--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Scratch a Yale man with both hands and…" description: "\"Scratch a Yale man with both hands and you'll be lucky to find a coast-guard. Usually you find nothing at all.\" — F. Scott Fitzgerald" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e4/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_coast-guard_scratch-a-yale-man-with-both-hands-and-y_659259.jpg" --- # Scratch a Yale man with both hands and you'll be lucky to… ![“Scratch a Yale man with both hands and you'll be lucky to find a coast-guard. Usually you find nothing at all.” quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e4/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_coast-guard_scratch-a-yale-man-with-both-hands-and-y_659259.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e4/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_coast-guard_scratch-a-yale-man-with-both-hands-and-y_659259.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e4/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_coast-guard_scratch-a-yale-man-with-both-hands-and-y_659259.jpg) > “Scratch a Yale man with both hands and you'll be lucky to find a coast-guard. Usually you find nothing at all.” [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiquing elite institutions reveals their lack of substance and unexpected emptiness. **In simple terms:** Elite often lack depth. Key Takeaway Question authority and status. Themes elitism skepticism humor Mood wry critical Type satire commentary When to use this quote - corporate culture - academic settings - political bodies Key Concepts Social critique institutional analysis Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions about status do you hold? - How can you see beyond appearances? A Different Perspective Not all elites are empty; nuance needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coast guard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coast-guard/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) ## Related quotes > [The men--the undergraduates of Yale and Princeton are cleaner, healthier, better-looking, better dressed, wealthier and more attractive than any undergraduate body in the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-men-the-undergraduates-of-yale-and-princeton-are-cleaner/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I was rather literary in college—one year I wrote a series of very solemn and obvious editorials for the 'Yale News.'—and now I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-was-rather-literary-in-college-one-year-i-wrote-a-series-of-very/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [And Yale is November, crisp and energetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/and-yale-is-november-crisp-and-energetic/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I played Lucky in Waiting for Godot at Yale and it was a thing that Stanislavski talks about: he says you don't need his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-waterston/i-played-lucky-in-waiting-for-godot-at-yale-and-it-was-a-thing-that/) [Sam Waterston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-waterston/) > [Here's a little bit of good news. The Coast Guard says that BP is now catching up to 630,000 gallons of oil a day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/here-s-a-little-bit-of-good-news-the-coast-guard-says-that-bp-is-now/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [From protecting our natural resources to providing maritime security and national defense, the Coast Guard's duties are broad in scope, and the performance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-carnahan/from-protecting-our-natural-resources-to-providing-maritime-security/) [Russ Carnahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-carnahan/) > [Those who served, and those who continue to serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard took an oath to uphold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hayes/those-who-served-and-those-who-continue-to-serve-in-the-army-navy-air/) [Robin Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hayes/) > [I want to make sure that the Coast Guard people in Vietnam know that I am hearing about them often and that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-m-greene/i-want-to-make-sure-that-the-coast-guard-people-in-vietnam-know-that/) Wallace M. Greene > [Thank God we're going to try to continue and effectively defend our frontiers with the Border Patrol, with the Customs Department, with the Coast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mccaffrey/thank-god-we-re-going-to-try-to-continue-and-effectively-defend-our/) [Barry McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mccaffrey/) > [“Regulations say we have to go out. They say nothing about coming back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coast-guard/regulations-say-we-have-to-go-out-they-say-nothing-about-coming-back/) Coast Guard > [Thirty years ago, my sister, Gale (so named because a gale hit Boston Harbor the night she was born), some friends and I stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/thirty-years-ago-my-sister-gale-so-named-because-a-gale-hit-boston/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [The Coast Guard evokes images of search and rescue operations, maybe during Hurricane Katrina, or guys jumping out of helicopters wearing snorkels and fins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-keilar/the-coast-guard-evokes-images-of-search-and-rescue-operations-maybe/) [Brianna Keilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-keilar/) > [The U.S. Coast Guard is a shining example of how well a Federal agency can perform with its flexibility, speed, and expertise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-carnahan/the-u-s-coast-guard-is-a-shining-example-of-how-well-a-federal-agency/) [Russ Carnahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-carnahan/) > [The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act is an important authorization for our country and for our citizens, as we have seen so vividly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-carnahan/the-coast-guard-and-maritime-transportation-act-is-an-important/) [Russ Carnahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-carnahan/) > [First at the outset, let me commend the great men and women of the United States Coast Guard for what they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vito-fossella/first-at-the-outset-let-me-commend-the-great-men-and-women-of-the/) [Vito Fossella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vito-fossella/) ## More by F. Scott Fitzgerald > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-a-ripe-mystery-about-it-a-hint-of-bedrooms-upstairs-more/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I found something! Courage--just that; courage as a rule of life and something to cling to always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-found-something-courage-just-that-courage-as-a-rule-of-life-and/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Life is a series of successful gestures...