--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s a perfectly handy skill for any boy…" description: "\"“It’s a perfectly handy skill for any boy to know.” “Certainly it is, if he needs to hail a passing tugboat.”\" — Donna Tartt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/donna-tartt-391_quote_it-s-a-perfectly-handy-skill-for-any-boy_2039343.jpg" --- # It’s a perfectly handy skill for any boy to know.”… ![“It’s a perfectly handy skill for any boy to know.” “Certainly it is, if he needs to hail a passing tugboat.” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/donna-tartt-391_quote_it-s-a-perfectly-handy-skill-for-any-boy_2039343.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/donna-tartt-391_quote_it-s-a-perfectly-handy-skill-for-any-boy_2039343.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/donna-tartt-391_quote_it-s-a-perfectly-handy-skill-for-any-boy_2039343.jpg) > ““It’s a perfectly handy skill for any boy to know.” “Certainly it is, if he needs to hail a passing tugboat.”” [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A skill, even if seemingly trivial, can become crucial in unexpected situations. **In simple terms:** Useful skills matter. Key Takeaway Learn versatile abilities. Themes education skill preparedness Mood thoughtful curious Type literary advice When to use this quote - daily life - emergencies - travel - hobbies Key Concepts practical knowledge adaptability Questions to Reflect On - Which skill could change a future scenario? - How do you decide what to learn? A Different Perspective Some skills may never be needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boy Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boy-know-2123372/) [Handy Skill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handy-skill-3786202/) [Passing Tugboat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing-tugboat-3786201/) [Skill Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skill-boy-3786200/) [Tugboat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tugboat-1507862/) ## Related quotes > [You are wise as well as short." "I can also break bricks with my bare hands." "That's a handy skill if you ever find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-are-wise-as-well-as-short-i-can-also-break-bricks-with-my-bare/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [The first book I fell in love with was 'Little Toot,' the story of an adorable tugboat operating out of New York Harbor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-st-aubyn-2/the-first-book-i-fell-in-love-with-was-little-toot-the-story-of-an/) [Edward St Aubyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-st-aubyn-2/) > [“The more closely he has observed the tugboat, the more deeply he has been stirred by it, and the more eagerly and vividly he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-pratt/the-more-closely-he-has-observed-the-tugboat-the-more-deeply-he-has/) [Caroline Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-pratt/) > [“Once the tugboat takes you out to the ocean liner, you got to get all the way on board. Can't straddle both decks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-the-tugboat-takes-you-out-to-the-ocean-liner-you-got-to-get-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A FACE OF HIM SELF HOW CAN A LITTLE BOY KNOW WHICH WAY TO GO IF HIS FATHER WAS NEVER THERE TO SHOW HIM…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-palmo/a-face-of-him-self-how-can-a-little-boy-know-which-way-to-go-if-his/) [ROBERT PALMO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-palmo/) > [“I was a teenage boy once too, you know," Uncle Mort said, popping back up. "I know what your brain looks like. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-damico/i-was-a-teenage-boy-once-too-you-know-uncle-mort-said-popping-back-up/) [Gina Damico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-damico/) > [You can take the boy out of Bombay; you can't take Bombay out of the boy, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/you-can-take-the-boy-out-of-bombay-you-can-t-take-bombay-out-of-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [As a country boy you know I can survive, you'll never catch me out my house without my nine or my forty-five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-lewis/as-a-country-boy-you-know-i-can-survive-you-ll-never-catch-me-out-my/) [Aaron Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-lewis/) > [Boy you got me senseless I put my gaurd down playin' my defenses, I'm inna loop boy lost in you love boy you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brick-and-lace/boy-you-got-me-senseless-i-put-my-gaurd-down-playin-my-defenses-i-m/) [Brick And Lace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brick-and-lace/) > [Normal boy? How would I know what a normal boy would do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-coogan/normal-boy-how-would-i-know-what-a-normal-boy-would-do/) [Jackie Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-coogan/) > [My mom lives with me. She lives with me, yeah. I'm a mommy's boy, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dion-waiters/my-mom-lives-with-me-she-lives-with-me-yeah-i-m-a-mommy-s-boy-you-know/) [Dion Waiters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dion-waiters/) > [Now my whole life has changed, since you came around boy! It's so great, the way you make me feel within.. I'm so thankful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-my-whole-life-has-changed-since-you-came-around-boy-it-s-so-great/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Some day, his mind said, that boy would know what things were in the books and what things were not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/some-day-his-mind-said-that-boy-would-know-what-things-were-in-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Boy, you know how much I love you and care for you, so why you taking my love for granted?