--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where subtlety fails us we must simply…" description: "\"Where subtlety fails us we must simply make do with cream pies.\" — David Brin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/david-brin-3024_cream_where-subtlety-fails-us-we-must-simply-m_1709147.png" --- # Where subtlety fails us we must simply make do with cream… ![“Where subtlety fails us we must simply make do with cream pies.” quote by David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/david-brin-3024_cream_where-subtlety-fails-us-we-must-simply-m_1709147.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/david-brin-3024_cream_where-subtlety-fails-us-we-must-simply-m_1709147.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/david-brin-3024_cream_where-subtlety-fails-us-we-must-simply-m_1709147.png) > “Where subtlety fails us we must simply make do with cream pies.” [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When subtlety fails, we resort to blunt, obvious solutions. **In simple terms:** If finesse fails, use simple direct methods. Key Takeaway Use clear, direct approaches when nuance fails. Themes communication strategy simplicity creativity Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - conflict resolution - marketing - design Key Concepts problem solving directness Questions to Reflect On - When is a blunt approach appropriate? - What are the risks of ignoring subtlety? A Different Perspective Over-simplification can ignore important nuances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cream/) [Cream Pies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cream-pies-1227920/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Make Cream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-cream-1227922/) [Pie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pie/) [Pies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pies/) [Subtlety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subtlety/) [Subtlety Fails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subtlety-fails-1227921/) ## Related quotes > [I always wanted to host a show, throw whipped-cream pies. Theater is not my cup of tea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-davidson/i-always-wanted-to-host-a-show-throw-whipped-cream-pies-theater-is/) [Doug Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-davidson/) > [I don't want to spend my life not having good food going into my pie hole. That hole was made for pies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-don-t-want-to-spend-my-life-not-having-good-food-going-into-my-pie/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [Let's stop for a moment to admire the rotating pies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/let-s-stop-for-a-moment-to-admire-the-rotating-pies/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [I like making pies. I have a bunch of fruit trees in my backyard. My loquat tree sprouted, and I like making loquat pie.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/i-like-making-pies-i-have-a-bunch-of-fruit-trees-in-my-backyard-my/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [I know that I am essentially a sort of fun-loving person who really just wants to sit around and eat pies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/i-know-that-i-am-essentially-a-sort-of-fun-loving-person-who-really/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [If you come back to me, I'll never leave you", I whispered into the furry ear. "I'll make you all the pies you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/if-you-come-back-to-me-i-ll-never-leave-you-i-whispered-into-the/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [I can make cookies and do easy stuff. Pies are very specific and hard to do well though.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keri-russell/i-can-make-cookies-and-do-easy-stuff-pies-are-very-specific-and-hard/) [Keri Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keri-russell/) > [I get my fingers in all our pies. Before you know it, your little fingers including all your toes are in all the pies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imelda-marcos/i-get-my-fingers-in-all-our-pies-before-you-know-it-your-little/) [Imelda Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imelda-marcos/) > [Kid 1: \*examining my gorgeous strawberry and blueberry pies\*: Wow, Mom, your pies don’t look awful this time. Me (Ilona): ... ~A little later~…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/kid-1-examining-my-gorgeous-strawberry-and-blueberry-pies-wow-mom/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [We resort, frankly, to pies, which is a comedy staple that's gone back, I guess, to since the first pie was ever baked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/we-resort-frankly-to-pies-which-is-a-comedy-staple-that-s-gone-back-i/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [I will normally eat about seven or eight mince pies in one sitting. Sometimes, I can get to double figures. My friends, and probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamsin-egerton/i-will-normally-eat-about-seven-or-eight-mince-pies-in-one-sitting/) [Tamsin Egerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamsin-egerton/) > [“A brand new pie is waiting for me each night after work, as if he knows he hit his stride and he is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-james/a-brand-new-pie-is-waiting-for-me-each-night-after-work-as-if-he/) [Ella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-james/) > [“We have been careless with our pie repertoire. The demise of apple-pear pie with figs and saffron and orengeado pies are tragic losses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-clarkson/we-have-been-careless-with-our-pie-repertoire-the-demise-of-apple/) [Janet Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-clarkson/) > [You had me at fruit pies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-hill/you-had-me-at-fruit-pies/) [Bobby Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-hill/) > [Nobody can fail to lose weight in the jungle, unless they've got a secret stash of pork pies somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-baker/nobody-can-fail-to-lose-weight-in-the-jungle-unless-they-ve-got-a/) [Colin Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-baker/) ## More by David Brin > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Anything done in secret is more likely to result in terrible errors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/anything-done-in-secret-is-more-likely-to-result-in-terrible-errors/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“Men can be brilliant and strong, they whispered to one another. But men can be mad, as well. And the mad ones can ruin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/men-can-be-brilliant-and-strong-they-whispered-to-one-another-but-men/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Strutting and preening is, in fact, the surest sign of an inferiority complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/strutting-and-preening-is-in-fact-the-surest-sign-of-an-inferiority/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“We aren’t a curse upon the world. We are her new eyes. Her brain, testes, ovaries . . . her ambition and her heart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/we-aren-t-a-curse-upon-the-world-we-are-her-new-eyes-her-brain-testes/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [If you believe you can make a living as a writer, you already have enough ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/if-you-believe-you-can-make-a-living-as-a-writer-you-already-have/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Historically, central planners have generally done a poor job of managing economic resources - this we've known since the time of the Pharaohs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/historically-central-planners-have-generally-done-a-poor-job-of/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [A neurosis defends itself by coming up with rationalizations to explain away bizarre behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/a-neurosis-defends-itself-by-coming-up-with-rationalizations-to/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Alas, criticism has always been what human beings, especially leaders, most hate to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/alas-criticism-has-always-been-what-human-beings-especially-leaders/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [It's how creativity works. Especially in humans. For every good idea, ten thousand idiotic ones must first be posed, sifted, tried out, and discarded.