--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...something which, for want of a more…" description: "\"“...something which, for want of a more definite term at present, I must be permitted to be called queer; but which Mr. Coleridge would have called mys..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/edgar-allan-poe-315_queer_something-which-for-want-of-a-more-defin_550457.jpg" --- # ...something which, for want of a more definite term at… ![“...something which, for want of a more definite term at present, I must be permitted to be called queer; but which Mr. Coleridge would have called mystical, Mr. Kant pantheistical, Mr. Carlyle twistical, and Mr. Emerson hyperquizzitistical.” quote by Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/edgar-allan-poe-315_queer_something-which-for-want-of-a-more-defin_550457.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/edgar-allan-poe-315_queer_something-which-for-want-of-a-more-defin_550457.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/edgar-allan-poe-315_queer_something-which-for-want-of-a-more-defin_550457.jpg) > ““...something which, for want of a more definite term at present, I must be permitted to be called queer; but which Mr. Coleridge would have called mystical, Mr. Kant pantheistical, Mr. Carlyle twistical, and Mr. Emerson hyperquizzitistical.”” [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author labels unconventional ideas with playful, hybrid terms, blending mysticism, pantheism, and eccentricity. **In simple terms:** Poe mixes many philosophical labels into a quirky description. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity in thought. Themes philosophy creativity language eccentricity literature Mood curious playful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literary criticism - philosophical discourse - creative writing - academic analysis Key Concepts semantic blending intellectual playfulness genre hybridity Questions to Reflect On - What does “hyperquizzitistical” suggest about the nature of ideas? - How does mixing labels affect understanding? A Different Perspective Such eclectic labeling can obscure clear meaning for readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Mystical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-mystical-879841/) [Called Queer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-queer-2389227/) [Coleridge Called](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coleridge-called-1868874/) [Kant Pantheistical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kant-pantheistical-4584134/) [Queer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/queer/) ## Related quotes > [Yes, it's called 'Queer Eye' and there are five gay men on it, but we're also tackling real issues. The conversations we have on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-france/yes-it-s-called-queer-eye-and-there-are-five-gay-men-on-it-but-we-re/) [Tan France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-france/) > [It's not called 'Queer Eye For the Straight Guy' now for a reason. We want to be able to help more and more people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-france/it-s-not-called-queer-eye-for-the-straight-guy-now-for-a-reason-we/) [Tan France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-france/) > [“I guess I think of it as what we called each other in college when we didn't want to use gay to refer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-chant/i-guess-i-think-of-it-as-what-we-called-each-other-in-college-when-we/) [Austin Chant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-chant/) > [Those who write need that "willing suspension of disbelief ", as Coleridge called it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/those-who-write-need-that-willing-suspension-of-disbelief-as/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [When I was 17, I had an experience that I later learned could be called a 'mystical experience.' It was almost violent. No faces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/when-i-was-17-i-had-an-experience-that-i-later-learned-could-be/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [The valley spirit never dies. It is called the mystical female.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-valley-spirit-never-dies-it-is-called-the-mystical-female/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“I used unexpectedly to experience a consciousness of the presence of God, or such a kind that I could not possibly doubt that He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-teresa-de-jes-s/i-used-unexpectedly-to-experience-a-consciousness-of-the-presence-of/) [Santa Teresa de Jesús](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-teresa-de-jes-s/) > [“Wow, so he’d been called queer. It hurt, of course it did, he’d done nothing wrong. He was no different to the person he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olley-white/wow-so-he-d-been-called-queer-it-hurt-of-course-it-did-he-d-done/) [Olley White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olley-white/) > [I do think that for a queer person to speak truthfully without shame about their own experiences is political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-bruce/i-do-think-that-for-a-queer-person-to-speak-truthfully-without-shame/) [Liv Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-bruce/) > [“It didn’t break the trance. She wasn’t sure that anything could, and briefly wondered if they’d stay like this until flesh rotted away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-morgan/it-didn-t-break-the-trance-she-wasn-t-sure-that-anything-could-and/) [Ashton Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-morgan/) > [“Everyone