--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had worked on the markets with my…" description: "\"I had worked on the markets with my father before going to university, so I possessed an apparent street-smartness, had access to a colourful costermon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/howard-jacobson-1484_father_i-had-worked-on-the-markets-with-my-fath_415452.jpg" --- # I had worked on the markets with my father before going to… ![“I had worked on the markets with my father before going to university, so I possessed an apparent street-smartness, had access to a colourful costermonger vocabulary, and tried passing myself off as a bit of spiv. But my contemporaries saw through me. At heart, they knew I was as bookish and…” quote by Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/howard-jacobson-1484_father_i-had-worked-on-the-markets-with-my-fath_415452.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/howard-jacobson-1484_father_i-had-worked-on-the-markets-with-my-fath_415452.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/howard-jacobson-1484_father_i-had-worked-on-the-markets-with-my-fath_415452.jpg) > “I had worked on the markets with my father before going to university, so I possessed an apparent street-smartness, had access to a colourful costermonger vocabulary, and tried passing myself off as a bit of spiv. But my contemporaries saw through me. At heart, they knew I was as bookish and oversensitive as they were.” [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker tries to appear street‑wise but is ultimately seen as bookish and sensitive, revealing a clash between self‑image and others’ perception. **In simple terms:** Appearances hide true nature. Key Takeaway Accept how others see you. Themes identity perception class self‑image Mood reflective introspective Type personal social When to use this quote - college introductions - family business - social gatherings - career networking Key Concepts social masks authenticity class tension Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance confidence with humility? - What masks do you wear in professional settings? A Different Perspective Self‑presentation can backfire if not genuine. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bookish Oversensitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookish-oversensitive-3694468/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Knew Bookish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-bookish-3694469/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [Oversensitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oversensitive/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Saw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saw/) [Smartness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smartness/) [Street Smartness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/street-smartness-3694467/) [Vocabulary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocabulary/) ## Related quotes > [She kept asking herself whether, if he had looked cleaner, she might have been more concerned; whether, on some subliminal level, she had confused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-kept-asking-herself-whether-if-he-had-looked-cleaner-she-might/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was a different kind of kid, oversensitive and all that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-james/i-was-a-different-kind-of-kid-oversensitive-and-all-that/) [Brion James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-james/) > [“Imagination makes people oversensitive,vulnerable and exposed. Perhaps it's a form of degeneracy. I have never held the shortcomings of the unimaginative against them. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlen-haushofer/imagination-makes-people-oversensitive-vulnerable-and-exposed-perhaps/) [Marlen Haushofer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlen-haushofer/) > [Of course I do, you silly, oversensitive girl. Doesn't everyone? I feel like there's a line behind me, jockeying for position, waiting for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-cullen/of-course-i-do-you-silly-oversensitive-girl-doesn-t-everyone-i-feel/) [Edward Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-cullen/) > [“Everybody is sensitive but you cannot tickle yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/everybody-is-sensitive-but-you-cannot-tickle-yourself/) [Dr.P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/) > [Some kids get called 'bundles of joy' or 'slices of heaven' or 'dreams come true.' We got 'the fifty-fourth generation of DNA experiments.' Doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/some-kids-get-called-bundles-of-joy-or-slices-of-heaven-or-dreams/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [My wife accuses me - and she's probably right - that I'm sometimes oversensitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/my-wife-accuses-me-and-she-s-probably-right-that-i-m-sometimes/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [“It's not 'over-sensitivity' to ask to be treated with the same dignity and respect shown to others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/it-s-not-over-sensitivity-to-ask-to-be-treated-with-the-same-dignity/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [The best Defense against being oversensitive is having great sense of humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnreyes/the-best-defense-against-being-oversensitive-is-having-great-sense-of/) [JOHNREYES](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnreyes/) > [Who knows what oversensitive is, considering all there is to be sensitive to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-maxwell/who-knows-what-oversensitive-is-considering-all-there-is-to-be/) [William Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-maxwell/) > [“Perhaps you’re being oversensitive and a bit overdramatic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mass/perhaps-you-re-being-oversensitive-and-a-bit-overdramatic/) [Wendy Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mass/) > [Comedians are ridiculously oversensitive, so, especially with the Internet, you feel everything, like a spider on a web going, 'Oh God, I'm getting stomped'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-fielding/comedians-are-ridiculously-oversensitive-so-especially-with-the/) [Noel Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-fielding/) > [I felt accidents make a person strong but realized they make a person oversensitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mukulika-mahajan/i-felt-accidents-make-a-person-strong-but-realized-they-make-a-person/) [Mukulika Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mukulika-mahajan/) > [It