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rochanda-f/boy-you-know-how-much-i-love-you-and-care-for-you-so-why-you-taking/) [Rochanda F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rochanda-f/) > [I don't know how or why or when I fell in love with this boy. all I know is I love him. <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-how-or-why-or-when-i-fell-in-love-with-this-boy-all-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Donna Tartt > [I hope we're all ready to leave the phenomenal world, and enter into the sublime?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-hope-we-re-all-ready-to-leave-the-phenomenal-world-and-enter-into/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-i-add-my-own-love-to-the-history-of-people-who-have-loved/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The world won't come to me...so I must go to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-world-won-t-come-to-me-so-i-must-go-to-it/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [There's an expectation these days that novels - like any other consumer product - should be made on a production line, with one dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/there-s-an-expectation-these-days-that-novels-like-any-other-consumer/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. But that Sunday afternoon, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-month-or-two-before-i-would-have-been-appalled-at-the-idea-of-any/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Well, I think storytellers have always found murder a fascinating device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/well-i-think-storytellers-have-always-found-murder-a-fascinating/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Always remember, the person we’re really working for is the person who’s restoring the piece a hundred years from now. He’s the one we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/always-remember-the-person-we-re-really-working-for-is-the-person-who/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The silence between us was happy and strange, connected by the cord and the icy voices thinly echoing. “You don’t have to talk,” she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-silence-between-us-was-happy-and-strange-connected-by-the-cord/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from all the world, that no one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-learn-as-a-child-that-one-is-a-being/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“You didn’t meet many people who moved freely through the world with such a vigorous contempt for it and at the same time such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/you-didn-t-meet-many-people-who-moved-freely-through-the-world-with/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“maybe that’s what’s waiting for us at the end of the journey, a majesty unimaginable until the very moment we find ourselves walking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/maybe-that-s-what-s-waiting-for-us-at-the-end-of-the-journey-a/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“lights and moods and seasons was to see it a thousand different ways and to keep it shut in the dark—a thing made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/lights-and-moods-and-seasons-was-to-see-it-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-great-sorrow-and-one-that-i-am-only-beginning-to-understand-we-don/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Upon meeting Julian Morrow, one has the impression that he is a man of extraordinary sympathy and warmth. But what you call his 'Asiatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/upon-meeting-julian-morrow-one-has-the-impression-that-he-is-a-man-of/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) [Explore all 590 Donna Tartt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## More Tugboat quotes > [“The more closely he has observed the tugboat, the more deeply he has been stirred by it, and the more eagerly and vividly he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-pratt/the-more-closely-he-has-observed-the-tugboat-the-more-deeply-he-has/) [Caroline Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-pratt/) > [The first book I fell in love with was 'Little Toot,' the story of an adorable tugboat operating out of New York Harbor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-st-aubyn-2/the-first-book-i-fell-in-love-with-was-little-toot-the-story-of-an/) [Edward St Aubyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-st-aubyn-2/) > [“Once the tugboat takes you out to the ocean liner, you got to get all the way on board. Can't straddle both decks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-the-tugboat-takes-you-out-to-the-ocean-liner-you-got-to-get-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 4 Tugboat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tugboat-1507862/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It’s a perfectly handy skill for any boy to know.” “Certainly it is, if he needs to hail a passing tugboat.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Tartt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-s-a-perfectly-handy-skill-for-any-boy-to-know-certainly-it-is-if/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tugboat" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-s-a-perfectly-handy-skill-for-any-boy-to-know-certainly-it-is-if/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/donna-tartt-391_quote_it-s-a-perfectly-handy-skill-for-any-boy_2039343.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/donna-tartt-391_quote_it-s-a-perfectly-handy-skill-for-any-boy_2039343.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/865/donna-tartt-391_quote_it-s-a-perfectly-handy-skill-for-any-boy_2039343.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It’s a perfectly handy skill for any boy to know.” “Certainly it is, if he needs to hail a passing tugboat.” — Donna Tartt", "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": "Donna Tartt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It’s a perfectly handy skill for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-s-a-perfectly-handy-skill-for-any-boy-to-know-certainly-it-is-if/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-s-a-perfectly-handy-skill-for-any-boy-to-know-certainly-it-is-if/#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 } } ] } ```