knew that girls who admitted to liking girls stopped being whatever they were before and became a cross between a lumberjack and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-ochs/everyone-knew-that-girls-who-admitted-to-liking-girls-stopped-being/) [Robyn Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-ochs/) > [“Well, of course, it was not any of my business but you get very queer glimpses of life sometimes, and you can't help speculating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/well-of-course-it-was-not-any-of-my-business-but-you-get-very-queer/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [A lot of queer characters get painted with either a caricature brush, or they're used to teach, in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-levy/a-lot-of-queer-characters-get-painted-with-either-a-caricature-brush/) [Dan Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-levy/) > [“There's something very... I don't know; primitive, perhaps, about you, Gurgeh. You've never changed sex, have you?' He shook his head. 'Or slept with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/there-s-something-very-i-don-t-know-primitive-perhaps-about-you/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [Queer? Is this queer? These queer? What's up? What's up?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dirt/queer-is-this-queer-these-queer-what-s-up-what-s-up/) [Joe Dirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dirt/) ## More by Edgar Allan Poe > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [There is no passion in nature so demoniacally impatient, as that of him who, shuddering upon the edge of a precipice, thus meditates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/there-is-no-passion-in-nature-so-demoniacally-impatient-as-that-of/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [To vilify a great man is the readiest way in which a little man can himself attain greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/to-vilify-a-great-man-is-the-readiest-way-in-which-a-little-man-can/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“A skillful literary artist has constructed a tale. If wise, he has not fashioned his thoughts to accommodate his incidents; but having conceived, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/a-skillful-literary-artist-has-constructed-a-tale-if-wise-he-has-not/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“For eyes we have no models in the remotely antique.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/for-eyes-we-have-no-models-in-the-remotely-antique/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/during-the-whole-of-a-dull-dark-and-soundless-day-in-the-autumn-of/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/those-who-dream-by-day-are-cognizant-of-many-things-that-escape-those/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“I have said that the sole effect of my somewhat childish experiment—that of looking down within the tarn—had been to deepen the first singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-have-said-that-the-sole-effect-of-my-somewhat-childish-experiment/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [And all my days are trances, And all my nightly dreams Are where thy dark eye glances, And where thy footstep gleams-- In what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/and-all-my-days-are-trances-and-all-my-nightly-dreams-are-where-thy/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“Other friends have flown before — On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.” Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/other-friends-have-flown-before-on-the-morrow-he-will-leave-me-as-my/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“To the right and left, as far as the eye could reach, there lay outstretched, like ramparts of the world, lines of horridly black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/to-the-right-and-left-as-far-as-the-eye-could-reach-there-lay/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Men die nightly in their beds, wringing the hands of ghostly confessors ... on account of the hideousness of mysteries which will not suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/men-die-nightly-in-their-beds-wringing-the-hands-of-ghostly/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [And the Raven, never flitting, Still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas Just above my chamber door; And his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/and-the-raven-never-flitting-still-is-sitting-still-is-sitting-on-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-was-forced-to-fall-back-upon-the-unsatisfactory-conclusion-that/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise but i feel the bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/for-the-moon-never-beams-without-bringing-me-dreams-of-the-beautiful/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) [Explore all 615 Edgar Allan Poe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) ## More Queer quotes > [Queer? Is this queer? These queer? What's up? What's up?