--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Best way out,” Elmo observed laconically…" description: "\"“Best way out,” Elmo observed laconically, “would be to kill everybody who knows anything, then all of us fall on our swords.” “Sounds a little extreme..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/glen-cook-9893_goblin_best-way-out-elmo-observed-laconically-w_2725040.jpg" --- # Best way out,” Elmo observed laconically, “would be to… ![“Best way out,” Elmo observed laconically, “would be to kill everybody who knows anything, then all of us fall on our swords.” “Sounds a little extreme,” Goblin opined. “But if you want to go first, I’m right behind you.” quote by Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/glen-cook-9893_goblin_best-way-out-elmo-observed-laconically-w_2725040.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/glen-cook-9893_goblin_best-way-out-elmo-observed-laconically-w_2725040.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/glen-cook-9893_goblin_best-way-out-elmo-observed-laconically-w_2725040.jpg) > ““Best way out,” Elmo observed laconically, “would be to kill everybody who knows anything, then all of us fall on our swords.” “Sounds a little extreme,” Goblin opined. “But if you want to go first, I’m right behind you.”” [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Extreme solutions arise when people feel powerless and seek control. **In simple terms:** Desperation can lead to violent ideas. Key Takeaway Seek constructive alternatives to violence. Themes power desperation violence Mood cautious reflective Type ethical literary When to use this quote - conflict resolution - leadership decisions - social movements Key Concepts political theory ethics psychology Questions to Reflect On - What non‑violent path could you choose? - How does fear influence extreme thinking? A Different Perspective Violence rarely solves underlying problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goblin/) ## Related quotes > [“- Goblin, that was a dumb stunt. - It sure was. Made me feel forty years younger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/goblin-that-was-a-dumb-stunt-it-sure-was-made-me-feel-forty-years/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“I want to kill everybody in the world, I want to eat your heart...out”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-to-kill-everybody-in-the-world-i-want-to-eat-your-heart-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We kill everybody, my dear. Some with bullets, some with words, and everybody with our deeds. We drive people into their graves, and neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxim-gorky/we-kill-everybody-my-dear-some-with-bullets-some-with-words-and/) [Maxim Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxim-gorky/) > [Humans may be destroying their chances for decent survival. It won't kill everybody, but it would change the world dramatically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/humans-may-be-destroying-their-chances-for-decent-survival-it-won-t/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Keep calm and kill everybody in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali/keep-calm-and-kill-everybody-in-the-world/) [Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali/) > [“Some people can’t sit around the dinner table for an hour without some sort of fight breaking out. Stick them in an underground dungeon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-johnathan-davis/some-people-can-t-sit-around-the-dinner-table-for-an-hour-without/) [S. Johnathan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-johnathan-davis/) > [I'd rather deal with Tipper than Bush. He's trying to kill everybody in jail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-dre/i-d-rather-deal-with-tipper-than-bush-he-s-trying-to-kill-everybody/) [Dr. Dre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-dre/) > [“they’re just a bunch of real sweet guys, you know, who just happen to want to kill everybody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/they-re-just-a-bunch-of-real-sweet-guys-you-know-who-just-happen-to/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [What are you gonna do? Kill me? Everybody dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-polonsky/what-are-you-gonna-do-kill-me-everybody-dies/) [Abraham Polonsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-polonsky/) > [It may be that ... when the advance of destructive weapons enables everyone to kill everybody else nobody will want to kill anyone at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/it-may-be-that-when-the-advance-of-destructive-weapons-enables/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Tempers are wearing thin. Let's hope some robot doesn't kill everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bender-the-cartoon-character/tempers-are-wearing-thin-let-s-hope-some-robot-doesn-t-kill-everybody/) [Bender (The Cartoon Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bender-the-cartoon-character/) > [Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-polite-be-professional-but-have-a-plan-to-kill-everybody-you-meet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not a big fan of talking about dying. And then I make a movie where I kill everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/i-m-not-a-big-fan-of-talking-about-dying-and-then-i-make-a-movie/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [“If I was to kill everybody who didn't love me and never would, wouldn't be nobody left on the planet?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ryan-hyde/if-i-was-to-kill-everybody-who-didn-t-love-me-and-never-would-wouldn/) [Catherine Ryan Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ryan-hyde/) > [I don't know, 53 years with the same human being? I can't be around myself for more than three or four hours before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-baio/i-don-t-know-53-years-with-the-same-human-being-i-can-t-be-around/) [Scott Baio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-baio/) ## More by Glen Cook > [“Truth is a deadly weapon, Lady said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/truth-is-a-deadly-weapon-lady-said/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“I cry for a little girl's dreams. I cry because the dreams will not die, though I am powerless to make them come true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/i-cry-for-a-little-girl-s-dreams-i-cry-because-the-dreams-will-not/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [No religion I ever encountered made any sense. None are consistent. Most gods are megalomaniacs and paranoid psychotics by their worshippers' description. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/no-religion-i-ever-encountered-made-any-sense-none-are-consistent/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of self-proclaimed saints. Victorious historians rule where good or evil lies. We abjure labels. We fight for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/there-are-no-self-proclaimed-villains-only-regiments-of-self/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [Evil is relative…You can’t hang a sign on it. You can’t touch it or taste it or cut it with a sword. Evil depends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/evil-is-relative-you-can-t-hang-a-sign-on-it-you-can-t-touch-it-or/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“The Lady was medicine bad enough. The Dominator, though, was the body of which her evil was but a shadow. Or so the legend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/the-lady-was-medicine-bad-enough-the-dominator-though-was-the-body-of/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“About you and me, Croaker and his gang, the Lady, Silent, Darling. About all the things we had in common but still couldn’t get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/about-you-and-me-croaker-and-his-gang-the-lady-silent-darling-about/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [The people come from