--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What smells so? Has somebody been burning…" description: "\"What smells so? Has somebody been burning a Rag, or is there a Dead Mule in the Back yard? No, the Man is Smoking a Five-Cent Cigar.\" — Eugene Field" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/eugene-field-20734_burning_what-smells-so-has-somebody-been-burning_1758220.jpg" --- # What smells so? Has somebody been burning a Rag, or is… ![“What smells so? Has somebody been burning a Rag, or is there a Dead Mule in the Back yard? No, the Man is Smoking a Five-Cent Cigar.” quote by Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/eugene-field-20734_burning_what-smells-so-has-somebody-been-burning_1758220.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/eugene-field-20734_burning_what-smells-so-has-somebody-been-burning_1758220.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/eugene-field-20734_burning_what-smells-so-has-somebody-been-burning_1758220.jpg) > “What smells so? Has somebody been burning a Rag, or is there a Dead Mule in the Back yard? No, the Man is Smoking a Five-Cent Cigar.” [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uses absurd imagery to highlight curiosity and the unexpected in everyday life. **In simple terms:** Funny, odd description of a strange smell. Key Takeaway Look beyond surface details for hidden meanings. Themes humor curiosity absurdity Mood playful whimsical Type literary satirical When to use this quote - children’s storytelling - creative writing - teaching metaphor Key Concepts imagination surrealism sensory perception Questions to Reflect On - What does the strange smell symbolize? - How does absurdity reveal truth? A Different Perspective May confuse readers unfamiliar with period humor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burning/) [Cent Cigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cent-cigar-1314066/) [Cents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cents/) [Cigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigar/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [He man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he-man/) [Man Smoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-smoking-1304922/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mules/) [Rags](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rags/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Smells Somebody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smells-somebody-1668413/) [Smoking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking/) [Smoking Cent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking-cent-1668412/) [Tobacco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tobacco/) [Yards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yards/) ## Related quotes > [Also, he was smoking a cigar, and when a man is smoking a cigar, wearing a hat, he has an advantage; it is harder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/also-he-was-smoking-a-cigar-and-when-a-man-is-smoking-a-cigar-wearing/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“We’ll meet you on some corner. I’ll be the man smoking two cigarettes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/we-ll-meet-you-on-some-corner-i-ll-be-the-man-smoking-two-cigarettes/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [What this country needs is a really good five cent cigar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-r-marshall/what-this-country-needs-is-a-really-good-five-cent-cigar/) [Thomas R. Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-r-marshall/) > [What this country needs is a really good 5-cent cigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-r-marshall/what-this-country-needs-is-a-really-good-5-cent-cigar/) [Thomas R. Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-r-marshall/) > [What America needs is a good five-cent cigar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-r-marshall/what-america-needs-is-a-good-five-cent-cigar/) [Thomas R. Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-r-marshall/) > [If the birth of a genius resembles that of an idiot, the end of a Havana Corona resembles that of a 5-cent cigar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sacha-guitry/if-the-birth-of-a-genius-resembles-that-of-an-idiot-the-end-of-a/) [Sacha Guitry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sacha-guitry/) > [The National Park Service shot a mule in the face. He survived but had trouble swallowing and often food came out of his nose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleveland-amory/the-national-park-service-shot-a-mule-in-the-face-he-survived-but-had/) [Cleveland Amory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleveland-amory/) > [One has fear in front of a goat, in back of a mule, and on every side of a fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/one-has-fear-in-front-of-a-goat-in-back-of-a-mule-and-on-every-side/) [E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/) > [Language doesn't belong to grammarians, linguists, wordsmiths, writers, or editors. It belongs to the people who use it. It goes where people want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalie-maggio/language-doesn-t-belong-to-grammarians-linguists-wordsmiths-writers/) [Rosalie Maggio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalie-maggio/) > [My favorite sound is definitely mules. If it was an instrument, it's really pingthe touch of the black keys of the piano.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/my-favorite-sound-is-definitely-mules-if-it-was-an-instrument-it-s/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) > [I had so much fun touring the Grand Canyon area with the Sierra Club. I love to get outdoors and enjoy nature. We went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-gould/i-had-so-much-fun-touring-the-grand-canyon-area-with-the-sierra-club/) [Nolan Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-gould/) > [Self carries grief as a pack mule carries the side bags, being careful between the trees to leave extra room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/self-carries-grief-as-a-pack-mule-carries-the-side-bags-being-careful/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [My mother always told me the best way to learn to deal with a man was to learn to ride a mule. She said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/my-mother-always-told-me-the-best-way-to-learn-to-deal-with-a-man-was/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [Antidepressants are the biggest fraud in the world. Number one, Prozac gives you a royal soft-on like you wouldn't believe, and number two you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-evans/antidepressants-are-the-biggest-fraud-in-the-world-number-one-prozac/) [Robert Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-evans/) > [She was so ugly she could make a mule back away from an oat bin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/she-was-so-ugly-she-could-make-a-mule-back-away-from-an-oat-bin/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) ## More by Eugene Field > [A mighty good sausage stuffer was spoiled when the man became a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/a-mighty-good-sausage-stuffer-was-spoiled-when-the-man-became-a-poet/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [No book can be appreciated until it has been slept with and dreamed over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/no-book-can-be-appreciated-until-it-has-been-slept-with-and-dreamed/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [I'd like a stocking made for a giant, And a meeting house full of toys, Then I'd go out in a happy hunt For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/i-d-like-a-stocking-made-for-a-giant-and-a-meeting-house-full-of-toys/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night Sailed off in a wooden shoe, - Sailed on a river of crystal light Into a sea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/wynken-blynken-and-nod-one-night-sailed-off-in-a-wooden-shoe-sailed/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [All good and true book-lovers practice the pleasing and improving avocation of reading in bed ... No book can be appreciated until it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/all-good-and-true-book-lovers-practice-the-pleasing-and-improving/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [There is a glorious candor in an honest quart of wine, A certain inspitation which I cannot well define.