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/it-s-how-creativity-works-especially-in-humans-for-every-good-idea/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Tragedies such as Nevil Shute's 'On the Beach' and Stanley Kubrick's 'Dr Strangelove' are so powerful because there's an underlying assumption that this did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/tragedies-such-as-nevil-shute-s-on-the-beach-and-stanley-kubrick-s-dr/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [In contrast, markets - oft mythologized as "natural" are the most unnatural things going. Libertarians will tell you "market laws are laws of nature",…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/in-contrast-markets-oft-mythologized-as-natural-are-the-most/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“Snow and soot covered the ancient tree's broken branches and seared bark. It wasn't dead, not quite yet. Here and there tiny shoots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/snow-and-soot-covered-the-ancient-tree-s-broken-branches-and-seared/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“As simple an act as reading or writing a sentence must be surrounded by perceptory nap and weave . . . an itch, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/as-simple-an-act-as-reading-or-writing-a-sentence-must-be-surrounded/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Ideologies are too seductive anyway. It does a man good to see things from a different point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/ideologies-are-too-seductive-anyway-it-does-a-man-good-to-see-things/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) [Explore all 142 David Brin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) ## More Cream quotes > [I have a lot of secret uses for sour cream, which is the magic ingredient in my mac and cheese. It's an old-timey, Southern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-have-a-lot-of-secret-uses-for-sour-cream-which-is-the-magic/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [The improved American highway system isolated the American-in-transit. On his speedway he had no contact with the towns which he by-passed. If he stopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-improved-american-highway-system-isolated-the-american-in-transit/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [It's still possible to savor the remarkable foods that millennia of human ingenuity have teased from milk. A sip of milk itself or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-mcgee/it-s-still-possible-to-savor-the-remarkable-foods-that-millennia-of/) [Harold McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-mcgee/) > ['Constitutional' is just a real pip of a word. Positively rolls off the tongue. In fact, it's downright fun to say. 'Con-stit-too-shun-al.' It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/constitutional-is-just-a-real-pip-of-a-word-positively-rolls-off-the/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [Better the fragrant herb of wit and a little cream of affability than all the pretty cups in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/better-the-fragrant-herb-of-wit-and-a-little-cream-of-affability-than/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [Oh wow, you know what's wrong with all these families on TV? All these kids say stuff no kid would say. Stuff grown-ups want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macaulay-culkin/oh-wow-you-know-what-s-wrong-with-all-these-families-on-tv-all-these/) [Macaulay Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macaulay-culkin/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [It shows you exactly how a star is formed; nothing else can be so pretty! A cluster of vapor, the cream of the milky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/it-shows-you-exactly-how-a-star-is-formed-nothing-else-can-be-so/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [There were some problems only coffee and ice cream could fix.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amal-el-mohtar/there-were-some-problems-only-coffee-and-ice-cream-could-fix/) [Amal El-Mohtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amal-el-mohtar/) > [We have lost the good old British spirit. Instead we have American journalism and black-shirted buffoons making a cheap imitation of ice-cream sellers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-mosley/we-have-lost-the-good-old-british-spirit-instead-we-have-american/) [Oswald Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-mosley/) > [The elevator shaft was a kind of heat sink. Hot food was cold by the time it arrived. Cold food got colder. No one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-elevator-shaft-was-a-kind-of-heat-sink-hot-food-was-cold-by-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I like Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream, as it's great for soothing dry skin and adding shine. I use it instead of balm, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-madekwe/i-like-elizabeth-arden-eight-hour-cream-as-it-s-great-for-soothing/) [Ashley Madekwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-madekwe/) > [I don't deny myself food. I'm no saint. I love butter and cream, but I also eat lots of grains and fruits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-zeta-jones/i-don-t-deny-myself-food-i-m-no-saint-i-love-butter-and-cream-but-i/) [Catherine Zeta-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-zeta-jones/) > [I don't always have the best eating habits. I like butter and ice cream. There are days when I should work out and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-griffith-joyner/i-don-t-always-have-the-best-eating-habits-i-like-butter-and-ice/) [Florence Griffith Joyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-griffith-joyner/) > [I didn't grow up in one of those restrictive Christian households where you couldn't do this or that. We were brought up with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolanda-adams/i-didn-t-grow-up-in-one-of-those-restrictive-christian-households/) [Yolanda Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolanda-adams/) [Browse all 813 Cream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Where subtlety fails us we must simply make do with cream pies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Brin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/where-subtlety-fails-us-we-must-simply-make-do-with-cream-pies/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cream" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/where-subtlety-fails-us-we-must-simply-make-do-with-cream-pies/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/david-brin-3024_cream_where-subtlety-fails-us-we-must-simply-m_1709147.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/david-brin-3024_cream_where-subtlety-fails-us-we-must-simply-m_1709147.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/david-brin-3024_cream_where-subtlety-fails-us-we-must-simply-m_1709147.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Where subtlety fails us we must simply make do with cream pies.” — David Brin", "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": "David Brin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Where subtlety fails us we must...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/where-subtlety-fails-us-we-must-simply-make-do-with-cream-pies/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/where-subtlety-fails-us-we-must-simply-make-do-with-cream-pies/#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 } } ] } ```