--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There would always be an expletive in a…" description: "\"“There would always be an expletive in a New York sentence. Even from a judge. Soderberg was not fond of bad language, but he knew its value at the rig..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/colum-mccann-902_bad-language_there-would-always-be-an-expletive-in-a_2055567.jpg" --- # There would always be an expletive in a New York sentence… ![“There would always be an expletive in a New York sentence. Even from a judge. Soderberg was not fond of bad language, but he knew its value at the right time. A man on a tightrope, a hundred and ten stories in the air, can you possibly fucking believe it?” quote by Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/colum-mccann-902_bad-language_there-would-always-be-an-expletive-in-a_2055567.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/colum-mccann-902_bad-language_there-would-always-be-an-expletive-in-a_2055567.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/colum-mccann-902_bad-language_there-would-always-be-an-expletive-in-a_2055567.jpg) > ““There would always be an expletive in a New York sentence. Even from a judge. Soderberg was not fond of bad language, but he knew its value at the right time. A man on a tightrope, a hundred and ten stories in the air, can you possibly fucking believe it?”” [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the power of profanity to convey intensity and truth when used sparingly. **In simple terms:** Swearing can add impact if timed well. Key Takeaway Use strong language purposefully. Themes language intensity truth timing Mood provocative critical Type literary observational When to use this quote - public speaking - writing - street art - legal arguments Key Concepts rhetoric expressiveness cultural norms Questions to Reflect On - When is profanity appropriate? - What alternatives convey similar force? A Different Perspective Overuse can alienate audience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-language/) [Expletive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expletive-695127/) [Expletive New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expletive-new-3894621/) [Right time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-time/) [Sentence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentence/) [York Sentence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york-sentence-3894620/) ## Related quotes > [“...if he fell, well, he fell—but if he survived he would become a monument, not carved in stone or encased in brass, but one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/if-he-fell-well-he-fell-but-if-he-survived-he-would-become-a-monument/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [ My rhymes are gonna kill, so I suggest you write your will and leave your \[expletive\] to me. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda/my-rhymes-are-gonna-kill-so-i-suggest-you-write-your-will-and-leave/) [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda/) > [ Seriously, just buy the \[expletive deleted\] book. I promise you'll like it. Unless you're \[expletive deleted\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-sue-deconnick/seriously-just-buy-the-expletive-deleted-book-i-promise-you-ll-like/) [Kelly Sue DeConnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-sue-deconnick/) > [My party is going bat (EXPLETIVE DELETED) crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/my-party-is-going-bat-expletive-deleted-crazy/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [I'm a freakin' artist, man, not a (expletive) race horse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/i-m-a-freakin-artist-man-not-a-expletive-race-horse/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [ “When he was very excited, \[John Singer\] Sargent would rush at his canvas with his brush poised for attack, yelling, 'Demons, demons, demons!' When… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-davis/when-he-was-very-excited-john-singer-sargent-would-rush-at-his-canvas/) [Deborah Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-davis/) > [“... there is a whole hell of a lot of knowledge about the (expletive removed) human condition that we are not ready for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-vincent/there-is-a-whole-hell-of-a-lot-of-knowledge-about-the-expletive/) [Norah Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-vincent/) > [That's so when I forget how to spell my name, I can still find my (expletive) clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stu-grimson/that-s-so-when-i-forget-how-to-spell-my-name-i-can-still-find-my/) [Stu Grimson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stu-grimson/) > [ I don't think we're supposed to say \[expletive deleted\] anymore. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-sue-deconnick/i-don-t-think-we-re-supposed-to-say-expletive-deleted-anymore/) [Kelly Sue DeConnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-sue-deconnick/) > [“I am not aware of ever having used a profane expletive in my life; but I would have the charity to excuse those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/i-am-not-aware-of-ever-having-used-a-profane-expletive-in-my-life-but/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [You'll never see Spartacus in a (expletive) chair!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/you-ll-never-see-spartacus-in-a-expletive-chair/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) > [I think I would have taken a (expletive) load of Advil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-els/i-think-i-would-have-taken-a-expletive-load-of-advil/) [Ernie Els](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-els/) > [Conversation is a traffick; and if you enter into it, without some stock of knowledge, to ballance the account perpetually betwixtyou,--the trade drops at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/conversation-is-a-traffick-and-if-you-enter-into-it-without-some/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [A mind can be overthrown by words; that's the point. What is happening to the brain of a person who uses the passive, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mitchell/a-mind-can-be-overthrown-by-words-that-s-the-point-what-is-happening/) [Richard Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mitchell/) > [I've never been one to throw clubs, break clubs, or use bad language on the golf course. I've played with golfers who've done that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-black/i-ve-never-been-one-to-throw-clubs-break-clubs-or-use-bad-language-on/) [Lucas Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-black/) ## More by Colum McCann > [Give life long enough and it will solve all your problems, including the one of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/give-life-long-enough-and-it-will-solve-all-your-problems-including/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“There is something that happens to the mind in moments of terror. Perhaps we figure it's the last we'll ever have and we record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/there-is-something-that-happens-to-the-mind-in-moments-of-terror/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“The short sharp shock of three thousand mother two hundred mothers. The ones who picked through the supermarket debris for pieces of their dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-short-sharp-shock-of-three-thousand-mother-two-hundred-mothers/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm not so sure that I can teach people how to, you know, write dialogue or create plot or anything like that. