--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Subversion is what I do." description: "\"Subversion is what I do.\" — Eric Idle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/eric-idle-3734_subversion_subversion-is-what-i-do-583411_583411.jpg" --- # Subversion is what I do. ![“Subversion is what I do.” quote by Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/eric-idle-3734_subversion_subversion-is-what-i-do-583411_583411.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/eric-idle-3734_subversion_subversion-is-what-i-do-583411_583411.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/eric-idle-3734_subversion_subversion-is-what-i-do-583411_583411.jpg) > “Subversion is what I do.” [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. He declares his role as a disruptor, embracing the act of challenging norms and expectations **In simple terms:** He enjoys challenging the status quo Key Takeaway Embrace subversion as a creative force Themes rebellion creativity humor Mood playful provocative Type satirical comedic When to use this quote - political activism - artistic expression - comedic performance Key Concepts Satire cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - When is subversion constructive? - How can humor soften critique? A Different Perspective Subversion can alienate audiences if not balanced with empathy ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Subversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subversion/) ## Related quotes > [“Zeena Schreck believes that the right-hand path and the left-hand path have traditionally had the same end goal; it is only the method that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/zeena-schreck-believes-that-the-right-hand-path-and-the-left-hand/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) > [My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total, and I am not going to sit here and be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/my-faith-in-the-constitution-is-whole-it-is-complete-it-is-total-and/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [Faith always presented to the mind the idea of an abnormal intellectual condition, of the subversion or suspension of the critical faculties. It sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-edward-hartpole-lecky/faith-always-presented-to-the-mind-the-idea-of-an-abnormal/) [William Edward Hartpole Lecky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-edward-hartpole-lecky/) > [ ...Nixon's subversion \[of the consititution\] consisted of: One presidental lie; one invocation of presidental privilege, and zero criminal offences. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/nixon-s-subversion-of-the-consititution-consisted-of-one-presidental/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [...if photos can reproduce the world more perfectly than any painter, can capture an instant, a look, a gesture, then what makes a painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/if-photos-can-reproduce-the-world-more-perfectly-than-any-painter-can/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [ \[it is\] a high class kind of subversion, very high class. We're not second story burglars. We go right in the front door. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-gorman/it-is-a-high-class-kind-of-subversion-very-high-class-we-re-not/) [Mike Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-gorman/) > [Satire is meant to have teeth; satire is meant to be dangerous. But it also happens to be fun because subversion and telling the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/satire-is-meant-to-have-teeth-satire-is-meant-to-be-dangerous-but-it/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [Agents of disruption, subversion, sabotage and disinformation tunnelers and smugglers, listeners and forgers, trainers and recruiters and talent spotters and couriers and watchers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/agents-of-disruption-subversion-sabotage-and-disinformation-tunnelers/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“I had artistic classical training, and when you learn the classics for so many years, you might gain audacity, power and confidence to subvert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuno-roque/i-had-artistic-classical-training-and-when-you-learn-the-classics-for/) [Nuno Roque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuno-roque/) > [In most circles, the idea of economic planning has been in disrepute most of the time and, particularly in America, has almost carried connotations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-myrdal/in-most-circles-the-idea-of-economic-planning-has-been-in-disrepute/) [Gunnar Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-myrdal/) > [And who can doubt that it will lead to the worst disorders when minds created free by God are compelled to submit slavishly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/and-who-can-doubt-that-it-will-lead-to-the-worst-disorders-when-minds/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Forget subversion. The point is self-subversion, overthrowing the power structure in your own head. The enemy is the mind's tendency to systematize, sew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-reynolds/forget-subversion-the-point-is-self-subversion-overthrowing-the-power/) [Simon Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-reynolds/) > [“The truth unquestionably is, that the only path to a subversion of the republican system of the Country is, by flattering the prejudices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-truth-unquestionably-is-that-the-only-path-to-a-subversion-of-the/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Politicians can forgive almost anything in the way of abuse; they can forgive subversion, revolution, being contradicted, exposed as liars, even ridiculed, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auberon-waugh/politicians-can-forgive-almost-anything-in-the-way-of-abuse-they-can/) [Auberon Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auberon-waugh/) > [As an organized political group, the Communists have done nothing to damage our society a fraction as much as what their enemies have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-kempton/as-an-organized-political-group-the-communists-have-done-nothing-to/) [Murray Kempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-kempton/) ## 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. It's just a question of whether you're allowed to use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/at-least-in-america-you-have-freedom-of-speech-which-is-a-good-thing/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [You look just like you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/you-look-just-like-you/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [Many years ago I also bought a house in Provence for about 70,000 francs. It had no electricity or running water, and no road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/many-years-ago-i-also-bought-a-house-in-provence-for-about-70-000/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [No day of my life passes without someone saying the words 'Monty Python' to me. 