--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The moral is, never be sorry for a…" description: "\"“The moral is, never be sorry for a waiter. Sometimes when you sit in a restaurant, still stuffing yourself half an hour after closing time, you feel t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/george-orwell-57_losing-time_the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter_784116.jpg" --- # The moral is, never be sorry for a waiter. Sometimes when… ![“The moral is, never be sorry for a waiter. Sometimes when you sit in a restaurant, still stuffing yourself half an hour after closing time, you feel that the tired waiter at your side must surely be despising you. But he is not. He is not thinking as he looks at you, 'What an overfed lout'; he is…” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/george-orwell-57_losing-time_the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter_784116.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/george-orwell-57_losing-time_the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter_784116.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/george-orwell-57_losing-time_the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter_784116.jpg) > ““The moral is, never be sorry for a waiter. Sometimes when you sit in a restaurant, still stuffing yourself half an hour after closing time, you feel that the tired waiter at your side must surely be despising you. But he is not. He is not thinking as he looks at you, 'What an overfed lout'; he is thinking, 'One day, when I have saved enough money, I shall be able to imitate that man.' He is ministering to a kind of pleasure he thoroughly understands and admires. And that is why waiters are seldom Socialists, have no effective trade union, and will work twelve hours a day--they work fifteen hours, seven days a week, in many cafés. They are snobs, and they find the servile nature of their work rather congenial.”” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The waiter sees his job as a stepping stone, not a permanent identity, aspiring to rise beyond his current role. **In simple terms:** Waiters view work as a path to future success. Key Takeaway Recognize work as a means, not an end. Themes ambition class work aspiration social mobility Mood reflective analytical Type observational critical philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - hospitality industry - personal development - economic mobility Key Concepts Marxism social hierarchy psychology of labor Questions to Reflect On - Do you view your current job as a stepping stone? - What aspirations drive your daily work? A Different Perspective Assumes all workers share this mindset, ignoring individual values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Closing time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closing-time/) [Losing time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing-time/) [Seven days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven-days/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trade union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade-union/) [Waiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiter/) [Waiters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiters/) ## Related quotes > [“I regretted my human form briefly; it would be so much easier to drag and rope information into the brain as neatly as one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/i-regretted-my-human-form-briefly-it-would-be-so-much-easier-to-drag/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [“Why no," he said, reasonably, and looked at his watch, "we can wait another hour if you like. We can become friends then. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/why-no-he-said-reasonably-and-looked-at-his-watch-we-can-wait-another/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [The Internet is like closing time at a blue-collar bar in Boston. Everyone’s drunk and ugly and they’re going to pass out in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-wieseltier/the-internet-is-like-closing-time-at-a-blue-collar-bar-in-boston/) [Leon Wieseltier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-wieseltier/) > [“It is closing time in the gardens of the West.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-conolly/it-is-closing-time-in-the-gardens-of-the-west/) Cyril Conolly > [“Their mother died early, and not in a good way. Not that anyone dies in a good way, Tin footnotes to himself, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/their-mother-died-early-and-not-in-a-good-way-not-that-anyone-dies-in/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Sometimes we'd sit on that bench for hours, talking about nothing much and blowing smoke rings into the air, and we'd see them teetering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ire-t-robinson/sometimes-we-d-sit-on-that-bench-for-hours-talking-about-nothing-much/) Máire T. Robinson > [“When there are two men left in the bar at closing time, and one of them coldcocks the other, it is not equivalent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-there-are-two-men-left-in-the-bar-at-closing-time-and-one-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’m glad he’s staying, the barmaid thought. Although she could take care of herself, witnessing how calmly this officer was dealing with these two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-m-glad-he-s-staying-the-barmaid-thought-although-she-could-take/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“I saw and heard all sorts of things in my fever; I was riding a merry-go-round, I wanted to get off but I couldn’t.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grass-gunter/i-saw-and-heard-all-sorts-of-things-in-my-fever-i-was-riding-a-merry/) Grass Gunter > [“I nipped into this sanctuary late this afternoon and soon heard the dying footfalls of closing time. From now on, my only effort will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-collier/i-nipped-into-this-sanctuary-late-this-afternoon-and-soon-heard-the/) [John Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-collier/) > [“They filed out into the cold night at closing time, heading for Begbie's place with a carry-out. They'd already spent twelve hours drinking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/they-filed-out-into-the-cold-night-at-closing-time-heading-for-begbie/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [I've always been into asking the big questions; I'm the last guy out the door at closing time cuz I was sittin' around 'til…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-ve-always-been-into-asking-the-big-questions-i-m-the-last-guy-out/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [“In previous years, they might have spent hours in the cellar, on their feet, never seeing the time go by nor feeling their legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-coss/in-previous-years-they-might-have-spent-hours-in-the-cellar-on-their/) [Laurence Cossé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-coss/) > [In