---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you see me doing a new stand-up…"
description: "\"If you see me doing a new stand-up special, it probably means I've been out of work for a while.\" — Denis Leary"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/denis-leary-1350_mean_if-you-see-me-doing-a-new-stand-up-speci_1807574.png"
---

#  If you see me doing a new stand-up special, it probably…

![“If you see me doing a new stand-up special, it probably means I've been out of work for a while.” quote by Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/denis-leary-1350_mean_if-you-see-me-doing-a-new-stand-up-speci_1807574.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/denis-leary-1350_mean_if-you-see-me-doing-a-new-stand-up-speci_1807574.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/denis-leary-1350_mean_if-you-see-me-doing-a-new-stand-up-speci_1807574.png)

> “If you see me doing a new stand-up special, it probably means I've been out of work for a while.”

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A new stand‑up special often signals a period of unemployment for the comic.

**In simple terms:** Specials hint at job gaps.

Key Takeaway

Plan career transitions wisely.

Themes

career humor industry reality

Mood

wry observational

Type

industry personal

When to use this quote

- touring
- writing
- media appearances

Key Concepts

entertainment economics job cycles

Questions to Reflect On

- What does a new project mean for you?
- How to sustain creative work?

A Different Perspective

Not all specials indicate unemployment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/)

## Related quotes

> [Someone who doesn't realize how special you are probably doesn't deserve to be with you anyway. -](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/someone-who-doesn-t-realize-how-special-you-are-probably-doesn-t/)

[Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/)

> [For me, the goal wasn't to turn the stand-up special on its head, but to do what I do specifically, and hopefully that reads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-kroll/for-me-the-goal-wasn-t-to-turn-the-stand-up-special-on-its-head-but/)

[Nick Kroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-kroll/)

> [We educators stand at a special point in time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-marzano/we-educators-stand-at-a-special-point-in-time/)

Robert J. Marzano

> [You never know when my team is down and I might stand up and do something special. I focus on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hardik-pandya/you-never-know-when-my-team-is-down-and-i-might-stand-up-and-do/)

[Hardik Pandya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hardik-pandya/)

> [Let's prove that we're going to stand together, make the smart decisions that will get the economy going and growing for everybody, not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/let-s-prove-that-we-re-going-to-stand-together-make-the-smart/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [“It's the little things she needs someone for, like someone to hold her hand at the end of a long day, or someone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marla-miniano/it-s-the-little-things-she-needs-someone-for-like-someone-to-hold-her/)

[Marla Miniano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marla-miniano/)

> [“If people don't want you to question something, that probably means you should question it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/if-people-don-t-want-you-to-question-something-that-probably-means/)

[Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/)

> [If everyone likes you, it probably means you aren't saying much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-brazile/if-everyone-likes-you-it-probably-means-you-aren-t-saying-much/)

[Donna Brazile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-brazile/)

> [If people make fun of you, it probably means you're doing something right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lee/if-people-make-fun-of-you-it-probably-means-you-re-doing-something/)

[Amy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lee/)

> [“If you find yourself asking: How did I get here? Isador once said, that probably means you are living a life worth living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/if-you-find-yourself-asking-how-did-i-get-here-isador-once-said-that/)

[Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/)

> [Probably means there's a good chance. Possibly means we might or we might not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/probably-means-there-s-a-good-chance-possibly-means-we-might-or-we/)

[Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/)

> [If people make fun of you, that probably means you're doing something right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evanescence/if-people-make-fun-of-you-that-probably-means-you-re-doing-something/)

[Evanescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evanescence/)

> [I try to preface everything with "this isn't new." Because most social movements have happened before and I get that. Nothing I'm doing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yara-shahidi/i-try-to-preface-everything-with-this-isn-t-new-because-most-social/)

[Yara Shahidi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yara-shahidi/)

> [I always believe in doing new things and using new materials that I have never used or that I didn't like for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miuccia-prada/i-always-believe-in-doing-new-things-and-using-new-materials-that-i/)

[Miuccia Prada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miuccia-prada/)

> [I love going out and doing new things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-jackson/i-love-going-out-and-doing-new-things/)

[Bo Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-jackson/)