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-not-so-sure-that-i-can-teach-people-how-to-you-know-write/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Once we had filled each other with desire, not remembrance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/once-we-had-filled-each-other-with-desire-not-remembrance/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“How long ago it was and how strange, but all dead friends come to life again sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/how-long-ago-it-was-and-how-strange-but-all-dead-friends-come-to-life/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She would want, instead, to recall him in the air, between layers of cloud. To give him back that ancient dignity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-would-want-instead-to-recall-him-in-the-air-between-layers-of/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [Novels are more difficult simply because they are longer and require more juggling, but short stories are closer to perfection, if you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/novels-are-more-difficult-simply-because-they-are-longer-and-require/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/it-was-a-silence-that-heard-itself-awful-and-beautiful/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I think one of the biggest political failures, and the biggest social failures, over the past few years has been the failure of empathy;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-think-one-of-the-biggest-political-failures-and-the-biggest-social/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Bits of it floating in the air, he said. "It's like dust. You walk about and don't see it, don't notice it, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/bits-of-it-floating-in-the-air-he-said-it-s-like-dust-you-walk-about/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“He has read whole volumes on the philosophy of nonviolence. How peace had to be understood in all its moral dimensions. The proper coexistence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/he-has-read-whole-volumes-on-the-philosophy-of-nonviolence-how-peace/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She’s always thought that one of the beauties of New York is that you can be from anywhere and within moments of landing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-s-always-thought-that-one-of-the-beauties-of-new-york-is-that-you/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm of the opinion that the real is imagined and the imagined is quite real. The real is imagined, in the sense that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-of-the-opinion-that-the-real-is-imagined-and-the-imagined-is/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“She had that emigrant’s sadness—she would never go back to her old country—it was gone in more senses than one—but she was forever gazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-had-that-emigrant-s-sadness-she-would-never-go-back-to-her-old/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) [Explore all 333 Colum McCann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## More Bad language quotes > [I've never been one to throw clubs, break clubs, or use bad language on the golf course. I've played with golfers who've done that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-black/i-ve-never-been-one-to-throw-clubs-break-clubs-or-use-bad-language-on/) [Lucas Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-black/) > [A mind can be overthrown by words; that's the point. What is happening to the brain of a person who uses the passive, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mitchell/a-mind-can-be-overthrown-by-words-that-s-the-point-what-is-happening/) [Richard Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mitchell/) > [Conversation is a traffick; and if you enter into it, without some stock of knowledge, to ballance the account perpetually betwixtyou,--the trade drops at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/conversation-is-a-traffick-and-if-you-enter-into-it-without-some/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [“Because we're framily. You know, I love you, you love me? Like Barney only with bad language.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dakota-cassidy/because-we-re-framily-you-know-i-love-you-you-love-me-like-barney/) [Dakota Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dakota-cassidy/) > [If you treat others kindly then they will treat you kindly back . You should never talk to others back in bad language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shagufta-fareed/if-you-treat-others-kindly-then-they-will-treat-you-kindly-back-you/) [Shagufta Fareed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shagufta-fareed/) > [I am always being told off for using bad language but it's sort of lovely really, because it makes me think of my lovely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/i-am-always-being-told-off-for-using-bad-language-but-it-s-sort-of/) [Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/) > [We use so much bad language that it forms a barrier between ourselves and the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/we-use-so-much-bad-language-that-it-forms-a-barrier-between-ourselves/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Yes, but bad language is bound to make in addition bad government, whereas good language is not bound to make bad government. That again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/yes-but-bad-language-is-bound-to-make-in-addition-bad-government/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [When the media's around, I try to be careful. I don't want to make a mistake or use bad language, and I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/when-the-media-s-around-i-try-to-be-careful-i-don-t-want-to-make-a/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [All these years there had been a Tupperware container of bad language in her head, and now she opened it and all those crisp,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/all-these-years-there-had-been-a-tupperware-container-of-bad-language/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [The inflated style is itself a kind of euphemism. A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outlines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-inflated-style-is-itself-a-kind-of-euphemism-a-mass-of-latin/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I don't want to do an edgy show, I didn't want bad language. I think edginess is the new hackiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-galifianakis/i-don-t-want-to-do-an-edgy-show-i-didn-t-want-bad-language-i-think/) [Zach Galifianakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-galifianakis/) > [“...if he fell, well, he fell—but if he survived he would become a monument, not carved in stone or encased in brass, but one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/if-he-fell-well-he-fell-but-if-he-survived-he-would-become-a-monument/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [With today's movies, if we took out all the bad language, we'd go back to silent films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/with-today-s-movies-if-we-took-out-all-the-bad-language-we-d-go-back/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [People who cannot distinguish between good and bad language, or who regard the distinction as unimportant, are unlikely to think carefully about anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-who-cannot-distinguish-between-good-and-bad-language-or-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 49 Bad language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There would always be an expletive in a New York sentence. 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