--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Snarling an oath from an Icelandic saga…" description: "\"“Snarling an oath from an Icelandic saga, I reclaimed my place at the head of the queue. \"Oy!\" yelled a punk rocker, with studs in his cranium. \"There'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/david-mitchell-264_absurd_snarling-an-oath-from-an-icelandic-saga_2455037.jpg" --- # Snarling an oath from an Icelandic saga, I reclaimed my… ![“Snarling an oath from an Icelandic saga, I reclaimed my place at the head of the queue. "Oy!" yelled a punk rocker, with studs in his cranium. "There's a fackin' queue!" Never apologize, advises Lloyd George. Say it again, only this time, ruder. "I know there's a 'fackin' queue'! I already queued…” quote by David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/david-mitchell-264_absurd_snarling-an-oath-from-an-icelandic-saga_2455037.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/david-mitchell-264_absurd_snarling-an-oath-from-an-icelandic-saga_2455037.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/david-mitchell-264_absurd_snarling-an-oath-from-an-icelandic-saga_2455037.jpg) > ““Snarling an oath from an Icelandic saga, I reclaimed my place at the head of the queue. "Oy!" yelled a punk rocker, with studs in his cranium. "There's a fackin' queue!" Never apologize, advises Lloyd George. Say it again, only this time, ruder. "I know there's a 'fackin' queue'! I already queued in it once and I am not going to queue in it again just because Nina Simone over there won't sell me a ruddy ticket!" A colored yeti in a clip-on uniform swooped. "Wassa bovver?" "This old man here reckons his colostomy bag entitles him to jump the queue," said the skinhead, " and make racist slurs about the lady of Afro-Caribbean extraction in the advance-travel window." I couldn't believe I was hearing this.”” [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A chaotic, satirical scene illustrates how people use profanity, aggression, and identity politics to claim superiority in everyday conflicts. **In simple terms:** People argue and insult to feel powerful. Key Takeaway Avoid escalating conflicts with insults. Themes conflict identity social hierarchy humor satire Mood irritated sarcastic critical Type satirical observational. When to use this quote - queue lines - public transport - political protest - online debates - workplace disputes Key Concepts power dynamics social critique absurdity Questions to Reflect On - How does humor affect our perception of injustice? - What can we do to de‑escalate hostile encounters? A Different Perspective The humor may obscure the seriousness of discrimination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Punk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punk/) [Punk Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punk-rocker/) [Queue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/queue/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Skinhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skinhead/) ## Related quotes > [At the sperm bank there was a woman in the 'deposit' queue. I said she was in the wrong queue but she couldn't answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/at-the-sperm-bank-there-was-a-woman-in-the-deposit-queue-i-said-she/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [When I was a kid in the mid-'60s, I was what's known as a moddie boy, a prototype skinhead. You all had your hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-parker/when-i-was-a-kid-in-the-mid-60s-i-was-what-s-known-as-a-moddie-boy-a/) [Graham Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-parker/) > [In the late 60's to the early 70's, I was caught between the hippie and the skinhead movement. I had my hair cut so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-wakeling/in-the-late-60-s-to-the-early-70-s-i-was-caught-between-the-hippie/) [Dave Wakeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-wakeling/) > [I know from firsthand experience that our environment and the things and people who cross our paths make all the difference. If people have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-picciolini/i-know-from-firsthand-experience-that-our-environment-and-the-things/) [Christian Picciolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-picciolini/) > [I was a very lame skinhead. I had to be in by 8:30 P. M., so I used to pretend that I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/i-was-a-very-lame-skinhead-i-had-to-be-in-by-8-30-p-m-so-i-used-to/) [Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/) > [For me, my entry point, when I was old enough, was the skinhead/suedehead thing, sort of like '70/'71. People didn't have much money -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weller/for-me-my-entry-point-when-i-was-old-enough-was-the-skinhead/) [Paul Weller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weller/) > [For those of you who worry that I am a skinhead and anything that goes along with that, I am not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zupan/for-those-of-you-who-worry-that-i-am-a-skinhead-and-anything-that/) [Mark Zupan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zupan/) > [ Both this song \['Black Skinhead'\], 'I Am a God' and this song were made after Hedi Slimane didn't let me into his first Saint… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/both-this-song-black-skinhead-i-am-a-god-and-this-song-were-made/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [The first role I ever did... I played a Nazi skinhead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/the-first-role-i-ever-did-i-played-a-nazi-skinhead/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [When I was a teenager, you were either a punk, a skinhead or a mod, or you weren't on the scene. Me and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorian-yates/when-i-was-a-teenager-you-were-either-a-punk-a-skinhead-or-a-mod-or/) [Dorian Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorian-yates/) > [“There wasn't a human being for several kilometers around, not a news-stand, not a shop, not a café, not a school. Not a cat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-philippe-toussaint/there-wasn-t-a-human-being-for-several-kilometers-around-not-a-news/) [Jean-Philippe Toussaint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-philippe-toussaint/) > [This is our sensation, all over the nation! Read all about it! read all about it! Skinhead invasion!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-aitken/this-is-our-sensation-all-over-the-nation-read-all-about-it-read-all/) [Laurel Aitken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-aitken/) > ['Black Skinhead' almost got deaded because it was too much like a soccer song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-dean/black-skinhead-almost-got-deaded-because-it-was-too-much-like-a/) [Mike Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-dean/) > [“Make sure you take lots of pictures, and if you come back using words like 'queue' or 'lorry', I'll be very upset.