--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In general, of course, a stranger who…" description: "\"In general, of course, a stranger who tries to get you into an automobile is anything but noble, and in general a person who quotes great American nove..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/daniel-handler-1043_automobile_in-general-of-course-a-stranger-who-trie_3188156.jpg" --- # In general, of course, a stranger who tries to get you… ![“In general, of course, a stranger who tries to get you into an automobile is anything but noble, and in general a person who quotes great American novelists is anything but treacherous, and in general a man who says you needn't worry about money, or a man who smokes cigarettes, is somewhere in…” quote by Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/daniel-handler-1043_automobile_in-general-of-course-a-stranger-who-trie_3188156.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/daniel-handler-1043_automobile_in-general-of-course-a-stranger-who-trie_3188156.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/daniel-handler-1043_automobile_in-general-of-course-a-stranger-who-trie_3188156.jpg) > “In general, of course, a stranger who tries to get you into an automobile is anything but noble, and in general a person who quotes great American novelists is anything but treacherous, and in general a man who says you needn't worry about money, or a man who smokes cigarettes, is somewhere in between.” [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote satirically contrasts how society judges strangers, literary enthusiasts, and people with habits, suggesting moral judgments are often inconsistent and arbitrary. **In simple terms:** People judge others inconsistently based on stereotypes. Key Takeaway Recognize and question your own biases. Themes bias judgment stereotypes morality Mood ironic critical reflective Type aphorical social commentary When to use this quote - everyday interactions - literary criticism - personal habits - media consumption Key Concepts social perception ethical relativism cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess character beyond stereotypes? - What biases influence your judgments? A Different Perspective The humor may obscure deeper social commentary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Automobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/automobile/) [Cigarette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarette/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoke/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) ## Related quotes > [It's easier to know people in general than one person in particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-s-easier-to-know-people-in-general-than-one-person-in-particular/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Unless a writer is extremely old when he dies, in which case he has probably become a neglected institution, his death must always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/unless-a-writer-is-extremely-old-when-he-dies-in-which-case-he-has/) [James A. 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She, by little and lithe, slyly and unperceived, slips in the foot of her authority; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/custom-is-a-violent-and-treacherous-school-mistress-she-by-little-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [But, most important, we must not become as base and treacherous as our enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-trussoni/but-most-important-we-must-not-become-as-base-and-treacherous-as-our/) [Danielle Trussoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-trussoni/) > [I've been called treacherous, stupid, venal, lazy ..and that's only by the Tories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mackay/i-ve-been-called-treacherous-stupid-venal-lazy-and-that-s-only-by-the/) [Peter MacKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mackay/) > [The most dangerous thing you can do is to take any one impulse of your own nature and set it up as the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-most-dangerous-thing-you-can-do-is-to-take-any-one-impulse-of/) [C. 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Thou shoreless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/unfathomable-sea-whose-waves-are-years-ocean-of-time-whose-waters-of/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [The beloved may be treacherous, greasy-headed and given to evil habits, or else it can be a man in his late forties who works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/the-beloved-may-be-treacherous-greasy-headed-and-given-to-evil-habits/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [Treacherous assassins, enemies of the people, and worthy of everyone's ridicule are those who, under the pretext of guiding future generations, teach them an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/treacherous-assassins-enemies-of-the-people-and-worthy-of-everyone-s/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) ## More by Daniel Handler > [We laughed the rest of the way, because the point of this story is, it is not the cookies. It is the love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/we-laughed-the-rest-of-the-way-because-the-point-of-this-story-is-it/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I started making plans, thinking we would get that far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-started-making-plans-thinking-we-would-get-that-far/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I can't imagine why you would want to take your child to see what the career of a writer is like, because it mostly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-can-t-imagine-why-you-would-want-to-take-your-child-to-see-what-the/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“All the deaths are dead for nothing but you're not dead at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/all-the-deaths-are-dead-for-nothing-but-you-re-not-dead-at-all/) [daniel handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“I love you so soundly and I will do anything to drag you forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-love-you-so-soundly-and-i-will-do-anything-to-drag-you-forward/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I’d ruin any day, all my days, for those long nights with you, and I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-d-ruin-any-day-all-my-days-for-those-long-nights-with-you-and-i-did/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Chestnuts in stuffing tastes like someone chewed up a tree branch and then French-kissed it into your mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/chestnuts-in-stuffing-tastes-like-someone-chewed-up-a-tree-branch-and/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Lemony Snicket. Now, I'm told - the books, of course, starting from the very first one, became hugely popular, selling millions and millions. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/lemony-snicket-now-i-m-told-the-books-of-course-starting-from-the/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“The matches were a little 'he loves me, he loves me not,' but then I saw right on the box that I had twenty-four,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-matches-were-a-little-he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not-but-then-i-saw/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I didn't like books where people played on a sports team and won a bunch of games, or went to summer camp and had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-didn-t-like-books-where-people-played-on-a-sports-team-and-won-a/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I love no one but you, I have discovered, but you are far away and I am here alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-love-no-one-but-you-i-have-discovered-but-you-are-far-away-and-i-am/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [The Basic Eight and Watch Your Mouth both have first-person voices, and I ended up investigating those voices and investing so much in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-basic-eight-and-watch-your-mouth-both-have-first-person-voices/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [The Long Goodbye' is one book I like to read over and over again, and it was an enormous inspiration for 'All The Wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-long-goodbye-is-one-book-i-like-to-read-over-and-over-again-and/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [The whole thing of what I’ve been trying,” you said, “is that you’re different, and you keep asking about the other girls, but what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-whole-thing-of-what-i-ve-been-trying-you-said-is-that-you-re/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [ I wrote a comedy, which hopefully \[Rick director\] Curtiss Clayton will bring to the screen, that I thought was the antithesis of all my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-wrote-a-comedy-which-hopefully-rick-director-curtiss-clayton-will/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) [Explore all 295 Daniel Handler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) ## More Automobile quotes > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [So the poet, who wants to be something that he cannot be, and is a failure in plain life, makes up fictitious versions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-tate/so-the-poet-who-wants-to-be-something-that-he-cannot-be-and-is-a/) [Allen Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-tate/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There comes a day of public ceremonial, and a chance to make a speech… A million voters with IQs below 60 have their ears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-comes-a-day-of-public-ceremonial-and-a-chance-to-make-a-speech/) [H. 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