--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A very, terribly long time ago, before…" description: "\"“A very, terribly long time ago, before such things as television and good table manners or even children, ferocious monsters roamed a younger, angrier..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce6/berkeley-breathed-14641_long-time_a-very-terribly-long-time-ago-before-suc_1571905.png" --- # A very, terribly long time ago, before such things as… ![“A very, terribly long time ago, before such things as television and good table manners or even children, ferocious monsters roamed a younger, angrier world.” quote by Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce6/berkeley-breathed-14641_long-time_a-very-terribly-long-time-ago-before-suc_1571905.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce6/berkeley-breathed-14641_long-time_a-very-terribly-long-time-ago-before-suc_1571905.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce6/berkeley-breathed-14641_long-time_a-very-terribly-long-time-ago-before-suc_1571905.png) > ““A very, terribly long time ago, before such things as television and good table manners or even children, ferocious monsters roamed a younger, angrier world.”” [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator humorously recalls a prehistoric era filled with wild monsters before modern comforts existed. **In simple terms:** Ancient world was chaotic and dangerous. Key Takeaway Remember that modern life is a recent development. Themes history humor nostalgia civilization Mood playful thoughtful Type comic satire When to use this quote - education - storytelling - entertainment - cultural reflection Key Concepts mythic past human progress Questions to Reflect On - What comforts do we take for granted? - How does this perspective affect our view of progress? A Different Perspective Romanticizing the past can ignore real hardships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Table manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/table-manners/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Pretty didn't do it justice. 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Like playing the National Anthem before a Cubs game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berkeley-breathed/just-the-usual-formality-before-the-chaos-begins-like-playing-the/) [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) > [Despite what they tell you, there are simply no moral absolutes in a complex world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berkeley-breathed/despite-what-they-tell-you-there-are-simply-no-moral-absolutes-in-a/) [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) > [“Oodles of noodles help blue poodles mit der strudel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berkeley-breathed/oodles-of-noodles-help-blue-poodles-mit-der-strudel/) [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) > [And that's why any of my picture books exist: They all seem to be built backwards from a simple, emotionally optimistic story beat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berkeley-breathed/and-that-s-why-any-of-my-picture-books-exist-they-all-seem-to-be/) [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) > [I could draw Bloom County with my nose and pay my cleaning lady to write it, and I'd bet I wouldn't lose 10% of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berkeley-breathed/i-could-draw-bloom-county-with-my-nose-and-pay-my-cleaning-lady-to/) [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) > [Dear Lord, I've been asked, nay commanded, to thank Thee for the Christmas turkey before us... a turkey which was no doubt a lively,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berkeley-breathed/dear-lord-i-ve-been-asked-nay-commanded-to-thank-thee-for-the/) [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) > [Liberal, shmiberal. 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Similarly, I also knew that my daughter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berkeley-breathed/i-knew-mars-needs-moms-would-be-a-movie-seconds-after-the-title-came/) [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) > [I happen to think nearly everybody - especially those one might find in the odd issue of 'People' magazine, including me - is frightfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berkeley-breathed/i-happen-to-think-nearly-everybody-especially-those-one-might-find-in/) [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) > [It was a huge challenge to learn digital painting well enough so that computers don't pop into mind when one sees one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berkeley-breathed/it-was-a-huge-challenge-to-learn-digital-painting-well-enough-so-that/) [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) > [The universe throws us some obvious little pitches sometimes, and we need to be awake enough not to let them slip by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berkeley-breathed/the-universe-throws-us-some-obvious-little-pitches-sometimes-and-we/) [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) > [The digital world has allowed me a connection with my reader that I'd never had before. I didn't meet the people who read my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berkeley-breathed/the-digital-world-has-allowed-me-a-connection-with-my-reader-that-i-d/) [Berkeley Breathed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) [Explore all 46 Berkeley Breathed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berkeley-breathed/) ## More Long time quotes > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. 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I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) James T. Conway > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. Growing up in the segregated South, it was a very painful experience for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/well-i-ve-been-politically-involved-for-a-really-long-time-growing-up/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [“For a very long time, Viviane and Jack lived in that world people inhabit before love. Some people called that place friendship; others called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslye-walton/for-a-very-long-time-viviane-and-jack-lived-in-that-world-people/) [Leslye Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslye-walton/) > [“If any woman opens her legs for you, don't feel so lucky to be fed with nonsense, she has been a bitch for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/if-any-woman-opens-her-legs-for-you-don-t-feel-so-lucky-to-be-fed/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [I've been around in public life for a long time. I think people know what I stand for. They know that I have strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-ve-been-around-in-public-life-for-a-long-time-i-think-people-know/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) > [“For a long time before I met you, I felt my life was this kind of test. I was in deep, cold water, swimming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/for-a-long-time-before-i-met-you-i-felt-my-life-was-this-kind-of-test/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) > [“If you go to bed too early and get up too late you probably won't sleep especially well. This could show up as either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-a-lewis/if-you-go-to-bed-too-early-and-get-up-too-late-you-probably-won-t/) [Penelope A. 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