--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Discretion,” said Fen with great…" description: "\"“Discretion,” said Fen with great complacency, “is my middle name.” “I dare say. But very few people use their middle names.”\" — Edmund Crispin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/edmund-crispin-39865_quote_discretion-said-fen-with-great-complacen_1024148.jpg" --- # Discretion,” said Fen with great complacency, “is my… ![“Discretion,” said Fen with great complacency, “is my middle name.” “I dare say. But very few people use their middle names.” quote by Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/edmund-crispin-39865_quote_discretion-said-fen-with-great-complacen_1024148.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/edmund-crispin-39865_quote_discretion-said-fen-with-great-complacen_1024148.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/edmund-crispin-39865_quote_discretion-said-fen-with-great-complacen_1024148.jpg) > ““Discretion,” said Fen with great complacency, “is my middle name.” “I dare say. But very few people use their middle names.”” [Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He humorously claims “Discretion” as his middle name, noting few actually use theirs. **In simple terms:** Joking about middle name usage. Key Takeaway Don’t take such jokes too seriously. Themes humor identity language self‑presentation irony Mood playful witty Type literary humorous When to use this quote - social introductions - writing characters - personal branding Key Concepts name social conventions self‑deprecation Questions to Reflect On - Do you think names shape perception? - When does humor become misleading? A Different Perspective May obscure genuine personality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discretion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discretion/) [Discretion Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discretion-said-2300211/) [Middle Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-dare-2300213/) [Middle Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-names-1324881/) [Use Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-middle-2300212/) ## Related quotes > [“My penis is looooooong. Wait, I think I left off an O. Probably better that way, so I can use it as my middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/my-penis-is-looooooong-wait-i-think-i-left-off-an-o-probably-better/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [On the Internet, on IMDB, they've got that my middle name as Archibald. I don't have a middle name! My father doesn't like middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-paxton/on-the-internet-on-imdb-they-ve-got-that-my-middle-name-as-archibald/) [Bill Paxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-paxton/) > [Hey. My middle names platinum wars yours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-munton/hey-my-middle-names-platinum-wars-yours/) [Simone Munton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-munton/) > [“The name given me by my mother was, "Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey." I, however, had dispensed with the two middle names long before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/the-name-given-me-by-my-mother-was-frederick-augustus-washington/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Parents often give middle names just so that later, when they're yelling at the kid, they can drag it out. Henry David Thoreau, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-reiser/parents-often-give-middle-names-just-so-that-later-when-they-re/) [Paul Reiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-reiser/) > [Middle names are kind of like vice presidents: It's a fine distinction and certainly an honor, but you're never not aware that someone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-reiser/middle-names-are-kind-of-like-vice-presidents-it-s-a-fine-distinction/) [Paul Reiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-reiser/) > [I went to a Christian high school, so I went under my middle name. I don't think they would have accepted me in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebel-wilson/i-went-to-a-christian-high-school-so-i-went-under-my-middle-name-i/) [Rebel Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebel-wilson/) > [“Commonality & Camaraderie. By identifying, developing, and connecting powerful points of reference to others, you will have a rich resource of information from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/commonality-camaraderie-by-identifying-developing-and-connecting/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [Instead of a perpetual and perfect measure of the divine will, the fragments of the Koran were produced at the discretion of Mahomet; each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/instead-of-a-perpetual-and-perfect-measure-of-the-divine-will-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [ Forgiveness is the best part of valor...Discretion is easy. It's finding the courage to forgive yourself and others that is hard. \[Acheron\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/forgiveness-is-the-best-part-of-valor-discretion-is-easy-it-s-finding/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [The first principle of solid wisdom is discretion, without it all the erudition of life is merely bagatelle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/the-first-principle-of-solid-wisdom-is-discretion-without-it-all-the/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [“All sexual activity performed is at the discretion of the participants and is confined to only one hour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-a-miles/all-sexual-activity-performed-is-at-the-discretion-of-the/) [Karen A.Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-a-miles/) > [The fleet sailed to its war base in the North Sea, headed not so much for some rendezvous with glory as for rendezvous with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-fleet-sailed-to-its-war-base-in-the-north-sea-headed-not-so-much/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Aishwarya, my parent's daughter, has been brought up with enough values inculcated where I will use my discretion in my choices. At the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aishwarya-rai-bachchan/aishwarya-my-parent-s-daughter-has-been-brought-up-with-enough-values/) [Aishwarya Rai Bachchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aishwarya-rai-bachchan/) > [The policeman on the beat or in the patrol car makes more decisions and exercises broader discretion affecting the daily lives of people every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-e-burger/the-policeman-on-the-beat-or-in-the-patrol-car-makes-more-decisions/) [Warren E. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-e-burger/) ## More by Edmund Crispin > [“At this rate, he felt, he might even live to see the day when novelists described their characters by some other device than that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/at-this-rate-he-felt-he-might-even-live-to-see-the-day-when-novelists/) [Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) > [“To its left stood a transistor radio, which was emitting and indeed had been emitting for some considerable time, a symphonic movement of vaguely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/to-its-left-stood-a-transistor-radio-which-was-emitting-and-indeed/) [Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) > [“Indeed,' he said, tapping his fingers very rapidly on the desk. 