--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Really, for a man who had been out of…" description: "\"Really, for a man who had been out of practice for so many years it was a splendid laugh!\" — Charles Dickens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/charles-dickens-34_christmas-carol_really-for-a-man-who-had-been-out-of-pra_1561096.jpg" --- # Really, for a man who had been out of practice for so many… ![“Really, for a man who had been out of practice for so many years it was a splendid laugh!” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/charles-dickens-34_christmas-carol_really-for-a-man-who-had-been-out-of-pra_1561096.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/charles-dickens-34_christmas-carol_really-for-a-man-who-had-been-out-of-pra_1561096.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/charles-dickens-34_christmas-carol_really-for-a-man-who-had-been-out-of-pra_1561096.jpg) > “Really, for a man who had been out of practice for so many years it was a splendid laugh!” [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man returning to a skill after long absence can find unexpected joy in the experience. **In simple terms:** Returning to old skills can be surprisingly enjoyable. Key Takeaway Reengage with past talents. Themes growth humor skill renewal Mood playful encouraging Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - musical performance - sports - craftsmanship Key Concepts nostalgia confidence building Questions to Reflect On - What old skill could you revisit for fun? - How does humor affect your confidence when relearning? A Different Perspective Joy may be fleeting if underlying skill remains rusted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christmas carol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas-carol/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Splendid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splendid/) ## Related quotes > [“The following two chapters are taken from Dickens’ first novel The Pickwick Papers, concerning the Pickwickians famous visit to Dingley Dell to celebrate Christmas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-following-two-chapters-are-taken-from-dickens-first-novel-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Scrooge followed to the window: desperate in his curiosity. He looked out. The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/scrooge-followed-to-the-window-desperate-in-his-curiosity-he-looked/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Ghost of the Future," he exclaimed, "I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/ghost-of-the-future-he-exclaimed-i-fear-you-more-than-any-spectre-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [God bless us every one! said Tiny Tim, the last of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/god-bless-us-every-one-said-tiny-tim-the-last-of-all/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I am light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-am-light-as-a-feather-i-am-as-happy-as-an-angel-i-am-as-merry-as-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I have always thought of Christmas time... as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-always-thought-of-christmas-time-as-a-good-time-a-kind/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“In the Victorian times there was much demand for Christmas books, which would make an ideal gift, as well provide amusing entertainment over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/in-the-victorian-times-there-was-much-demand-for-christmas-books/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when the creator was a child himself. (Christmas Carol).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-is-good-to-be-children-sometimes-and-never-better-than-at/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/if-i-could-work-my-will-every-idiot-who-goes-about-with-merry/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Let a man practice the profession which he best knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-a-man-practice-the-profession-which-he-best-knows/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [A man should practice what he preaches, but a man should also preach what he practices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/a-man-should-practice-what-he-preaches-but-a-man-should-also-preach/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Anyone can practice. Young man can practice. Old man can practice. Very old man can practice. Man who is sick, he can practice. Man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-pattabhi-jois/anyone-can-practice-young-man-can-practice-old-man-can-practice-very/) [K. Pattabhi Jois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-pattabhi-jois/) > [“As an old man I have my own practice. It is different from that of youth. It is not working facing outward, but just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/as-an-old-man-i-have-my-own-practice-it-is-different-from-that-of/) [Kosho Uchiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kosho-uchiyama/) > [Let every man practice the art that he knows best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-every-man-practice-the-art-that-he-knows-best/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [One man cannot practice many arts with success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/one-man-cannot-practice-many-arts-with-success/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More by Charles Dickens > [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-can-be-no-disparity-in-marriage-like-unsuitability-of-mind-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-joe-was-a-very-clean-housekeeper-but-had-an-exquisite-art-of/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Besides which, all that I could have said of the Story to any purpose, I had endeavoured to say in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/besides-which-all-that-i-could-have-said-of-the-story-to-any-purpose/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The wheels rolled on, and rolled down by the Monument, and by the Tower; and by the Docks; down by Ratcliffe, and by Rotherhithe;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-wheels-rolled-on-and-rolled-down-by-the-monument-and-by-the-tower/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The three customers pulled off their hats to Madame Defarge, with three flourishes. She acknowledged their homage by bending her head, and giving them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-three-customers-pulled-off-their-hats-to-madame-defarge-with/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-pickwick-was-a-philosopher-but-philosophers-are-only-men-in-armour/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) [Explore all 2,309 Charles Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More Christmas carol quotes > [It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when the creator was a child himself. (Christmas Carol).