--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was dead contrary to the common…" description: "\"“It was dead contrary to the common experience of such encounters, when time is found to have built its own defensive lines, camouflaged vulnerable poi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/evelyn-waugh-850_time_it-was-dead-contrary-to-the-common-exper_177414.png" --- # It was dead contrary to the common experience of such… ![“It was dead contrary to the common experience of such encounters, when time is found to have built its own defensive lines, camouflaged vulnerable points, and laid a field of mines across all but a few well-trodden paths, so that, more often than not, we can only signal to one another from either…” quote by Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/evelyn-waugh-850_time_it-was-dead-contrary-to-the-common-exper_177414.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/evelyn-waugh-850_time_it-was-dead-contrary-to-the-common-exper_177414.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/evelyn-waugh-850_time_it-was-dead-contrary-to-the-common-exper_177414.png) > ““It was dead contrary to the common experience of such encounters, when time is found to have built its own defensive lines, camouflaged vulnerable points, and laid a field of mines across all but a few well-trodden paths, so that, more often than not, we can only signal to one another from either side of the tangle of wire.”” [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time creates hidden obstacles and defenses that make communication difficult except along familiar routes. **In simple terms:** Time builds hidden barriers that block easy communication. Key Takeaway Seek clear, familiar pathways to connect with others. Themes communication time obstacles defense familiarity Mood cautious reflective Type observational analytical When to use this quote - team meetings - conflict resolution - network building - project planning - strategic negotiations Key Concepts psychology systems thinking complexity Questions to Reflect On - How can you identify and clear hidden barriers? - What familiar paths can you reinforce for better dialogue? A Different Perspective Even familiar routes can become tangled, limiting interaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“I never see you now,’ she said. ‘I never seem to see anyone I like. 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Wrede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-c-wrede/) > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) ## More by Evelyn Waugh > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [One can write, think and pray exclusively of others; dreams are all egocentric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/one-can-write-think-and-pray-exclusively-of-others-dreams-are-all/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“Sometimes," Helena continued, "I have a terrible dream of the future. 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They're all sodomites with unpleasant accents." --Cousin Jasper”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/beware-the-anglo-catholics-they-re-all-sodomites-with-unpleasant/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“The fortnight at Venice passed quickly and sweetly-- perhaps too sweetly; I was drowning in honey, stingless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/the-fortnight-at-venice-passed-quickly-and-sweetly-perhaps-too/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“It’s awful to think that I shall probably never, as long as I live, see you dancing like that again all by yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probably-never-as-long-as-i-live-see/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [I've always been bad. Probably I shall be bad again, punished again. But the worse I am, the more I need God. I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/i-ve-always-been-bad-probably-i-shall-be-bad-again-punished-again-but/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [His courtesy was somewhat extravagant. He would write and thank people who wrote to thank him for wedding presents and when he encountered anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/his-courtesy-was-somewhat-extravagant-he-would-write-and-thank-people/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Limbo is the place. In Limbo one has natural happiness without the beatific vision; no harps; no communal order; but wine and conversation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/limbo-is-the-place-in-limbo-one-has-natural-happiness-without-the/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“What is adolescence without trash?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/what-is-adolescence-without-trash/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Perhaps host and guest is really the happiest relation for father and son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/perhaps-host-and-guest-is-really-the-happiest-relation-for-father-and/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) [Explore all 347 Evelyn Waugh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) ## More Time quotes > ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“William didn't look like he'd be difficult about anything - he was thin and sandy-haired and already wore eyeglasses like his father. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-c-wrede/william-didn-t-look-like-he-d-be-difficult-about-anything-he-was-thin/) [Patricia C. Wrede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-c-wrede/) > [Intel has a very complete process that I go through any time I want to sell that ensures I have no insider information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-krzanich/intel-has-a-very-complete-process-that-i-go-through-any-time-i-want/) [Brian Krzanich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-krzanich/) > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I feel like the future is unwritten. 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Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. 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