--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The phone wavered in Richard's hand. He…" description: "\"“The phone wavered in Richard's hand. He was holding it about half an inch away from his ear anyway because it seemed that somebody had dipped the earp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/douglas-adams-122_humor_the-phone-wavered-in-richard-s-hand-he-w_2281096.jpg" --- # The phone wavered in Richard's hand. He was holding it… ![“The phone wavered in Richard's hand. He was holding it about half an inch away from his ear anyway because it seemed that somebody had dipped the earpiece in some chow mein recently, but that wasn't so bad. It was a public telephone so it was clearly an oversight that it was working at all.” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/douglas-adams-122_humor_the-phone-wavered-in-richard-s-hand-he-w_2281096.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/douglas-adams-122_humor_the-phone-wavered-in-richard-s-hand-he-w_2281096.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/douglas-adams-122_humor_the-phone-wavered-in-richard-s-hand-he-w_2281096.jpg) > ““The phone wavered in Richard's hand. He was holding it about half an inch away from his ear anyway because it seemed that somebody had dipped the earpiece in some chow mein recently, but that wasn't so bad. It was a public telephone so it was clearly an oversight that it was working at all.”” [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A mundane phone call becomes absurd due to a strange, comedic mishap. **In simple terms:** A phone call is oddly funny. Key Takeaway Find humor in everyday glitches. Themes absurdity humor technology communication Mood lighthearted ironic Type satirical observational When to use this quote - customer service - public spaces - travel - unexpected failures Key Concepts Satire British comedy Questions to Reflect On - How do you react to minor tech annoyances? - Can humor change your perception of inconvenience? A Different Perspective The joke may downplay real frustrations with tech. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earpiece Chow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earpiece-chow-5324166/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Phone Wavered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phone-wavered-5324165/) [Phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phones/) [Sarcasm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sarcasm/) [Telephone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephone/) [Telephone Clearly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephone-clearly-2685879/) [Wavered Richard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wavered-richard-5324167/) ## Related quotes > [“This was a public telephone so it was clearly an oversight that it was working at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/this-was-a-public-telephone-so-it-was-clearly-an-oversight-that-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [A nerd is someone who uses a telephone to talk to other people about telephones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/a-nerd-is-someone-who-uses-a-telephone-to-talk-to-other-people-about/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Here’s an interesting little notion. Did you realize that most people’s lives are governed by telephone numbers?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/here-s-an-interesting-little-notion-did-you-realize-that-most-people/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“I certainly don’t like the idea of missionaries. In fact, the whole business fills me with fear and alarm. I don’t believe in God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-certainly-don-t-like-the-idea-of-missionaries-in-fact-the-whole/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“JUST WHAT IS GOOGLE? In 1902, the New York Telephone Company opened the world’s first school for “telephone girls.” It was an exclusive institution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/just-what-is-google-in-1902-the-new-york-telephone-company-opened-the/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [You can't pick up the telephone and say, 'Connect me with someone else who has a kid with leukemia.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/you-can-t-pick-up-the-telephone-and-say-connect-me-with-someone-else/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [It could be a little bit sad as a young girl to sit there and wait in front of the telephone that would never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-karina/it-could-be-a-little-bit-sad-as-a-young-girl-to-sit-there-and-wait-in/) [Anna Karina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-karina/) > [The telephone is the most important single technological resource of later life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-comfort/the-telephone-is-the-most-important-single-technological-resource-of/) [Alex Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-comfort/) > [The KKK members that I was dealing with never saw me because my interaction with them occurred over the phone. 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An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/telephone-n-an-invention-of-the-devil-which-abrogates-some-of-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Douglas Adams > [2,000 years ago one man got nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be if everyone was nice to each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/2-000-years-ago-one-man-got-nailed-to-a-tree-for-saying-how-great-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [One is never alone with a rubber duck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/one-is-never-alone-with-a-rubber-duck/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [This must be Thursday. 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"Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-does-otherwise-you-could-not/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“When we told our guide that we didn't want to go to all the tourist places he took us instead to the places where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/when-we-told-our-guide-that-we-didn-t-want-to-go-to-all-the-tourist/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“But Douglas was a genius, because he saw the world differently, and more importantly, he could communicate the world he saw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/but-douglas-was-a-genius-because-he-saw-the-world-differently-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The bits which did mean anything were often so wonderfully buried that no one could ever spot them slipping past in the avalanche of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-bits-which-did-mean-anything-were-often-so-wonderfully-buried/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [You come to me for advice, but you can't cope with anything you don't recognize. 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