--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B…" description: "\"“A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil assaulted by bears. C is for Clara who wasted away. D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh. E i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1e/edward-gorey-9339_choked_a-is-for-amy-who-fell-down-the-stairs-b_3152971.jpg" --- # A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil… ![“A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil assaulted by bears. C is for Clara who wasted away. D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh. E is for Ernest who choked on a peach. F is for Fanny sucked dry by a leech. G is for George smothered under a rug. H is for Hector done in by a thug…” quote by Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1e/edward-gorey-9339_choked_a-is-for-amy-who-fell-down-the-stairs-b_3152971.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1e/edward-gorey-9339_choked_a-is-for-amy-who-fell-down-the-stairs-b_3152971.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1e/edward-gorey-9339_choked_a-is-for-amy-who-fell-down-the-stairs-b_3152971.jpg) > ““A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil assaulted by bears. C is for Clara who wasted away. D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh. E is for Ernest who choked on a peach. F is for Fanny sucked dry by a leech. G is for George smothered under a rug. H is for Hector done in by a thug. I is for Ida who drowned in a lake. J is for James who took lye by mistake. K is for Kate who was struck with an axe. L is for Leo who choked on some tacks. M is for Maud who was swept out to sea. N is for Neville who died of ennui. O is for Olive run through with an awl. P is for Prue trampled flat in a brawl. Q is for Quentin who sank on a mire. R is for Rhoda consumed by a fire. S is for Susan who perished of fits. T is for Titus who flew into bits. U is for Una who slipped down a drain. V is for Victor squashed under a train. W is for Winnie embedded in ice. X is for Xerxes devoured by mice. Y is for Yorick whose head was bashed in. Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin.”” [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A darkly humorous alphabet of tragic deaths, highlighting the absurdity of mortality and the inevitability of misfortune. **In simple terms:** A grim alphabet of deaths showing life's randomness. Key Takeaway Accept life's unpredictability with humor. Themes mortality dark humor absurdity Mood darkly humorous ironic macabre Type satirical poetic When to use this quote - children's literature - illustrated poetry - novelty writing Key Concepts Gothic satire black comedy Practical Applications - Caution against taking life too seriously - reflect on fragility of existence Questions to Reflect On - How does humor change your perception of tragedy? - What can we learn about coping with loss? A Different Perspective The humor may trivialize real suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choked/) [Drowned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowned/) [Fell Stairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fell-stairs-844663/) [Perished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perished/) [Susan Perished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/susan-perished-5668111/) ## Related quotes > [I fell down the stairs of the one level mental institute.so they put me in the safe cusion room but they found a bruise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trinity-mcswain/i-fell-down-the-stairs-of-the-one-level-mental-institute-so-they-put/) [Trinity McSwain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trinity-mcswain/) > [They screamed when the Beatles sang, and they laughed when the King fell down the stairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-police/they-screamed-when-the-beatles-sang-and-they-laughed-when-the-king/) [The Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-police/) > [I think it was somewhere around age 3 when I fell down the stairs at my house, and I got up and did a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-spiner/i-think-it-was-somewhere-around-age-3-when-i-fell-down-the-stairs-at/) [Brent Spiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-spiner/) > [Girl: Your favorite band/singer sucks! \* 25 MINUTES LATER\* Cop: So she fell down the stairs? Me: Yeah, Let's go with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisette-alfaro/girl-your-favorite-band-singer-sucks-25-minutes-later-cop-so-she-fell/) [Lisette Alfaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisette-alfaro/) > [My wife fell over from stairs & hit her chin on pavement. She's had to have her jaw wired & can't speak for 4…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/my-wife-fell-over-from-stairs-hit-her-chin-on-pavement-she-s-had-to/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [My Nan had a plastic hip put in, but I thought she should have replaced it with a Slinky, 'cause if she fell down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-williams/my-nan-had-a-plastic-hip-put-in-but-i-thought-she-should-have/) [Steve Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-williams/) > [“When he fell down the stairs, he told people he'd had a stroke. He was just pissed out of his skull. I love Dirk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-gardner/when-he-fell-down-the-stairs-he-told-people-he-d-had-a-stroke-he-was/) [Ava Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-gardner/) > [If