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/make-sure-you-take-lots-of-pictures-and-if-you-come-back-using-words/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [Perhaps we've time to have a look at the Number Thirty-One bus queue before we turn in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-trillin/perhaps-we-ve-time-to-have-a-look-at-the-number-thirty-one-bus-queue/) [Calvin Trillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-trillin/) ## More by David Mitchell > [“In the next room a freckly girl Julia's age sat in a wheelchair. One of her legs wasn't there. She'd probably love to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/in-the-next-room-a-freckly-girl-julia-s-age-sat-in-a-wheelchair-one/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I envied my uncritical, unthinking sisters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-envied-my-uncritical-unthinking-sisters/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“... Ethical cyberexplorers are responsible, yeah? We are friendly ghosts in the machine, not poltergeists or hooligans. We are a growing breed. Over sixty-five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/ethical-cyberexplorers-are-responsible-yeah-we-are-friendly-ghosts-in/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I succumbed. Late-fifteenth-century verb, Old French succomber or Latin succumbere, but a basic necessity of the human condition, especially mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-succumbed-late-fifteenth-century-verb-old-french-succomber-or-latin/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Your environment affects you wherever you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/your-environment-affects-you-wherever-you-are/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“The second tunnel’s a Ministry of Defence tunnel...dug for a nuclear bomb shelter. The entrance is in the garden center at Woolworth’s in Great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-second-tunnel-s-a-ministry-of-defence-tunnel-dug-for-a-nuclear/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Loyalty looks simple... but it ain't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/loyalty-looks-simple-but-it-ain-t/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Only the trombonist played on. That's trombonists for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/only-the-trombonist-played-on-that-s-trombonists-for-you/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [War's an auction where whoever can pay the most in damage and still be standing wins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/war-s-an-auction-where-whoever-can-pay-the-most-in-damage-and-still/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [The human world is made of stories, not people. The people the stories use to tell themselves are not to be blamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-human-world-is-made-of-stories-not-people-the-people-the-stories/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [So little is actually worthy of belief or disbelief. Better to strive to coexist than seek to disapprove . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/so-little-is-actually-worthy-of-belief-or-disbelief-better-to-strive/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [I elbowed my way into the grubby café, bought a pie that tasted of shoe polish and a pot of tea with cork crumbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-elbowed-my-way-into-the-grubby-caf-bought-a-pie-that-tasted-of-shoe/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“A classical LP was playing... ... Jealous and sweet, this music was, sobbing and gorgeous, muddy and crystal. But if the right words existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/a-classical-lp-was-playing-jealous-and-sweet-this-music-was-sobbing/) [david mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [How lazily "xperts" dismiss what they fail to understand!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/how-lazily-xperts-dismiss-what-they-fail-to-understand/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Writing poetry's,' I looked around the solarium, but Madame Crommelynck's got a tractor beam, 'sort of . . . gay.' '"Gay"? A merry activity?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/writing-poetry-s-i-looked-around-the-solarium-but-madame-crommelynck/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) [Explore all 748 David Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Snarling an oath from an Icelandic saga, I reclaimed my place at the head of the queue. \"Oy!\" yelled a punk rocker, with studs in his cranium. \"There's a fackin' queue!\" Never apologize, advises Lloyd George. Say it again, only this time, ruder. \"I know there's a 'fackin' queue'! I already queued in it once and I am not going to queue in it again just because Nina Simone over there won't sell me a ruddy ticket!\" A colored yeti in a clip-on uniform swooped. \"Wassa bovver?\" \"This old man here reckons his colostomy bag entitles him to jump the queue,\" said the skinhead, \" and make racist slurs about the lady of Afro-Caribbean extraction in the advance-travel window.\" I couldn't believe I was hearing this.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Mitchell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/snarling-an-oath-from-an-icelandic-saga-i-reclaimed-my-place-at-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/snarling-an-oath-from-an-icelandic-saga-i-reclaimed-my-place-at-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/david-mitchell-264_absurd_snarling-an-oath-from-an-icelandic-saga_2455037.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/david-mitchell-264_absurd_snarling-an-oath-from-an-icelandic-saga_2455037.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/david-mitchell-264_absurd_snarling-an-oath-from-an-icelandic-saga_2455037.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Snarling an oath from an Icelandic saga, I reclaimed my place at the head of the queue. \"Oy!\" yelled a punk…” — David Mitchell", "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 Mitchell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Snarling an oath from an Icelandic...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/snarling-an-oath-from-an-icelandic-saga-i-reclaimed-my-place-at-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/snarling-an-oath-from-an-icelandic-saga-i-reclaimed-my-place-at-the/#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 } } ] } ```