lived through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/life-is-a-wretched-gray-saturday-but-it-has-to-be-lived-through/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A novelist should not be too intelligent either, although... he may be permitted to be an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-novelist-should-not-be-too-intelligent-either-although-he-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“A man who serves language, however imperfectly, should always serve truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-man-who-serves-language-however-imperfectly-should-always-serve/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [All human life is here, but the Holy Ghost seems to be somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/all-human-life-is-here-but-the-holy-ghost-seems-to-be-somewhere-else/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Rome's just a city like anywhere else. A vastly overrated city, I'd say. It trades on belief just as Stratford trades on Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/rome-s-just-a-city-like-anywhere-else-a-vastly-overrated-city-i-d-say/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The important thing is moral choice. Evil has to exist along with good, in order that moral choice may operate. Life is sustained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-important-thing-is-moral-choice-evil-has-to-exist-along-with-good/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Civilised my syphilised yarbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/civilised-my-syphilised-yarbles/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The downtrodden are the great creators of slang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-downtrodden-are-the-great-creators-of-slang/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Without class differences, England would cease to be the living theatre it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/without-class-differences-england-would-cease-to-be-the-living/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The ideal reader of my novels is a lapsed Catholic and failed musician, short-sighted, colour-blind, auditorily biased, who has read the books that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-ideal-reader-of-my-novels-is-a-lapsed-catholic-and-failed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [... A CLOCKWORK ORANGE- and I said: 'That's a fair gloopy title. Who ever heard of a clockwork orange?' Then I read a malenky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-clockwork-orange-and-i-said-that-s-a-fair-gloopy-title-who-ever/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A work of fiction should be, for its author, a journey into the unknown, and the prose should convey the difficulties of the journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-work-of-fiction-should-be-for-its-author-a-journey-into-the-unknown/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? If lewdies are good that's because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/they-don-t-go-into-what-is-the-cause-of-goodness-so-why-of-the-other/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“By definition, a human being is endowed with free will. He can use this to choose between good and evil. If he can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/by-definition-a-human-being-is-endowed-with-free-will-he-can-use-this/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) [Explore all 261 Anthony Burgess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## More Birthright quotes > [“Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value. Let your first interest be in your home. The baby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/do-not-trade-your-birthright-as-a-mother-for-some-bauble-of-passing/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [It is your birthright to live a life abundant in love. Make the commitment today to open your heart and let your love flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/it-is-your-birthright-to-live-a-life-abundant-in-love-make-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [Now, we are agreed, I and my destinies. The total world, Above, below, whate'er is seen or known, And all that men, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hartley-coleridge/now-we-are-agreed-i-and-my-destinies-the-total-world-above-below/) [Hartley Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hartley-coleridge/) > [“You're not like other Wasps." "Aren't I?" Aagen smiled, but it was a painful smile. "No doubt you've killed my kinsmen by the score."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-tchaikovsky/you-re-not-like-other-wasps-aren-t-i-aagen-smiled-but-it-was-a/) [Adrian Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-tchaikovsky/) > [I believe that many lives around us now can reflect this strange pattern of migration and movement. The question is: are we aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-dawes/i-believe-that-many-lives-around-us-now-can-reflect-this-strange/) [Kwame Dawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-dawes/) > [We often block our own blessings because we don't feel inherently good enough or smart enough or pretty enough or worthy enough... You're worthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/we-often-block-our-own-blessings-because-we-don-t-feel-inherently/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Congress decides who becomes a citizen and how. To automatically say the 14th Amendment grants birthright citizenship, no, we can't change that. Amending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/congress-decides-who-becomes-a-citizen-and-how-to-automatically-say/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [None of us is born thinking we are ordinary. Feeling special is an essential part of the human birthright. If you don't think you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shmuley-boteach/none-of-us-is-born-thinking-we-are-ordinary-feeling-special-is-an/) [Shmuley Boteach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shmuley-boteach/) > [It's like a woman's birthright to knit. It's primal. It's timeless. You don't need electricity to knit. You can do it with a candle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-ullman/it-s-like-a-woman-s-birthright-to-knit-it-s-primal-it-s-timeless-you/) [Tracey Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-ullman/) > [Flourishing is everyone's birthright. I'm trying to break this hold that being smiley and cheery has on what people think the good life is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jurvetson/flourishing-is-everyone-s-birthright-i-m-trying-to-break-this-hold/) [Steve Jurvetson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jurvetson/) > [People shouldn't think that something is their birthright. They need to prove themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janhvi-kapoor/people-shouldn-t-think-that-something-is-their-birthright-they-need/) [Janhvi Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janhvi-kapoor/) > [It is your birthright to discover your sacred contract. It will guide you to find your divine destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/it-is-your-birthright-to-discover-your-sacred-contract-it-will-guide/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [Freedom is the alone unoriginated birthright of man, and belongs to him by force of his humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-is-the-alone-unoriginated-birthright-of-man-and-belongs-to/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [The Society is based on that great bottom law of human right, that nothing but crime can forfeit liberty. That no condition of birth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dwight-weld/the-society-is-based-on-that-great-bottom-law-of-human-right-that/) [Theodore Dwight Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dwight-weld/) > [We have sold our birthright of freedom and justice for a mess of national security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/we-have-sold-our-birthright-of-freedom-and-justice-for-a-mess-of/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) [Browse all 263 Birthright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthright/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fumbling for a word is everybody's birthright.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Burgess" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/fumbling-for-a-word-is-everybody-s-birthright/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birthright" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/fumbling-for-a-word-is-everybody-s-birthright/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/anthony-burgess-1167_birthright_fumbling-for-a-word-is-everybody-s-birth_2460203.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/anthony-burgess-1167_birthright_fumbling-for-a-word-is-everybody-s-birth_2460203.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/288/anthony-burgess-1167_birthright_fumbling-for-a-word-is-everybody-s-birth_2460203.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fumbling for a word is everybody's birthright.” — Anthony Burgess", "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": "Anthony Burgess", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fumbling for a word is everybody's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/fumbling-for-a-word-is-everybody-s-birthright/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/fumbling-for-a-word-is-everybody-s-birthright/#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 } } ] } ```