'Indeed. I'm very pleased to know you, sir. Do me the honour of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/indeed-he-said-tapping-his-fingers-very-rapidly-on-the-desk-indeed-i/) [Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) > [None but the most blindly credulous will imagine the characters and events in this story to be anything but fictitious. It is true that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/none-but-the-most-blindly-credulous-will-imagine-the-characters-and/) [Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) > [“Down the Woodstock Road towards them an elderly, abnormally thin man was pedalling, his thin white hair streaming in the wind and sheer desperation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/down-the-woodstock-road-towards-them-an-elderly-abnormally-thin-man/) [Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) > [“The Misses Bale don’t like it a bit, but I say to them, “Titty,” I say -or as it may be, “Tatty” – their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/the-misses-bale-don-t-like-it-a-bit-but-i-say-to-them-titty-i-say-or/) [Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) > [“Well, my dear fellow, if you say so. But who is the Botticelli murderer?’ ‘I don’t know.’ ‘But you must know by now, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/well-my-dear-fellow-if-you-say-so-but-who-is-the-botticelli-murderer/) [Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) > [ \[A\] science fiction story is one which presupposes a technology, or an effect of technology, or a disturbance in the natural order, such as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/a-science-fiction-story-is-one-which-presupposes-a-technology-or-an/) [Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) > [“As the popularity of science-fiction increases, so inevitably does the volume of clownish imprecation against it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/as-the-popularity-of-science-fiction-increases-so-inevitably-does-the/) [Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) > [“He dredged in a pocket, producing from it a box of non-ethical, and indeed totally inefficacious, tranquillizers, such as could be bought without a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/he-dredged-in-a-pocket-producing-from-it-a-box-of-non-ethical-and/) [Edmund Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) [Explore all 11 Edmund Crispin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/) ## More Discretion quotes > [The policeman on the beat or in the patrol car makes more decisions and exercises broader discretion affecting the daily lives of people every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-e-burger/the-policeman-on-the-beat-or-in-the-patrol-car-makes-more-decisions/) [Warren E. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-e-burger/) > [Aishwarya, my parent's daughter, has been brought up with enough values inculcated where I will use my discretion in my choices. At the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aishwarya-rai-bachchan/aishwarya-my-parent-s-daughter-has-been-brought-up-with-enough-values/) [Aishwarya Rai Bachchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aishwarya-rai-bachchan/) > [The fleet sailed to its war base in the North Sea, headed not so much for some rendezvous with glory as for rendezvous with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-fleet-sailed-to-its-war-base-in-the-north-sea-headed-not-so-much/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [“All sexual activity performed is at the discretion of the participants and is confined to only one hour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-a-miles/all-sexual-activity-performed-is-at-the-discretion-of-the/) [Karen A.Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-a-miles/) > [The first principle of solid wisdom is discretion, without it all the erudition of life is merely bagatelle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/the-first-principle-of-solid-wisdom-is-discretion-without-it-all-the/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [ Forgiveness is the best part of valor...Discretion is easy. It's finding the courage to forgive yourself and others that is hard. \[Acheron\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/forgiveness-is-the-best-part-of-valor-discretion-is-easy-it-s-finding/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Instead of a perpetual and perfect measure of the divine will, the fragments of the Koran were produced at the discretion of Mahomet; each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/instead-of-a-perpetual-and-perfect-measure-of-the-divine-will-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“Commonality & Camaraderie. By identifying, developing, and connecting powerful points of reference to others, you will have a rich resource of information from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/commonality-camaraderie-by-identifying-developing-and-connecting/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [We lay aside letters never to read them again, and at last we destroy them out discretion, and so disappears the most immediate breath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-lay-aside-letters-never-to-read-them-again-and-at-last-we-destroy/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Drunkenness is the very sepulcher Of man's wit and his discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/drunkenness-is-the-very-sepulcher-of-man-s-wit-and-his-discretion/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Great is our admiration of the orator who speaks with fluency and discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/great-is-our-admiration-of-the-orator-who-speaks-with-fluency-and/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Be not too tame neither, but let your own Discretion be your tutor; suit the action to the word, the word to the action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/be-not-too-tame-neither-but-let-your-own-discretion-be-your-tutor/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O sir, you are old; nature in you stands on the very verge of her confine; you should be ruled and led by some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-sir-you-are-old-nature-in-you-stands-on-the-very-verge-of-her/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I have tales to tell, but I don't tell them. Discretion. Discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-peck/i-have-tales-to-tell-but-i-don-t-tell-them-discretion-discretion/) [Gregory Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-peck/) > [When you learn to discipline your tongue, you'll stop scrutinizing, judging and condemning others. You'll then focus on your own weaknesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mufti-ismail-menk/when-you-learn-to-discipline-your-tongue-you-ll-stop-scrutinizing/) [Mufti Ismail Menk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mufti-ismail-menk/) [Browse all 364 Discretion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discretion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Discretion,” said Fen with great complacency, “is my middle name.” “I dare say. But very few people use their middle names.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund Crispin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/discretion-said-fen-with-great-complacency-is-my-middle-name-i-dare/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discretion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/discretion-said-fen-with-great-complacency-is-my-middle-name-i-dare/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/edmund-crispin-39865_quote_discretion-said-fen-with-great-complacen_1024148.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/edmund-crispin-39865_quote_discretion-said-fen-with-great-complacen_1024148.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/edmund-crispin-39865_quote_discretion-said-fen-with-great-complacen_1024148.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Discretion,” said Fen with great complacency, “is my middle name.” “I dare say. But very few people use…” — Edmund Crispin", "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": "Edmund Crispin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-crispin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Discretion,” said Fen with great complacency,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/discretion-said-fen-with-great-complacency-is-my-middle-name-i-dare/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-crispin/discretion-said-fen-with-great-complacency-is-my-middle-name-i-dare/#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 } } ] } ```