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dirt/queer-is-this-queer-these-queer-what-s-up-what-s-up/) [Joe Dirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dirt/) > [I do think that for a queer person to speak truthfully without shame about their own experiences is political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-bruce/i-do-think-that-for-a-queer-person-to-speak-truthfully-without-shame/) [Liv Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-bruce/) > [“It didn’t break the trance. She wasn’t sure that anything could, and briefly wondered if they’d stay like this until flesh rotted away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-morgan/it-didn-t-break-the-trance-she-wasn-t-sure-that-anything-could-and/) [Ashton Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-morgan/) > [“Well, of course, it was not any of my business but you get very queer glimpses of life sometimes, and you can't help speculating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/well-of-course-it-was-not-any-of-my-business-but-you-get-very-queer/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“Everyone knew that girls who admitted to liking girls stopped being whatever they were before and became a cross between a lumberjack and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-ochs/everyone-knew-that-girls-who-admitted-to-liking-girls-stopped-being/) [Robyn Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-ochs/) > [“There's something very... I don't know; primitive, perhaps, about you, Gurgeh. You've never changed sex, have you?' He shook his head. 'Or slept with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/there-s-something-very-i-don-t-know-primitive-perhaps-about-you/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [A lot of queer characters get painted with either a caricature brush, or they're used to teach, in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-levy/a-lot-of-queer-characters-get-painted-with-either-a-caricature-brush/) [Dan Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-levy/) > [Karl Ove Knausgaard is one of my literary heroes. This distresses many of my female, queer, and trans friends: Torrey, you have every woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/karl-ove-knausgaard-is-one-of-my-literary-heroes-this-distresses-many/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [“It is very queer that the unhappiness of the world is so often brought on by small men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/it-is-very-queer-that-the-unhappiness-of-the-world-is-so-often/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [I was on MTV's 'Real World' at the time when 'Queer Eye' came out. I remember, the first time I won an award, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karamo-brown/i-was-on-mtv-s-real-world-at-the-time-when-queer-eye-came-out-i/) [Karamo Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karamo-brown/) > [As a queer woman of colour I've been asked to be more urban, as if my brand of Blackness wasn't quite Black enough. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariana-debose/as-a-queer-woman-of-colour-i-ve-been-asked-to-be-more-urban-as-if-my/) [Ariana DeBose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariana-debose/) > [America I'm putting my queer shoulder to the wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/america-i-m-putting-my-queer-shoulder-to-the-wheel/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [In 'Queer as Folk,' we had three or four sex scenes in every episode, so I got used to doing that very early on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-podeswa/in-queer-as-folk-we-had-three-or-four-sex-scenes-in-every-episode-so/) [Jeremy Podeswa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-podeswa/) > [“To feeling no shame in fear, no doubt in survival, and no silence in anger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristy-c-road/to-feeling-no-shame-in-fear-no-doubt-in-survival-and-no-silence-in/) [Cristy C. Road](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristy-c-road/) > [“All monsters are queers. Who is able to bring the dead back to life? God and the Devil. The Devil makes dead men into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-mccormack/all-monsters-are-queers-who-is-able-to-bring-the-dead-back-to-life/) [Derek McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-mccormack/) [Browse all 466 Queer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/queer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...something which, for want of a more definite term at present, I must be permitted to be called queer; but which Mr. Coleridge would have called mystical, Mr. Kant pantheistical, Mr. Carlyle twistical, and Mr. Emerson hyperquizzitistical.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edgar Allan Poe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/something-which-for-want-of-a-more-definite-term-at-present-i-must-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Queer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/something-which-for-want-of-a-more-definite-term-at-present-i-must-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/edgar-allan-poe-315_queer_something-which-for-want-of-a-more-defin_550457.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/edgar-allan-poe-315_queer_something-which-for-want-of-a-more-defin_550457.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/356/edgar-allan-poe-315_queer_something-which-for-want-of-a-more-defin_550457.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...something which, for want of a more definite term at present, I must be permitted to be called queer; but…” — Edgar Allan Poe", "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": "Edgar Allan Poe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...something which, for want of a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/something-which-for-want-of-a-more-definite-term-at-present-i-must-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/something-which-for-want-of-a-more-definite-term-at-present-i-must-be/#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 } } ] } ```