is a grave error for any leader to be oversensitive in the face of criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/it-is-a-grave-error-for-any-leader-to-be-oversensitive-in-the-face-of/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“I am both numb and oversensitive, overwhelmed by the need, the raw and desperate need of the girls I am listening to and trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-lloyd/i-am-both-numb-and-oversensitive-overwhelmed-by-the-need-the-raw-and/) [Rachel Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-lloyd/) ## More by Howard Jacobson > [Everything is allowable in literature, but what is not allowable in criticism is objection on the grounds of probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/everything-is-allowable-in-literature-but-what-is-not-allowable-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [There's a simple arithmetical logic at work. Build more unaffordable and not always architecturally sympathetic apartments, watch the rents rise, the tarts leave, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/there-s-a-simple-arithmetical-logic-at-work-build-more-unaffordable/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [The novel is a thing of irony and ambiguity. That's at the heart of 'J', a world that has stopped arguing with itself. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/the-novel-is-a-thing-of-irony-and-ambiguity-that-s-at-the-heart-of-j/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [I was a 'reverence for life' man - 'see life steadily and see it whole' - in my days as a lecturer in English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/i-was-a-reverence-for-life-man-see-life-steadily-and-see-it-whole-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [How Donald Trump has come so far with so few words - how he even managed to keep up conversationally with all those beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/how-donald-trump-has-come-so-far-with-so-few-words-how-he-even/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [It is a nonsense to me when people come along and tell me not to be pessimistic; or that culture has always been going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/it-is-a-nonsense-to-me-when-people-come-along-and-tell-me-not-to-be/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [For me a Writing Day was an occasion for self-reproach and panic, a time to lament the passing of the years, stare out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/for-me-a-writing-day-was-an-occasion-for-self-reproach-and-panic-a/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Even the wordiest of men know there's a time to button it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/even-the-wordiest-of-men-know-there-s-a-time-to-button-it/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [That a nation's statuary will reflect beliefs and attitudes that are no longer current or congenial hardly needs arguing. In most instances, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/that-a-nation-s-statuary-will-reflect-beliefs-and-attitudes-that-are/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [“Was he a bad man or just a foolish one? He didn't feel bad to himself. As a husband he believed himself to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/was-he-a-bad-man-or-just-a-foolish-one-he-didn-t-feel-bad-to-himself/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [The young come in many guises: vigorous and passionate, vindictive and mean-spirited. And not every person over 65 is dozing in a retirement home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/the-young-come-in-many-guises-vigorous-and-passionate-vindictive-and/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [To a philosopher like Nietzsche, the Jew is culpable not for rejecting Christianity but for inventing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/to-a-philosopher-like-nietzsche-the-jew-is-culpable-not-for-rejecting/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Shakespeare's always been sitting on my back, since I began reading. And, certainly, as a writer, he's who I hear all the time. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/shakespeare-s-always-been-sitting-on-my-back-since-i-began-reading/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [A novelist should make you realize nothing is stable. If you don't believe anything with robustness, you're doing something more radical than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/a-novelist-should-make-you-realize-nothing-is-stable-if-you-don-t/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [The Stop The War Coalition is a sort of home to Jew-haters because its hate music about Israel is so catchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/the-stop-the-war-coalition-is-a-sort-of-home-to-jew-haters-because/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) [Explore all 235 Howard Jacobson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) ## More Father quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [My parents were not musical, and they were not effervescent people; everything was very quiet. The music that I played was loud; it used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/my-parents-were-not-musical-and-they-were-not-effervescent-people/) [Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/) > [“My father called twice and left a voicemail—who does that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/my-father-called-twice-and-left-a-voicemail-who-does-that/) [Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/) > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [“I don’t know. We all have to bear things, Ari. All of us. Your father has to bear the war and what it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-we-all-have-to-bear-things-ari-all-of-us-your-father-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This was, I sometimes thought, the last gift my father gave me. And the best: His death stood out as the supreme-o excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-was-i-sometimes-thought-the-last-gift-my-father-gave-me-and-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [My father was very encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/my-father-was-very-encouraging/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Browse all 19,784 Father quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had worked on the markets with my father before going to university, so I possessed an apparent street-smartness, had access to a colourful costermonger vocabulary, and tried passing myself off as a bit of spiv. But my contemporaries saw through me. 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