## More by Denis Leary

> [I'm sick and tired of our generation being called the TV generation. What do you expect? We watched Lee Harvey Oswald get his brains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-m-sick-and-tired-of-our-generation-being-called-the-tv-generation/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [My father left Ireland because he did not want to muck horse manure for the rest of his life, and he wanted to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/my-father-left-ireland-because-he-did-not-want-to-muck-horse-manure/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [I've eaten things that didn't complain this much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-ve-eaten-things-that-didn-t-complain-this-much/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [What I've learned is that life is too short and movies are too long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/what-i-ve-learned-is-that-life-is-too-short-and-movies-are-too-long/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [Yeah, I love living in New York, man, and people who live in New York, we wear that fact like a badge right on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/yeah-i-love-living-in-new-york-man-and-people-who-live-in-new-york-we/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [I've always had a thing for Catwoman. Michelle Pfeiffer or Halle Berry in tight leather pants, with the boots - I'm pretty good with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-ve-always-had-a-thing-for-catwoman-michelle-pfeiffer-or-halle-berry/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [I spent a long time working in the movies to figure out that kind of acting and also how to write and produce for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-spent-a-long-time-working-in-the-movies-to-figure-out-that-kind-of/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [I do have to say that I think that President Obama is the greatest President in the history of all of our Presidents, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-do-have-to-say-that-i-think-that-president-obama-is-the-greatest/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [I don't want to see a 'Sopranos' movie. This is just me. I like to think the end is where it was on TV…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-don-t-want-to-see-a-sopranos-movie-this-is-just-me-i-like-to-think/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [The best comedy audiences in the country and this is tried and true, I'm not just saying it, in my opinion are Boston, Atlanta,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/the-best-comedy-audiences-in-the-country-and-this-is-tried-and-true-i/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [Happy Easter everyone! Jesus dies, comes back from the dead - and we get chocolate eggs. It's like turn-down service from God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/happy-easter-everyone-jesus-dies-comes-back-from-the-dead-and-we-get/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [I believe in prescription drugs. I believe in feeling better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-believe-in-prescription-drugs-i-believe-in-feeling-better/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [You really want to have a back-up plan, so when you don't feel like acting, or you're getting older and settling down, you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/you-really-want-to-have-a-back-up-plan-so-when-you-don-t-feel-like/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [You try to - you want to fly on both sides of the political fence because that's where the - where the comedy is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/you-try-to-you-want-to-fly-on-both-sides-of-the-political-fence/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

> [I'm not really a Spider-Man fan. I'm more of a Batman guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-m-not-really-a-spider-man-fan-i-m-more-of-a-batman-guy/)

[Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

[Explore all 252 Denis Leary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/)

## More Mean quotes

> [That we have the vote means nothing. That we use it in the right way means everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-henry-hoover/that-we-have-the-vote-means-nothing-that-we-use-it-in-the-right-way/)

[Lou Henry Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-henry-hoover/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/)

[James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/)

> [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/)

[Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/)

> [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [Being blonde, for me, means never having to say: 'I'll have the honey-striped half-head of highlights for £200,' to a bored colourist in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-johnson/being-blonde-for-me-means-never-having-to-say-i-ll-have-the-honey/)

[Rachel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-johnson/)

> [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/)

[Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/)

> [What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you'd like it to mean?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/what-is-a-moderate-interpretation-of-the-text-halfway-between-what-it/)

[Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/)

> [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/)

[Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/)

> [The one means that wins the easiest victory over reason is terror and force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-one-means-that-wins-the-easiest-victory-over-reason-is-terror-and/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/)

[Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/)

> [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/)

[Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/)

Browse all 33,959 Mean quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If you see me doing a new stand-up special, it probably means I've been out of work for a while.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Denis Leary"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/if-you-see-me-doing-a-new-stand-up-special-it-probably-means-i-ve/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Mean"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/if-you-see-me-doing-a-new-stand-up-special-it-probably-means-i-ve/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/denis-leary-1350_mean_if-you-see-me-doing-a-new-stand-up-speci_1807574.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/denis-leary-1350_mean_if-you-see-me-doing-a-new-stand-up-speci_1807574.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/denis-leary-1350_mean_if-you-see-me-doing-a-new-stand-up-speci_1807574.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If you see me doing a new stand-up special, it probably means I've been out of work for a while.” — Denis Leary",
                "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": "Denis Leary",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If you see me doing a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/if-you-see-me-doing-a-new-stand-up-special-it-probably-means-i-ve/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/if-you-see-me-doing-a-new-stand-up-special-it-probably-means-i-ve/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