my head, at least, the business of spinning stories has no closing time. Twists in my characters' lives, glimpses of their secrets, obstacles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/in-my-head-at-least-the-business-of-spinning-stories-has-no-closing/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [“It looks like freedom but it feels like death, it's something in between I guess. It's closing time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/it-looks-like-freedom-but-it-feels-like-death-it-s-something-in/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Closing time quotes > [“I regretted my human form briefly; it would be so much easier to drag and rope information into the brain as neatly as one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/i-regretted-my-human-form-briefly-it-would-be-so-much-easier-to-drag/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [In my head, at least, the business of spinning stories has no closing time. Twists in my characters' lives, glimpses of their secrets, obstacles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/in-my-head-at-least-the-business-of-spinning-stories-has-no-closing/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [“In previous years, they might have spent hours in the cellar, on their feet, never seeing the time go by nor feeling their legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-coss/in-previous-years-they-might-have-spent-hours-in-the-cellar-on-their/) [Laurence Cossé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-coss/) > [I've always been into asking the big questions; I'm the last guy out the door at closing time cuz I was sittin' around 'til…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-ve-always-been-into-asking-the-big-questions-i-m-the-last-guy-out/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [“They filed out into the cold night at closing time, heading for Begbie's place with a carry-out. They'd already spent twelve hours drinking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/they-filed-out-into-the-cold-night-at-closing-time-heading-for-begbie/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [“I nipped into this sanctuary late this afternoon and soon heard the dying footfalls of closing time. From now on, my only effort will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-collier/i-nipped-into-this-sanctuary-late-this-afternoon-and-soon-heard-the/) [John Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-collier/) > [“I saw and heard all sorts of things in my fever; I was riding a merry-go-round, I wanted to get off but I couldn’t.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grass-gunter/i-saw-and-heard-all-sorts-of-things-in-my-fever-i-was-riding-a-merry/) Grass Gunter > [“After a spent day, I walked back in a fever. The whole way home the sun touched my cheeks. The blissful evening glow spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/after-a-spent-day-i-walked-back-in-a-fever-the-whole-way-home-the-sun/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“I’m glad he’s staying, the barmaid thought. Although she could take care of herself, witnessing how calmly this officer was dealing with these two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-m-glad-he-s-staying-the-barmaid-thought-although-she-could-take/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“When there are two men left in the bar at closing time, and one of them coldcocks the other, it is not equivalent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-there-are-two-men-left-in-the-bar-at-closing-time-and-one-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sometimes we'd sit on that bench for hours, talking about nothing much and blowing smoke rings into the air, and we'd see them teetering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ire-t-robinson/sometimes-we-d-sit-on-that-bench-for-hours-talking-about-nothing-much/) Máire T. Robinson > [“Their mother died early, and not in a good way. Not that anyone dies in a good way, Tin footnotes to himself, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/their-mother-died-early-and-not-in-a-good-way-not-that-anyone-dies-in/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It is closing time in the gardens of the West.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-conolly/it-is-closing-time-in-the-gardens-of-the-west/) Cyril Conolly > [The Internet is like closing time at a blue-collar bar in Boston. Everyone’s drunk and ugly and they’re going to pass out in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-wieseltier/the-internet-is-like-closing-time-at-a-blue-collar-bar-in-boston/) [Leon Wieseltier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-wieseltier/) > [“Why no," he said, reasonably, and looked at his watch, "we can wait another hour if you like. We can become friends then. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/why-no-he-said-reasonably-and-looked-at-his-watch-we-can-wait-another/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) [Browse all 29 Closing time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closing-time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The moral is, never be sorry for a waiter. Sometimes when you sit in a restaurant, still stuffing yourself half an hour after closing time, you feel that the tired waiter at your side must surely be despising you. But he is not. He is not thinking as he looks at you, 'What an overfed lout'; he is thinking, 'One day, when I have saved enough money, I shall be able to imitate that man.' He is ministering to a kind of pleasure he thoroughly understands and admires. And that is why waiters are seldom Socialists, have no effective trade union, and will work twelve hours a day--they work fifteen hours, seven days a week, in many cafés. They are snobs, and they find the servile nature of their work rather congenial.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter-sometimes-when-you-sit-in-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Closing time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter-sometimes-when-you-sit-in-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/george-orwell-57_losing-time_the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter_784116.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/george-orwell-57_losing-time_the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter_784116.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/george-orwell-57_losing-time_the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter_784116.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The moral is, never be sorry for a waiter. Sometimes when you sit in a restaurant, still stuffing yourself…” — George Orwell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The moral is, never be sorry...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter-sometimes-when-you-sit-in-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-moral-is-never-be-sorry-for-a-waiter-sometimes-when-you-sit-in-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```