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/life-is-a-series-of-successful-gestures/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Another dawn flung itself across the river; a belated taxi hurried along the street, its lamps still shining like burning eyes in a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/another-dawn-flung-itself-across-the-river-a-belated-taxi-hurried/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She plucked a twig and broke it, but she found no spring in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/she-plucked-a-twig-and-broke-it-but-she-found-no-spring-in-it/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“I'm one of those people who go through the world giving other people thrills but getting few myself except those I read into men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-m-one-of-those-people-who-go-through-the-world-giving-other-people/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The Montana sunset lay between the mountains like a giant bruise from which darkened arteries spread across a poisoned sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-montana-sunset-lay-between-the-mountains-like-a-giant-bruise-from/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“You loved me too?" he repeated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/you-loved-me-too-he-repeated/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“He was good looking, "sort of distinguished when he wants to be", had a line, and was properly inconstant. In fact, he summed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/he-was-good-looking-sort-of-distinguished-when-he-wants-to-be-had-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [What are you going to do? "Can't say - run for president, write -" "Greenwich Village?" "Good heavens, no - I said write -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-are-you-going-to-do-can-t-say-run-for-president-write-greenwich/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“The latter was considered a good fellow and a fine leader, until a year later, when he disappeared with a mess fund of eleven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-latter-was-considered-a-good-fellow-and-a-fine-leader-until-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/it-eluded-us-then-but-that-s-no-matter-tomorrow-we-will-run-faster/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Explore all 1,568 F. Scott Fitzgerald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More Coast guard quotes > [First at the outset, let me commend the great men and women of the United States Coast Guard for what they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vito-fossella/first-at-the-outset-let-me-commend-the-great-men-and-women-of-the/) [Vito Fossella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vito-fossella/) > [The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act is an important authorization for our country and for our citizens, as we have seen so vividly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-carnahan/the-coast-guard-and-maritime-transportation-act-is-an-important/) [Russ Carnahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-carnahan/) > [The U.S. Coast Guard is a shining example of how well a Federal agency can perform with its flexibility, speed, and expertise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-carnahan/the-u-s-coast-guard-is-a-shining-example-of-how-well-a-federal-agency/) [Russ Carnahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-carnahan/) > [The Coast Guard evokes images of search and rescue operations, maybe during Hurricane Katrina, or guys jumping out of helicopters wearing snorkels and fins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-keilar/the-coast-guard-evokes-images-of-search-and-rescue-operations-maybe/) [Brianna Keilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-keilar/) > [Thirty years ago, my sister, Gale (so named because a gale hit Boston Harbor the night she was born), some friends and I stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/thirty-years-ago-my-sister-gale-so-named-because-a-gale-hit-boston/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“Regulations say we have to go out. They say nothing about coming back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coast-guard/regulations-say-we-have-to-go-out-they-say-nothing-about-coming-back/) Coast Guard > [Thank God we're going to try to continue and effectively defend our frontiers with the Border Patrol, with the Customs Department, with the Coast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mccaffrey/thank-god-we-re-going-to-try-to-continue-and-effectively-defend-our/) [Barry McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mccaffrey/) > [I want to make sure that the Coast Guard people in Vietnam know that I am hearing about them often and that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-m-greene/i-want-to-make-sure-that-the-coast-guard-people-in-vietnam-know-that/) Wallace M. Greene > [Those who served, and those who continue to serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard took an oath to uphold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hayes/those-who-served-and-those-who-continue-to-serve-in-the-army-navy-air/) [Robin Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hayes/) > [From protecting our natural resources to providing maritime security and national defense, the Coast Guard's duties are broad in scope, and the performance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-carnahan/from-protecting-our-natural-resources-to-providing-maritime-security/) [Russ Carnahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-carnahan/) > [Here's a little bit of good news. The Coast Guard says that BP is now catching up to 630,000 gallons of oil a day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/here-s-a-little-bit-of-good-news-the-coast-guard-says-that-bp-is-now/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [“WILL WORK FOR FOOD © 2013 Lyrics & Music by Michele Jennae There he was with a cardboard sign, Will Work For Food Saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-jennae/will-work-for-food-2013-lyrics-music-by-michele-jennae-there-he-was/) [Michele Jennae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-jennae/) > [“ Do You Come Here Often?' and 'Be Part of the Action' Have Become Clichéd "Coast Guard Sees Increasing Need for Icebreakers"—headline, Associated Press,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-taranto/do-you-come-here-often-and-be-part-of-the-action-have-become-clich-d/) [James Taranto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-taranto/) > [“There is much to do, pulling people away, right up until the Coast Guard comes and orders us to stop. Scott is dead. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/there-is-much-to-do-pulling-people-away-right-up-until-the-coast/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Those of us who have never been in the military don’t understand what it is like to serve in the military.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-barreca/those-of-us-who-have-never-been-in-the-military-don-t-understand-what/) [Gina Barreca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-barreca/) [Browse all 33 Coast guard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coast-guard/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Scratch a Yale man with both hands and you'll be lucky to find a coast-guard. Usually you find nothing at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "F. 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