I have to move up in a building, I choose the elevator over the escalator. Because one time I was riding the escalator…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/if-i-have-to-move-up-in-a-building-i-choose-the-elevator-over-the/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [But the funny thing is, I broke my finger not on set doing kung fu. I broke my finger when I fell down the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-king/but-the-funny-thing-is-i-broke-my-finger-not-on-set-doing-kung-fu-i/) [Jaime King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-king/) > [I just Fell Down the Stairs Holding a Guitar and Accidentally Wrote a One Direction Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/i-just-fell-down-the-stairs-holding-a-guitar-and-accidentally-wrote-a/) [Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/) > [Always watch your step on an escalator. I once tripped and fell down the stairs for an hour and a half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-joslan/always-watch-your-step-on-an-escalator-i-once-tripped-and-fell-down/) [Azgraybebly Joslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azgraybebly-joslan/) > [I would have perished had I not perished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-would-have-perished-had-i-not-perished/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-all-else-perished-and-he-remained-i-should-still-continue-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being Jewish has always been important to me. I now have 6M tattooed on the inside of my left arm. It's only a half-inch,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/being-jewish-has-always-been-important-to-me-i-now-have-6m-tattooed/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [No nation which has kept the commandments of God has ever perished, but I say to you that once freedom is lost, only blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/no-nation-which-has-kept-the-commandments-of-god-has-ever-perished/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) ## More by Edward Gorey > [I have given up considering happiness as relevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-have-given-up-considering-happiness-as-relevant/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [Interviewer: What is your greatest regret? Gorey: That I don't have one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/interviewer-what-is-your-greatest-regret-gorey-that-i-don-t-have-one/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I should like a parsley sandwich. To the best of my knowledge they are not in season.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-should-like-a-parsley-sandwich-to-the-best-of-my-knowledge-they-are/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-really-think-i-write-about-everyday-life-i-don-t-think-i-m-quite-as/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [There was a young lady named Mae Who smoked without stopping all day; As pack followed pack, Her lungs first turned black, And eventually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/there-was-a-young-lady-named-mae-who-smoked-without-stopping-all-day/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“Apropos of nothing at all except that it has been on my mind and I think I had better say it because it accounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/apropos-of-nothing-at-all-except-that-it-has-been-on-my-mind-and-i/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [Vice is nice, but a little virtue won't hurt you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/vice-is-nice-but-a-little-virtue-won-t-hurt-you/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“How elegant! how choice! how gay! To think one doesn’t have to pay. There is sound of falling tears; It comes from nowhere to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/how-elegant-how-choice-how-gay-to-think-one-doesn-t-have-to-pay-there/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I just kind of conjured them up out of my subconscious and put them in order of ascending peculiarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-just-kind-of-conjured-them-up-out-of-my-subconscious-and-put-them/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I've never had any intentions about anything. That's why I am where I am today, which is neither here nor there, in a literal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-ve-never-had-any-intentions-about-anything-that-s-why-i-am-where-i/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [The Suicide, as she is falling, Illuminated by the moon, Regrets her act, and finds appalling The thought she will be dead so soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/the-suicide-as-she-is-falling-illuminated-by-the-moon-regrets-her-act/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“He presented it with a length of string and passed on to the statue of Corrupted Endeavor to await the arrival of Autumn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/he-presented-it-with-a-length-of-string-and-passed-on-to-the-statue/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I don't know what it is I'm doing. But it's not that. Despite all evidence to the contrary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-don-t-know-what-it-is-i-m-doing-but-it-s-not-that-despite-all/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I realize that homosexuality is a serious problem for anyone who is - but then, of