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/there-is-a-glorious-candor-in-an-honest-quart-of-wine-a-certain/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [Mr. Clarke played the King all evening as though under constant fear that someone else was about to play the Ace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/mr-clarke-played-the-king-all-evening-as-though-under-constant-fear/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [How gracious those dews of solace that over my senses fall At the clink of the ice in the pitcher the boy brings up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/how-gracious-those-dews-of-solace-that-over-my-senses-fall-at-the/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [Ideas came with explosive immediacy, like an instant birth. Human thought is like a monstrous pendulum; it keeps swinging from one extreme to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/ideas-came-with-explosive-immediacy-like-an-instant-birth-human/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [Let my temptation be a book, which I shall purchase, hold and keep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/let-my-temptation-be-a-book-which-i-shall-purchase-hold-and-keep/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [The best of all physiciansIs apple pie and cheese!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/the-best-of-all-physiciansis-apple-pie-and-cheese/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [But I, when I undress me Each night, upon my knees Will ask the Lord to bless me With apple-pie and cheese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/but-i-when-i-undress-me-each-night-upon-my-knees-will-ask-the-lord-to/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [Used to think that luck wuz luck and nuthin' else but luck-- It made no diff'rence how or when or where or why it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/used-to-think-that-luck-wuz-luck-and-nuthin-else-but-luck-it-made-no/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [When I demanded of my friend what viands he preferred, He quoth: "A large cold bottle, and a small hot bird!"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/when-i-demanded-of-my-friend-what-viands-he-preferred-he-quoth-a/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [But he who truly loves books loves all books alike, and not only this, but it grieves him that all other men do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/but-he-who-truly-loves-books-loves-all-books-alike-and-not-only-this/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) [Explore all 30 Eugene Field quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) ## More Burning quotes > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The entire cosmos is one vast burning bush, permeated by the fire of the divine power and glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kallistos-ware/the-entire-cosmos-is-one-vast-burning-bush-permeated-by-the-fire-of/) [Kallistos Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kallistos-ware/) > [Two beautiful women crashing and burning for the sake of the Women's Championship!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ross/two-beautiful-women-crashing-and-burning-for-the-sake-of-the-women-s/) [Jim Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ross/) > [He lowered the window, and looked out at the rising sun. There was a ridge of ploughed land, with a plough upon it where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/he-lowered-the-window-and-looked-out-at-the-rising-sun-there-was-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Catholicity seized on man... and the mystics, transcending all, taught him to ascend on high with the wings of contemplation the Ladder of Jacob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-donoso-cortes/catholicity-seized-on-man-and-the-mystics-transcending-all-taught-him/) [Juan Donoso Cortes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-donoso-cortes/) > [Some fighters know when to stop on their own and go on to something else, and then some fighters have nothing to go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-hagler/some-fighters-know-when-to-stop-on-their-own-and-go-on-to-something/) [Marvin Hagler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-hagler/) > [Death is staring too long into the burning sun and the relief of entering a cool, dark room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/death-is-staring-too-long-into-the-burning-sun-and-the-relief-of/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [All philanthropy ... is only a savory fumigation burning at the mouth of a sewer. This incense offering makes the air more endurable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/all-philanthropy-is-only-a-savory-fumigation-burning-at-the-mouth-of/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [Time is a vindictive bandit to steal the beauty of our former selves. We are left with sagging, rippled flesh and burning gums with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael/time-is-a-vindictive-bandit-to-steal-the-beauty-of-our-former-selves/) [Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael/) > [One writes because one has a burning desire to objectify what it is indispensable to one's happiness to express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/one-writes-because-one-has-a-burning-desire-to-objectify-what-it-is/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Nearly all runners do their slow runs too fast, and their fast runs too slow." Ken Mierke says. "So they're just training their bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/nearly-all-runners-do-their-slow-runs-too-fast-and-their-fast-runs/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [Intense, burning desire is the motivational force that enables you to overcome any obstacle and achieve almost any goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/intense-burning-desire-is-the-motivational-force-that-enables-you-to/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Will closed his eyes. He could not hear Jem go, not anymore; he did not want to know the moment when he left and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/will-closed-his-eyes-he-could-not-hear-jem-go-not-anymore-he-did-not/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) [Browse all 1,668 Burning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What smells so? Has somebody been burning a Rag, or is there a Dead Mule in the Back yard? 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