--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I got used to dealing with groups of boys…" description: "\"I got used to dealing with groups of boys and getting on with life in unpleasant circumstances and being smart and funny and subversive at the expense ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/267/eric-idle-3734_authority_i-got-used-to-dealing-with-groups-of-boy_2249027.jpg" --- # I got used to dealing with groups of boys and getting on… ![“I got used to dealing with groups of boys and getting on with life in unpleasant circumstances and being smart and funny and subversive at the expense of authority.” quote by Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/267/eric-idle-3734_authority_i-got-used-to-dealing-with-groups-of-boy_2249027.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/267/eric-idle-3734_authority_i-got-used-to-dealing-with-groups-of-boy_2249027.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/267/eric-idle-3734_authority_i-got-used-to-dealing-with-groups-of-boy_2249027.jpg) > “I got used to dealing with groups of boys and getting on with life in unpleasant circumstances and being smart and funny and subversive at the expense of authority.” [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adaptability and humor help navigate difficult groups and authority. **In simple terms:** Being funny helps in tough situations. Key Takeaway Use humor and wit to cope. Themes adaptability humor authority resilience Mood playful defiant Type advice observational When to use this quote - team projects - school - workplace - family gatherings Key Concepts social dynamics subversion Questions to Reflect On - When is humor counterproductive? - How do you balance respect and subversion? A Different Perspective Humor may not be appropriate in all serious contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Being smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-smart/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Smart and funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart-and-funny/) [Subversive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subversive/) ## Related quotes > [There was something really fun about when I used to do bus tours. 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I have resolved to spend it reflecting on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/life-is-an-unpleasant-business-i-have-resolved-to-spend-it-reflecting/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [“He screamed and shouted 'Wooeeeee!' at Guitar's list, but because his life was not unpleasant and even had a certain amount of luxury in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/he-screamed-and-shouted-wooeeeee-at-guitar-s-list-but-because-his/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [What is life but an unpleasant interruption to a peaceful nonexistence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/what-is-life-but-an-unpleasant-interruption-to-a-peaceful-nonexistence/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Public opinion, a vulgar, impertinent, anonymous tyrant who deliberately makes life unpleasant for anyone who is not content to be the average person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/public-opinion-a-vulgar-impertinent-anonymous-tyrant-who-deliberately/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [Apart from anything else, I got to work with Jennifer Lawrence. 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Isn't that what attracts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brady/i-m-attracted-to-women-who-are-smart-and-funny-and-ambitious-and-have/) [Tom Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brady/) > [“– first visual impressions are everything. If we’re not attracted to you, we won’t ask you out and we’ll never know how smart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-bolouri/first-visual-impressions-are-everything-if-we-re-not-attracted-to-you/) [Joanna Bolouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-bolouri/) > [“There were icons of the Magdalen on the walls and paintings in the Western manner, all kitsch, trash. Mary M., Lucas thought, half hypnotized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/there-were-icons-of-the-magdalen-on-the-walls-and-paintings-in-the/) [Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/) ## More by Eric Idle > [“Life's a piece of shit, when you look at it, life's a laugh and deat's a joke, it's true: You'll se it's all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/life-s-a-piece-of-shit-when-you-look-at-it-life-s-a-laugh-and-deat-s/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [Having little money to spend was a valuable learning experience. My schooling also shaped my work ethic because while other children were listening to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/having-little-money-to-spend-was-a-valuable-learning-experience-my/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [Americans like to think 'Python' is how English people really are. There is an element of truth to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/americans-like-to-think-python-is-how-english-people-really-are-there/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [ If you're famous, you have to \[be overly generous\], otherwise people say, "Eric Idle came in and only left me $4." I always tip… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/if-you-re-famous-you-have-to-be-overly-generous-otherwise-people-say/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [At least in America, you have freedom of speech, which is a good thing. 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It's not bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/no-day-of-my-life-passes-without-someone-saying-the-words-monty/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [“sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will make me cry by myself in a corner for hours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/sticks-and-stones-will-break-my-bones-but-words-will-make-me-cry-by/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [I believe in the separation of church and planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/i-believe-in-the-separation-of-church-and-planet/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [I've got soggy thighs. It must be dinner time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/i-ve-got-soggy-thighs-it-must-be-dinner-time/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [At least one way of measuring the freedom of any society is the amount of comedy that is permitted, and clearly a healthy society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/at-least-one-way-of-measuring-the-freedom-of-any-society-is-the/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [The Minister of Transport issued this appeal to motorists: Can anyone give him a lift to Leicester?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/the-minister-of-transport-issued-this-appeal-to-motorists-can-anyone/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [I think the special thing about Python is that it's a writers' commune. The writers are in charge. The writers decide what the material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/i-think-the-special-thing-about-python-is-that-it-s-a-writers-commune/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [ There's no gap between the writer and the performer, which is what I think makes \[Monty\] Python unique. Five or six people who write… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/there-s-no-gap-between-the-writer-and-the-performer-which-is-what-i/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) [Explore all 122 Eric Idle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. 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This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. 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