everywhere, from five hundred miles, to find their fortunes. By fortune is an ugly, two-faced goddess. When you have lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/the-people-come-from-everywhere-from-five-hundred-miles-to-find-their/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“Closer at hand, the wheeling gulls were as surly and lackadaisical as the day promised to make most men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/closer-at-hand-the-wheeling-gulls-were-as-surly-and-lackadaisical-as/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [A world ought to have a few genuine good guys, and not just a spectrum of people running from bad to worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/a-world-ought-to-have-a-few-genuine-good-guys-and-not-just-a-spectrum/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [I believe in our side and theirs, with the good and evil decided after the fact, by those who survive. Among men you seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/i-believe-in-our-side-and-theirs-with-the-good-and-evil-decided-after/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [Soldiers live. He dies and not you, and you feel guilty, because you're glad he died, and not you. Soldiers live, and wonder why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/soldiers-live-he-dies-and-not-you-and-you-feel-guilty-because-you-re/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“I am the Daughter of Night. I am the Child of Darkness Forthcoming. Come to my mother or become prey for the beasts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/i-am-the-daughter-of-night-i-am-the-child-of-darkness-forthcoming/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/in-the-night-when-the-wind-dies-and-silence-rules-the-place-of/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [Consistency is the sign of a narrow mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/consistency-is-the-sign-of-a-narrow-mind/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) [Explore all 69 Glen Cook quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) ## More Goblin quotes > [A sad tale's best for winter. I have one of sprites and goblins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-sad-tale-s-best-for-winter-i-have-one-of-sprites-and-goblins/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Magic Sandra’s seen a leprechaun, Eddie touched a troll, Laurie danced with witches once, Charlie found some goblins gold. Donald heard a mermaid sing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/magic-sandra-s-seen-a-leprechaun-eddie-touched-a-troll-laurie-danced/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [But you know: you know that if I could have stayed, if I could have gone on, that I would have clutched every second:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/but-you-know-you-know-that-if-i-could-have-stayed-if-i-could-have/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [“Despite being the only one of us who owned the game, I wasn't very good at Resurrection. As I watched them tramp through a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/despite-being-the-only-one-of-us-who-owned-the-game-i-wasn-t-very/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“She may be old, but she's more goblin than human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nahoko-uehashi/she-may-be-old-but-she-s-more-goblin-than-human/) [Nahoko Uehashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nahoko-uehashi/) > [We must not look at goblin men, We must not buy their fruits: Who knows upon what soil they fed Their hungry thirsty roots?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/we-must-not-look-at-goblin-men-we-must-not-buy-their-fruits-who-knows/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [Not stories told by wolf or man to frighten children, of Wolfbane and of werewolves, of grasht and goblins and of silly vampires, fables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-clement-davies/not-stories-told-by-wolf-or-man-to-frighten-children-of-wolfbane-and/) [David Clement-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-clement-davies/) > [Ok you're a goon but what's a goon to a goblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/ok-you-re-a-goon-but-what-s-a-goon-to-a-goblin/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [At last, small witches, goblins, hags, And pirates armed with paper bags Their costumes hinged on safety pins, Go haunt a night of pumpkin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/at-last-small-witches-goblins-hags-and-pirates-armed-with-paper-bags/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave.” Jareth the Goblin King”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-evans/i-ask-for-so-little-just-fear-me-love-me-do-as-i-say-and-i-will-be/) Kat Evans > [Rose goblins are built like porcupines - if you rub them the right way, you don't have to worry about the spines. They're sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rose-goblins-are-built-like-porcupines-if-you-rub-them-the-right-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The labyrinth, after all, is Sarah's creation. She calls upon the Goblin King. And this is the biggest difference between my brother's afflictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/the-labyrinth-after-all-is-sarah-s-creation-she-calls-upon-the-goblin/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [I do not believe that there are any such things as gods and goddesses, for exactly the same reasons as I do not believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/i-do-not-believe-that-there-are-any-such-things-as-gods-and-goddesses/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [No, I don't think you understand just how stupid goblins are. Let me give you an example. One of the B'wa Kell generals, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/no-i-don-t-think-you-understand-just-how-stupid-goblins-are-let-me/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [I was born to find goblins in their caves / And chase moonlight / To see shadows and seek hidden rivers / To hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kavanaugh/i-was-born-to-find-goblins-in-their-caves-and-chase-moonlight-to-see/) [James Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kavanaugh/) [Browse all 121 Goblin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goblin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Best way out,” Elmo observed laconically, “would be to kill everybody who knows anything, then all of us fall on our swords.” “Sounds a little extreme,” Goblin opined. “But if you want to go first, I’m right behind you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Glen Cook" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/best-way-out-elmo-observed-laconically-would-be-to-kill-everybody-who/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Goblin" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/best-way-out-elmo-observed-laconically-would-be-to-kill-everybody-who/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/glen-cook-9893_goblin_best-way-out-elmo-observed-laconically-w_2725040.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/glen-cook-9893_goblin_best-way-out-elmo-observed-laconically-w_2725040.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aba/glen-cook-9893_goblin_best-way-out-elmo-observed-laconically-w_2725040.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Best way out,” Elmo observed laconically, “would be to kill everybody who knows anything, then all of us…” — Glen Cook", "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": "Glen Cook", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Best way out,” Elmo observed laconically,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/best-way-out-elmo-observed-laconically-would-be-to-kill-everybody-who/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/best-way-out-elmo-observed-laconically-would-be-to-kill-everybody-who/#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 } } ] } ```