--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Then he lost all coherence and began a…" description: "\"“Then he lost all coherence and began a hysterical giggle, compounded with a slight twitch and very pronounced emission of saliva from his mouth. When ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/frederick-exley-33559_laughter_then-he-lost-all-coherence-and-began-a-h_2794881.png" --- # Then he lost all coherence and began a hysterical giggle… ![“Then he lost all coherence and began a hysterical giggle, compounded with a slight twitch and very pronounced emission of saliva from his mouth. When he finally fell silent, the stillness was of that horrified kind that follows a fart in a Methodist church.” quote by Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/frederick-exley-33559_laughter_then-he-lost-all-coherence-and-began-a-h_2794881.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/frederick-exley-33559_laughter_then-he-lost-all-coherence-and-began-a-h_2794881.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/frederick-exley-33559_laughter_then-he-lost-all-coherence-and-began-a-h_2794881.png) > ““Then he lost all coherence and began a hysterical giggle, compounded with a slight twitch and very pronounced emission of saliva from his mouth. When he finally fell silent, the stillness was of that horrified kind that follows a fart in a Methodist church.”” [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A chaotic, involuntary reaction leads to an absurdly holy silence, likened to a church fart. **In simple terms:** His reaction caused a bizarre, holy silence. Key Takeaway Recognize humor in awkward moments. Themes humor social awkwardness religious setting physiology Mood satirical irreverent Type narrative humorous When to use this quote - literary humor - social commentary Key Concepts social dynamics body language comedy writing Questions to Reflect On - Why compare bodily functions to sacred silence? - How does humor defuse tension? A Different Perspective May be offensive to some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Began Hysterical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/began-hysterical-3405469/) [Fart Methodist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fart-methodist-3405470/) [Fell Silent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fell-silent-331465/) [Hysterical Giggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hysterical-giggle-3405472/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) [Stillness Horrified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stillness-horrified-3405471/) ## Related quotes > [“In the rest room next door there was a long, explosive sound of gas releasing, then a contented 'Ahhh.' Grace clapped a hand over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/in-the-rest-room-next-door-there-was-a-long-explosive-sound-of-gas/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. 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Both within me and around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnetha-faltskog/there-was-a-time-when-the-music-fell-silent-both-within-me-and-around/) [Agnetha Faltskog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnetha-faltskog/) > [“His brother fell silent again, another oddity for Chad. Several seconds passed. “Bro, all of us are a little fucked up.” “No shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lynn/his-brother-fell-silent-again-another-oddity-for-chad-several-seconds/) [J. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lynn/) > [“fell silent and did what the PUAs call triangular gazing, looking slowly from her left eye to her right eye and then to her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-strauss/fell-silent-and-did-what-the-puas-call-triangular-gazing-looking/) [Neil Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-strauss/) > [We fell silent and all joking ceased. We gazed mutely into each other's eyes and an intense longing for the fullest avowal of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/we-fell-silent-and-all-joking-ceased-we-gazed-mutely-into-each-other/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) ## More by Frederick Exley > [“Bunny Sue was nineteen. She had honey-bobbed hair and candid, near-insolent green eyes. She had a snub, delightful nose, a cool, regal, and tapering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/bunny-sue-was-nineteen-she-had-honey-bobbed-hair-and-candid-near/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“The world of the soap opera is the world of the Emancipated American Woman, a creature whose idleness is employed to no other purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/the-world-of-the-soap-opera-is-the-world-of-the-emancipated-american/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [In football a man was asked to do a difficult and brutal job, and he either did it or got out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/in-football-a-man-was-asked-to-do-a-difficult-and-brutal-job-and-he/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [I wanted to lie hour after hour on a couch, pouring out the dark, secret places of my heart--do this feeling that over my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/i-wanted-to-lie-hour-after-hour-on-a-couch-pouring-out-the-dark/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“Now I see in that laughter a good deal of desperation and sadness. 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He had been utterly corrupted by America, and I find it proper that his carotid artery should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/mr-blue-s-way-of-death-was-fitting-he-had-been-utterly-corrupted-by/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“Whenever I think of the man I was in those days, cutting across the nat-cropped grass of the campus, burdened down by the weight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/whenever-i-think-of-the-man-i-was-in-those-days-cutting-across-the/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“I certainly didn't want to fight with him. I did, however, want to shout, "Listen, you son of a bitch, life isn't all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/i-certainly-didn-t-want-to-fight-with-him-i-did-however-want-to-shout/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“Listening now, it occured to me that I hadn't come very far over the yars -- no farther really than from one "gang bang"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/listening-now-it-occured-to-me-that-i-hadn-t-come-very-far-over-the/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“That my lunacy had been recognized was chastening enough, but the judge's gratuitous "fatuous" carried with it intimations that I was in a blubbering,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-chastening-enough-but-the/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) [Explore all 14 Frederick Exley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) ## More Laughter quotes > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! 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What makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/laughter-is-one-of-the-great-beacons-in-life-because-we-don-t-refract/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [“Laughter sometimes hurts us, and sometimes it makes us feel better. 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