--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ..perhaps all our lovers are merely hints…" description: "\"“..perhaps all our lovers are merely hints and symbols; vagabond languages scrawled on gate-posts and paving stones along the weary road that others ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cd/evelyn-waugh-850_disappointment_perhaps-all-our-lovers-are-merely-hints_238658.jpg" --- # ..perhaps all our lovers are merely hints and symbols… ![“..perhaps all our lovers are merely hints and symbols; vagabond languages scrawled on gate-posts and paving stones along the weary road that others have trampled before us; perhaps you and I are types and this sadness which sometimes falls between us springs from disappointment in our search, each…” quote by Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cd/evelyn-waugh-850_disappointment_perhaps-all-our-lovers-are-merely-hints_238658.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cd/evelyn-waugh-850_disappointment_perhaps-all-our-lovers-are-merely-hints_238658.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cd/evelyn-waugh-850_disappointment_perhaps-all-our-lovers-are-merely-hints_238658.jpg) > ““..perhaps all our lovers are merely hints and symbols; vagabond languages scrawled on gate-posts and paving stones along the weary road that others have trampled before us; perhaps you and I are types and this sadness which sometimes falls between us springs from disappointment in our search, each straining through and beyond each other, snatching a glimpse now and then of the shadow which turns the corner always a pace or two ahead of us.”” [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. Love is portrayed as cryptic signs, and human connections are fraught with misinterpretation and longing. **In simple terms:** Love is cryptic, often misunderstood. Key Takeaway Seek clarity in relationships. Themes love miscommunication longing search Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - romantic relationships - friendships - creative writing - self‑reflection Key Concepts symbolism existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What signals do you miss in love? - How can you communicate more clearly? A Different Perspective Interpretations can be overly abstract, missing concrete advice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gates/) [Glimpse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glimpse/) [Hints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hints/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Lovers Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers-merely-2399300/) [Now and then](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now-and-then/) [Our love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-love/) [Pace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pace/) [Paving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paving/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Sadness Falls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness-falls-1095665/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols/) [Symbols Vagabond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols-vagabond-2399298/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/) [Types Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/types-sadness-2399299/) [Vagabonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vagabonds/) [Weary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weary/) ## Related quotes > [I felt like a rich vagabond who had passed through the world paving my way with gold fairy dust, then realizing too late that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-felt-like-a-rich-vagabond-who-had-passed-through-the-world-paving/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [And before you ask, I don't ask what equipment my lovers have, merely if they want to play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-galenorn/and-before-you-ask-i-don-t-ask-what-equipment-my-lovers-have-merely/) [Yasmine Galenorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-galenorn/) > [“If love disappear forever, a veil of sadness, falls over the valley of dried tears.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/if-love-disappear-forever-a-veil-of-sadness-falls-over-the-valley-of/) [Sir Kristian Goldmund Aumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/) > [From 50 centuries, we can learn about the close relationship between garden design and urban design, because both arts involve the composition of buildings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-turner/from-50-centuries-we-can-learn-about-the-close-relationship-between/) [Tom Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-turner/) > [“The pen is mightier than the paving-stone”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-pen-is-mightier-than-the-paving-stone/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I obviously disagree with the individuals who do not support rural America and do not support rural airports. Under their philosophy, maybe we shouldnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-thompson/i-obviously-disagree-with-the-individuals-who-do-not-support-rural/) [Glenn Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-thompson/) > [Men are like paving slabs, lay them right first time and you get to safely walk over them forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristine-shye/men-are-like-paving-slabs-lay-them-right-first-time-and-you-get-to/) [Cristine Shye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristine-shye/) > [The most excellent symbol of the people is the paving stone. One walks on it until it falls on one's head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-most-excellent-symbol-of-the-people-is-the-paving-stone-one-walks/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [We keep on going and paving, creating new ways to take over our Mother's Land. Why? When we have everything we need right here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-nozuka/we-keep-on-going-and-paving-creating-new-ways-to-take-over-our-mother/) [Justin Nozuka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-nozuka/) > [West Africa today is just a quarry of paving stones for Hell, and those stones were cemented in place with](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kingsley/west-africa-today-is-just-a-quarry-of-paving-stones-for-hell-and/) [Mary Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kingsley/) > [It may be unpopular and out-of-date to say-but I do not think that a scientific result which gives us a better understanding of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-tarski/it-may-be-unpopular-and-out-of-date-to-say-but-i-do-not-think-that-a/) [Alfred Tarski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-tarski/) > [The last resort of kings, the cannonball. The last resort of the people, the paving stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-last-resort-of-kings-the-cannonball-the-last-resort-of-the-people/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I need to be alone. I need to ponder my shame and my despair in seclusion; I need the sunshine and the paving stones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-need-to-be-alone-i-need-to-ponder-my-shame-and-my-despair-in/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The theory of social contracts extends as far back as Plato. However, it was the great 18th century social philosophers John Locke, Thomas Hobbes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mainwaring/the-theory-of-social-contracts-extends-as-far-back-as-plato-however/) [Simon Mainwaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mainwaring/) > [If you don't like the road youre walking, start paving another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/if-you-don-t-like-the-road-youre-walking-start-paving-another-one/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) ## 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. 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Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [We're raising children who have little tolerance for disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-re-raising-children-who-have-little-tolerance-for-disappointment/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Disappointment contains an appointment for doing much better. High expectations mean your higher capacity and belief in abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/disappointment-contains-an-appointment-for-doing-much-better-high/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [“My earthly body has been a terrible disappointment to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/my-earthly-body-has-been-a-terrible-disappointment-to-me/) [Frédéric Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The fear of not being good enough, the fear of disappointing other people and the fear of failure can really hurt one's personality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/the-fear-of-not-being-good-enough-the-fear-of-disappointing-other/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [In trying not to disappoint others; we disappoint ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-vermaak/in-trying-not-to-disappoint-others-we-disappoint-ourselves/) [Geraldine Vermaak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-vermaak/) > [Though there may be people in your life that support you and encourage you we have to realize that people are only human, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/though-there-may-be-people-in-your-life-that-support-you-and/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [There are still many more days of failure ahead, whole seasons of failure, things will go terribly wrong, you will have huge disappointments ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/there-are-still-many-more-days-of-failure-ahead-whole-seasons-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [In all disappointments sympathy is a great balm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/in-all-disappointments-sympathy-is-a-great-balm/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [It is sometimes said that because of our past we, as a people, expect too much and set our sights too high. 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