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-is-good-to-be-children-sometimes-and-never-better-than-at/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I put the copy of 'A Christmas Carol' that my grandfather had first read to me 60 years ago on my desk, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/i-put-the-copy-of-a-christmas-carol-that-my-grandfather-had-first/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [A Christmas Carol is such a fool-proof story you can't louse it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-maltin/a-christmas-carol-is-such-a-fool-proof-story-you-can-t-louse-it-up/) [Leonard Maltin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-maltin/) > [Most Christmas carols have no obvious religious content, or at least that's noticeable to most people. I mean, it is almost by definition, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-dean/most-christmas-carols-have-no-obvious-religious-content-or-at-least/) [Howard Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-dean/) > [Some, like Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens's A Christmas Carol, have a hard time loving anyone, even themselves, because of their selfishness. Love seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/some-like-ebenezer-scrooge-in-dickens-s-a-christmas-carol-have-a-hard/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [Eve engaged her On Duty sign and stepped out of the car. Immediately her ears were assaulted with a blast of music. Christmas carols…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/eve-engaged-her-on-duty-sign-and-stepped-out-of-the-car-immediately/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Fans of the Peanuts comic strip may also remember Snoopy beginning his novel again and again, always starting with the line 'It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-beha/fans-of-the-peanuts-comic-strip-may-also-remember-snoopy-beginning/) [Christopher Beha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-beha/) > [“Her face, especially those lovely eyes, filled with amusement. She whispered, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” I laughed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-underwood/her-face-especially-those-lovely-eyes-filled-with-amusement-she/) [Bobby Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-underwood/) > [I love singing Christmas carols. I know every harmony to every music-hall Christmas song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/i-love-singing-christmas-carols-i-know-every-harmony-to-every-music/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [My very first acting role was Tiny Tim in 'A Christmas Carol.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-orser/my-very-first-acting-role-was-tiny-tim-in-a-christmas-carol/) [Leland Orser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-orser/) > [Shepherds at the grange, Where the Babe was born, Sang with many a change, Christmas carols until morn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/shepherds-at-the-grange-where-the-babe-was-born-sang-with-many-a/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [I told her that there was something about Christmas carols that always brought tears to my eyes. I added that I also cry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-told-her-that-there-was-something-about-christmas-carols-that/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [The upheavals of adolescence silenced 'A Christmas Carol' for a few years. I became a firebrand atheist. Christmas - humbug! Too commercial! Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/the-upheavals-of-adolescence-silenced-a-christmas-carol-for-a-few/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [“In the Victorian times there was much demand for Christmas books, which would make an ideal gift, as well provide amusing entertainment over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/in-the-victorian-times-there-was-much-demand-for-christmas-books/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Without turning, the pharmacist answered that he liked books like The Metamorphosis, Bartleby, A Simple Heart, A Christmas Carol. And then he said that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/without-turning-the-pharmacist-answered-that-he-liked-books-like-the/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) [Browse all 50 Christmas carol quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas-carol/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Really, for a man who had been out of practice for so many years it was a splendid laugh!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Dickens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/really-for-a-man-who-had-been-out-of-practice-for-so-many-years-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Christmas carol" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/really-for-a-man-who-had-been-out-of-practice-for-so-many-years-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/charles-dickens-34_christmas-carol_really-for-a-man-who-had-been-out-of-pra_1561096.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/charles-dickens-34_christmas-carol_really-for-a-man-who-had-been-out-of-pra_1561096.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/charles-dickens-34_christmas-carol_really-for-a-man-who-had-been-out-of-pra_1561096.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Really, for a man who had been out of practice for so many years it was a splendid laugh!” — Charles Dickens", "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": "Charles Dickens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Really, for a man who had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/really-for-a-man-who-had-been-out-of-practice-for-so-many-years-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/really-for-a-man-who-had-been-out-of-practice-for-so-many-years-it/#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 } } ] } ```