--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Grocers'! oh the Grocers'! nearly…" description: "\"“The Grocers'! oh the Grocers'! nearly closed, with perhaps two shutters down, or one; but through those gaps such glimpses! It was not alone that the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/charles-dickens-34_christmas_the-grocers-oh-the-grocers-nearly-closed_3214066.jpg" --- # The Grocers'! oh the Grocers'! nearly closed, with perhaps… ![“The Grocers'! oh the Grocers'! nearly closed, with perhaps two shutters down, or one; but through those gaps such glimpses! It was not alone that the scales descending on the counter made a merry sound, or that the twine and roller parted company so briskly, or that the canisters were rattled up…” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/charles-dickens-34_christmas_the-grocers-oh-the-grocers-nearly-closed_3214066.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/charles-dickens-34_christmas_the-grocers-oh-the-grocers-nearly-closed_3214066.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/charles-dickens-34_christmas_the-grocers-oh-the-grocers-nearly-closed_3214066.jpg) > ““The Grocers'! oh the Grocers'! nearly closed, with perhaps two shutters down, or one; but through those gaps such glimpses! It was not alone that the scales descending on the counter made a merry sound, or that the twine and roller parted company so briskly, or that the canisters were rattled up and down like juggling tricks, or even that the blended scents of tea and coffee were so grateful to the nose, or even that the raisins were so plentiful and rare, the almonds so extremely white, the sticks of cinnamon so long and straight, the other spices so delicious, the candied fruits so caked and spotted with molten sugar as to make the coldest lookers-on feel faint and subsequently bilious. Nor was it that the figs were moist and pulpy, or that the French plums blushed in modest tartness from their highly-decorated boxes, or that everything was good to eat and in its Christmas dress; but the customers were all so hurried and so eager in the hopeful promise of the day, that they tumbled up against each other at the door, crashing their wicker baskets wildly, and left their purchases upon the counter, and came running back to fetch them, and committed hundreds of like mistakes, in the best humor possible; while the Grocer and his people were so frank and fresh that the polished hearts with which they fastened their aprons might have been their own, worn outside for general inspection, and for Christmas daws to peck at if they chose.”” [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. The bustling market scene overwhelms the senses with sights, sounds, and smells, yet the chaotic rush of customers reflects holiday urgency and desire for comfort. **In simple terms:** A busy market full of sensory details and hurried shoppers. Key Takeaway Notice how sensory overload can mask underlying excitement. Themes sensory overload holiday rush consumer behavior Mood busy anticipatory nostalgic Type descriptive observational When to use this quote - Christmas shopping - crowded markets - food aromas - customer urgency - vendor hospitality Key Concepts Victorian literature market dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does sensory detail affect your perception of a scene? - What does the crowd’s behavior reveal about holiday expectations? A Different Perspective The description may romanticize chaos, ignoring stress on shoppers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christmas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/) [Delicious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delicious/) [Description](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/description/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Grocer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocer-3536946/) [Grocer People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocer-people-6016442/) [Grocers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocers/) [Grocers Nearly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocers-nearly-6016443/) [Hungry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry/) [Possible Grocer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-grocer-6016444/) [Shopping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shopping/) ## Related quotes > [Better to pay the grocer than the doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/better-to-pay-the-grocer-than-the-doctor/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [When Im writing, I spend all my time in The Grocer on Elgin buying ready-made meals; I think they are the only reason my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie-jones/when-im-writing-i-spend-all-my-time-in-the-grocer-on-elgin-buying/) [Sadie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadie-jones/) > [It was a given in our family that my father was a grocer so that I wouldn't have to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-trillin/it-was-a-given-in-our-family-that-my-father-was-a-grocer-so-that-i/) [Calvin Trillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-trillin/) > [The very dogs were all asleep, and the flies, drunk with moist sugar in the grocer's shop, forgot their wings and briskness, and baked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-very-dogs-were-all-asleep-and-the-flies-drunk-with-moist-sugar-in/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [When I'm writing, I spend all my time in The Grocer on Elgin buying ready-made meals; I think they are the only reason my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie-jones/when-i-m-writing-i-spend-all-my-time-in-the-grocer-on-elgin-buying/) [Sadie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadie-jones/) > [“She had a grocer's faith in books; they can be handed out like Green Stamps and were redeemable for a variety of useful gifts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/she-had-a-grocer-s-faith-in-books-they-can-be-handed-out-like-green/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [But, for all that, they had a very pleasant walk. The trees were bare of leaves, and the river was bare of water-lilies; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/but-for-all-that-they-had-a-very-pleasant-walk-the-trees-were-bare-of/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The poulterers' shops were still half open, and the fruiterers' were radiant in their glory. There were great, round, pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts, shaped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-poulterers-shops-were-still-half-open-and-the-fruiterers-were/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [And a revolution of automation finds machines replacing men in the mines and mills of America, without replacing their incomes or their training or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/and-a-revolution-of-automation-finds-machines-replacing-men-in-the/) [John F. 