--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My mother was a waitress in a Lyons…" description: "\"My mother was a waitress in a Lyons Corner House, but she married up. She was keen on bettering herself. She taught me how to use the right knives and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/charles-dance-10952_behave_my-mother-was-a-waitress-in-a-lyons-corn_2001570.jpg" --- # My mother was a waitress in a Lyons Corner House, but she… ![“My mother was a waitress in a Lyons Corner House, but she married up. She was keen on bettering herself. She taught me how to use the right knives and forks and behave properly.” quote by Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/charles-dance-10952_behave_my-mother-was-a-waitress-in-a-lyons-corn_2001570.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/charles-dance-10952_behave_my-mother-was-a-waitress-in-a-lyons-corn_2001570.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/charles-dance-10952_behave_my-mother-was-a-waitress-in-a-lyons-corn_2001570.jpg) > “My mother was a waitress in a Lyons Corner House, but she married up. She was keen on bettering herself. She taught me how to use the right knives and forks and behave properly.” [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A mother from modest background strives for self‑improvement and teaches her child proper manners and etiquette. **In simple terms:** Mother teaches refinement despite humble origins. Key Takeaway Learn etiquette and aim higher. Themes family self‑improvement social mobility Mood reflective determined Type inspirational didactic When to use this quote - dinner parties - career advancement - social events Key Concepts class aspiration personal development Questions to Reflect On - How does class background shape ambition? - What values are most important to pass down? A Different Perspective Success may still be limited by systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corner/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Waitress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waitress/) ## Related quotes > [This bored fantastic woman, with her animal nature, giving herself the pleasure of seeing her enemy struck down, not a particularly keen one for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-moreau/this-bored-fantastic-woman-with-her-animal-nature-giving-herself-the/) [Gustave Moreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-moreau/) > [Chopsticks or no chopsticks, it was the Chinese who first used knives and forks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-boyd/chopsticks-or-no-chopsticks-it-was-the-chinese-who-first-used-knives/) [L. M. 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When the script's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/if-you-get-a-bad-script-then-you-start-expending-energy-trying-to/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [I phoned this number and said, Please, sir, I want to be an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/i-phoned-this-number-and-said-please-sir-i-want-to-be-an-actor/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [Most feature films are 35-40 shooting days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/most-feature-films-are-35-40-shooting-days/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [My face lends itself to austere characters, and unless they're two-dimensional, I will do them. 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If someone calls you suave and debonair, you only get offered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/when-you-have-a-label-stuck-on-you-people-tend-to-believe-it-if/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [I would have liked to have worked with Ralph Richardson and Paul Scofield, but they're dead now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/i-would-have-liked-to-have-worked-with-ralph-richardson-and-paul/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [If I was to put a little flag in everywhere I've been in the world, there'd be a lot of little flags.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/if-i-was-to-put-a-little-flag-in-everywhere-i-ve-been-in-the-world/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [When you get to a certain age, the work begins to thin out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/when-you-get-to-a-certain-age-the-work-begins-to-thin-out/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [Actors can't retire. If actors retired, there would be nobody left to play old, wrinkly people. You have to keep going, darling - don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/actors-can-t-retire-if-actors-retired-there-would-be-nobody-left-to/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [ Because \[writers\] Dan Weiss and David Benioff have done such a great job in adapting them, that's what we work with. It serves no… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/because-writers-dan-weiss-and-david-benioff-have-done-such-a-great/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [There is a huge fan base; they're very knowledgeable and very loyal. I was astonished - before I started working on the series, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/there-is-a-huge-fan-base-they-re-very-knowledgeable-and-very-loyal-i/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [We have to take risks in British television. It has to stop playing to the lowest common denominator and patronising people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/we-have-to-take-risks-in-british-television-it-has-to-stop-playing-to/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) [Explore all 62 Charles Dance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) ## More Behave quotes > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) Burne Hogarth > [You can behave as badly as you like in America. Nobody notices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/you-can-behave-as-badly-as-you-like-in-america-nobody-notices/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Then Olympus it is. But do try to behave. I know it’s hard for you, but… (Delphine) I won’t piss on the floor. (Jericho)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/then-olympus-it-is-but-do-try-to-behave-i-know-it-s-hard-for-you-but/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [Why does man behave like perfect idiot? This is the problem I wish to deal with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-szent-gyorgyi/why-does-man-behave-like-perfect-idiot-this-is-the-problem-i-wish-to/) [Albert Szent-Gyorgyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-szent-gyorgyi/) > [This is a time in my life where I'm gonna behave like an elegant human being. Or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/this-is-a-time-in-my-life-where-i-m-gonna-behave-like-an-elegant/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [Most people, even in simple risky situations, don't behave the way the theory of utility would have them behave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-raiffa/most-people-even-in-simple-risky-situations-don-t-behave-the-way-the/) [Howard Raiffa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-raiffa/) > [As a club, we have an educational purpose: to give back to those people who love Arsenal so that they learn moral values from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arsene-wenger/as-a-club-we-have-an-educational-purpose-to-give-back-to-those-people/) [Arsene Wenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arsene-wenger/) > [What astonishes many of us is not so much that human nature is fundamentally corrupt; we are astonished rather that it does not behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-irving-seiden/what-astonishes-many-of-us-is-not-so-much-that-human-nature-is/) Morton Irving Seiden > [Do we behave out of fear of punishment, or out of the demands of our heart? 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