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 Subversion quotes > [“Zeena Schreck believes that the right-hand path and the left-hand path have traditionally had the same end goal; it is only the method that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/zeena-schreck-believes-that-the-right-hand-path-and-the-left-hand/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) > [Politicians can forgive almost anything in the way of abuse; they can forgive subversion, revolution, being contradicted, exposed as liars, even ridiculed, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auberon-waugh/politicians-can-forgive-almost-anything-in-the-way-of-abuse-they-can/) [Auberon Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auberon-waugh/) > [“The truth unquestionably is, that the only path to a subversion of the republican system of the Country is, by flattering the prejudices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-truth-unquestionably-is-that-the-only-path-to-a-subversion-of-the/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [“Forget subversion. The point is self-subversion, overthrowing the power structure in your own head. The enemy is the mind's tendency to systematize, sew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-reynolds/forget-subversion-the-point-is-self-subversion-overthrowing-the-power/) [Simon Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-reynolds/) > [And who can doubt that it will lead to the worst disorders when minds created free by God are compelled to submit slavishly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/and-who-can-doubt-that-it-will-lead-to-the-worst-disorders-when-minds/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [In most circles, the idea of economic planning has been in disrepute most of the time and, particularly in America, has almost carried connotations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-myrdal/in-most-circles-the-idea-of-economic-planning-has-been-in-disrepute/) [Gunnar Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-myrdal/) > [“I had artistic classical training, and when you learn the classics for so many years, you might gain audacity, power and confidence to subvert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuno-roque/i-had-artistic-classical-training-and-when-you-learn-the-classics-for/) [Nuno Roque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuno-roque/) > [Agents of disruption, subversion, sabotage and disinformation tunnelers and smugglers, listeners and forgers, trainers and recruiters and talent spotters and couriers and watchers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/agents-of-disruption-subversion-sabotage-and-disinformation-tunnelers/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [Satire is meant to have teeth; satire is meant to be dangerous. But it also happens to be fun because subversion and telling the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/satire-is-meant-to-have-teeth-satire-is-meant-to-be-dangerous-but-it/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [ \[it is\] a high class kind of subversion, very high class. We're not second story burglars. We go right in the front door. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-gorman/it-is-a-high-class-kind-of-subversion-very-high-class-we-re-not/) [Mike Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-gorman/) > [...if photos can reproduce the world more perfectly than any painter, can capture an instant, a look, a gesture, then what makes a painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/if-photos-can-reproduce-the-world-more-perfectly-than-any-painter-can/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [ ...Nixon's subversion \[of the consititution\] consisted of: One presidental lie; one invocation of presidental privilege, and zero criminal offences. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/nixon-s-subversion-of-the-consititution-consisted-of-one-presidental/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Faith always presented to the mind the idea of an abnormal intellectual condition, of the subversion or suspension of the critical faculties. It sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-edward-hartpole-lecky/faith-always-presented-to-the-mind-the-idea-of-an-abnormal/) [William Edward Hartpole Lecky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-edward-hartpole-lecky/) > [My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total, and I am not going to sit here and be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/my-faith-in-the-constitution-is-whole-it-is-complete-it-is-total-and/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [As an organized political group, the Communists have done nothing to damage our society a fraction as much as what their enemies have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-kempton/as-an-organized-political-group-the-communists-have-done-nothing-to/) [Murray Kempton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-kempton/) [Browse all 86 Subversion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subversion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Subversion is what I do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Idle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/subversion-is-what-i-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Subversion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/subversion-is-what-i-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/eric-idle-3734_subversion_subversion-is-what-i-do-583411_583411.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/eric-idle-3734_subversion_subversion-is-what-i-do-583411_583411.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/280/eric-idle-3734_subversion_subversion-is-what-i-do-583411_583411.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Subversion is what I do.” — Eric Idle", "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": "Eric Idle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Subversion is what I do.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/subversion-is-what-i-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/subversion-is-what-i-do/#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 } } ] } ```