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She is a dutiful girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/and-she-hates-being-managed-that-is-not-the-word-i-want-what-is-it/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [No living orator would convince a grocer that coffee should be sold without chicory; and no amount of eloquence will make an English lawyer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/no-living-orator-would-convince-a-grocer-that-coffee-should-be-sold/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Prayer did not come easily to me for I always feel that prayer is a silent things, and opening of the heart. To ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-e-stevenson/prayer-did-not-come-easily-to-me-for-i-always-feel-that-prayer-is-a/) [D.E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-e-stevenson/) > [Statesmen are grocers, ambitious clowns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/statesmen-are-grocers-ambitious-clowns/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) ## 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 quotes > [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-manning/i-once-bought-my-kids-a-set-of-batteries-for-christmas-with-a-note-on/) [Bernard Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-manning/) > [May you have the spirit of Christmas which is Peace, the gladness of Christmas which is Hope, and the Heart of Christmas which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-you-have-the-spirit-of-christmas-which-is-peace-the-gladness-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To my future children; you will know the true meaning of Christmas just not you get gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-my-future-children-you-will-know-the-true-meaning-of-christmas/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No sane local official who has hung up an empty stocking over the municipal fireplace is going to shoot Santa Claus just before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-smith/no-sane-local-official-who-has-hung-up-an-empty-stocking-over-the/) [Al Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-smith/) > [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/) > [Santa Claus has nothing to do with it," the latke said. "Christmas and Hanukah are completely different things." "But different things can often blend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/santa-claus-has-nothing-to-do-with-it-the-latke-said-christmas-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For Christmas one year I bought my son a BB gun. He bought me a t-shirt with a bulls eye on the back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/for-christmas-one-year-i-bought-my-son-a-bb-gun-he-bought-me-a-t/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [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/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“I stopped keeping an eye out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve because, when I was five, my mother told me that Santa was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/i-stopped-keeping-an-eye-out-for-santa-claus-on-christmas-eve-because/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [On Hanukkah, the first dark night, Light yourself a candle bright. I'll you, if you will me invite To dance within that gentle light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-gordon/on-hanukkah-the-first-dark-night-light-yourself-a-candle-bright-i-ll/) [Nick Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-gordon/) [Browse all 5,100 Christmas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Grocers'! oh the Grocers'! nearly closed, with perhaps two shutters down, or one; but through those gaps such glimpses! It was not alone that the scales descending on the counter made a merry sound, or that the twine and roller parted company so briskly, or that the canisters were rattled up and down like juggling tricks, or even that the blended scents of tea and coffee were so grateful to the nose, or even that the raisins were so plentiful and rare, the almonds so extremely white, the sticks of cinnamon so long and straight, the other spices so delicious, the candied fruits so caked and spotted with molten sugar as to make the coldest lookers-on feel faint and subsequently bilious. Nor was it that the figs were moist and pulpy, or that the French plums blushed in modest tartness from their highly-decorated boxes, or that everything was good to eat and in its Christmas dress; but the customers were all so hurried and so eager in the hopeful promise of the day, that they tumbled up against each other at the door, crashing their wicker baskets wildly, and left their purchases upon the counter, and came running back to fetch them, and committed hundreds of like mistakes, in the best humor possible; while the Grocer and his people were so frank and fresh that the polished hearts with which they fastened their aprons might have been their own, worn outside for general inspection, and for Christmas daws to peck at if they chose.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Dickens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-grocers-oh-the-grocers-nearly-closed-with-perhaps-two-shutters/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Christmas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-grocers-oh-the-grocers-nearly-closed-with-perhaps-two-shutters/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/charles-dickens-34_christmas_the-grocers-oh-the-grocers-nearly-closed_3214066.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/charles-dickens-34_christmas_the-grocers-oh-the-grocers-nearly-closed_3214066.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/charles-dickens-34_christmas_the-grocers-oh-the-grocers-nearly-closed_3214066.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Grocers'! oh the Grocers'! nearly closed, with perhaps two shutters down, or one; but through those gaps…” — 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": "“The Grocers'! oh the Grocers'! nearly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-grocers-oh-the-grocers-nearly-closed-with-perhaps-two-shutters/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-grocers-oh-the-grocers-nearly-closed-with-perhaps-two-shutters/#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 } } ] } ```