course, heterosexuality is a serious problem for anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-realize-that-homosexuality-is-a-serious-problem-for-anyone-who-is/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am. Life is intrinsically, well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-really-think-i-write-about-everyday-life-i-don-t-think-i-m-quite-as-2/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) [Explore all 73 Edward Gorey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) ## More Choked quotes > [She was giving me oral sex, and she got carried away . . . So I choked her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-shawcross/she-was-giving-me-oral-sex-and-she-got-carried-away-so-i-choked-her/) [Arthur Shawcross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-shawcross/) > [As in 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'?" The skull howled with laughter. "You just got your ass handed to you by a nursery tale?""I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/as-in-the-three-billy-goats-gruff-the-skull-howled-with-laughter-you/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [The worst moment was when I was performing and I was about to sing, but I choked. I had a tickle in my throat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/the-worst-moment-was-when-i-was-performing-and-i-was-about-to-sing/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [“ "What do you say, Miss Lyndon? Shall we have a go at it?" " 'Shall we have a go at it?' " Ellie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/what-do-you-say-miss-lyndon-shall-we-have-a-go-at-it-shall-we-have-a/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [“I don't think we choked this time. We never played well enough to choke.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-matthews/i-don-t-think-we-choked-this-time-we-never-played-well-enough-to-choke/) [Craig Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-matthews/) > [“Did ye not mention a game last week?” “Aye, but my duties have kept me away.” Alastair choked on his mead. “Ye have none.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-morgan/did-ye-not-mention-a-game-last-week-aye-but-my-duties-have-kept-me/) [Mary Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-morgan/) > [“Shut up.” She put her finger to his lips, and his voice choked off. She said slowly, “I’ve learned I can live without you.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-lucas/shut-up-she-put-her-finger-to-his-lips-and-his-voice-choked-off-she/) [Jennie Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-lucas/) > [“He gestured at me. “That’s Belly.” “Belly?” she repeated. “Yup. She’s my girlfriend.” I think I choked out loud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/he-gestured-at-me-that-s-belly-belly-she-repeated-yup-she-s-my/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“Lucy was frightened, frightened near to death. Her voice choked, she could not breath, her limbs went numb. "This is not happening", she said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/lucy-was-frightened-frightened-near-to-death-her-voice-choked-she/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“I'll put my hand in no man's hand,' said Mr. Micawber, gasping, puffing, and sobbing, to that degree that he was like a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-ll-put-my-hand-in-no-man-s-hand-said-mr-micawber-gasping-puffing/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [My Girlfriend just said that I should stop acting like an year old. I almost choked on her boobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/my-girlfriend-just-said-that-i-should-stop-acting-like-an-year-old-i/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“So, of course Rose decided this would be a good time to discuss such matters. “I would also like to know if you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-smith/so-of-course-rose-decided-this-would-be-a-good-time-to-discuss-such/) [Kathryn Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-smith/) > [“Do you believe in that world you spoke of, the one made for us?' She swallowed, nodding. 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Okay, I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-gadziala/this-isn-t-coffee-i-accused-immediately-as-the-rich-smell-of/) [Jessica Gadziala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-gadziala/) [Browse all 193 Choked quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choked/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil assaulted by bears. C is for Clara who wasted away. D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh. E is for Ernest who choked on a peach. F is for Fanny sucked dry by a leech. G is for George smothered under a rug. H is for Hector done in by a thug. I is for Ida who drowned in a lake. J is for James who took lye by mistake. K is for Kate who was struck with an axe. L is for Leo who choked on some tacks. M is for Maud who was swept out to sea. N is for Neville who died of ennui. O is for Olive run through with an awl. P is for Prue trampled flat in a brawl. Q is for Quentin who sank on a mire. R is for Rhoda consumed by a fire. S is for Susan who perished of fits. T is for Titus who flew into bits. U is for Una who slipped down a drain. V is for Victor squashed under a train. W is for Winnie embedded in ice. X is for Xerxes devoured by mice. Y is for Yorick whose head was bashed in. 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