--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is only one immutable law in life…" description: "\"There is only one immutable law in life - in a gentleman's toilet, incoming traffic has the right of way.\" — Hugh Leonard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/hugh-leonard-22472_funny-life_there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life_784808.png" --- # There is only one immutable law in life - in a gentleman's… ![“There is only one immutable law in life - in a gentleman's toilet, incoming traffic has the right of way.” quote by Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/hugh-leonard-22472_funny-life_there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life_784808.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/hugh-leonard-22472_funny-life_there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life_784808.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/hugh-leonard-22472_funny-life_there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life_784808.png) > “There is only one immutable law in life - in a gentleman's toilet, incoming traffic has the right of way.” [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The only unchanging rule is that in a gentleman's restroom, those entering have priority over those inside. **In simple terms:** In a man's toilet, newcomers go first. Key Takeaway Respect the unspoken etiquette. Themes etiquette humor social norms Mood playful lighthearted Type humorous observational When to use this quote - entering a bathroom - waiting in line - designing public facilities - managing crowds Key Concepts priority unwritten rules public restroom etiquette Questions to Reflect On - Do you follow this rule? - How does this reflect broader social hierarchies? A Different Perspective May not apply in cultures with different restroom customs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-life/) [Gentleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleman/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes all it takes to stop traffic is for that right pair of red pumps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-ton/sometimes-all-it-takes-to-stop-traffic-is-for-that-right-pair-of-red/) Tommy Ton > [“It is the immutable law that the more you give away, the more you receive. You make a living by what you get, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/it-is-the-immutable-law-that-the-more-you-give-away-the-more-you/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [“The mistake too many people make, it seems, is either not having the plan in the first place or once they do, treating it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-shull/the-mistake-too-many-people-make-it-seems-is-either-not-having-the/) Denise Shull > [Good and wise men, in all ages, have embraced a very dissimilar theory. They have supposed that the deity, from the relations we stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/good-and-wise-men-in-all-ages-have-embraced-a-very-dissimilar-theory/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [ “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: And whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.’ \[Matthew 16:25.\]…He who is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/whosoever-will-save-his-life-shall-lose-it-and-whosoever-will-lose/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [Tempered, gradual animation, the methodical restrain of sensations and energies, the equilibrium of sickness and health in each creature--this is nature's essence, its immutable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/tempered-gradual-animation-the-methodical-restrain-of-sensations-and/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [I think it is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises, but only performance is reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-it-is-an-immutable-law-in-business-that-words-are-words/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Society is an organism which obeys the immutable law of progress; and change, judicious and cautious change, is necessary for the well being, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/society-is-an-organism-which-obeys-the-immutable-law-of-progress-and/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [It is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises-but only performance is reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-geneen/it-is-an-immutable-law-in-business-that-words-are-words-explanations/) [Harold S. Geneen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-geneen/) > [Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated, and this was an immutable law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hatred-which-could-destroy-so-much-never-failed-to-destroy-the-man/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An autobiography is the story of how a man thinks he lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-autobiography-is-the-story-of-how-a-man-thinks-he-lived/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/when-you-are-courting-a-nice-girl-an-hour-seems-like-a-second/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Life is a bitch, but mine is a diva.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-a-bitch-but-mine-is-a-diva/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't take life too seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/don-t-take-life-too-seriously/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [I've been funny my whole life. This is a gift God gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-ve-been-funny-my-whole-life-this-is-a-gift-god-gave-me/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) ## More by Hugh Leonard > [I'm a much nicer person since my wife died. I found out what pain is, so on that level I'm much nicer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-m-a-much-nicer-person-since-my-wife-died-i-found-out-what-pain-is/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [We were married for almost 45 years. We fought all the time, it wasn't a great love or anything, it wasn't a great, all-consuming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/we-were-married-for-almost-45-years-we-fought-all-the-time-it-wasn-t/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [I don't think anyone is the perfect one to play me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-don-t-think-anyone-is-the-perfect-one-to-play-me/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [It's a natural thing for people to say, you know, Who's in this book? I find myself get ting a little defensive. People come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/it-s-a-natural-thing-for-people-to-say-you-know-who-s-in-this-book-i/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [Gossip is more popular than literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/gossip-is-more-popular-than-literature/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [I feel like the writer observing the grief, but it is difficult to be detached from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-feel-like-the-writer-observing-the-grief-but-it-is-difficult-to-be/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [My grandmother made dying her life's work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/my-grandmother-made-dying-her-life-s-work/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [My life is every moment of my life. It is not a culmination of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/my-life-is-every-moment-of-my-life-it-is-not-a-culmination-of-the-past/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [My father I liked, but it was only after his death that I got to know him by writing the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/my-father-i-liked-but-it-was-only-after-his-death-that-i-got-to-know/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [Sometimes silence resolves a conversation confused by Mad Misconstruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/sometimes-silence-resolves-a-conversation-confused-by-mad/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [I came down to the living room one day and my wife was standing in the living room. It wasn't an illusion. I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-came-down-to-the-living-room-one-day-and-my-wife-was-standing-in/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [I've always believed in survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-ve-always-believed-in-survival/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [No exercise brings into play all the muscles of the body in a more thorough manner, and none is more interesting than wrestling. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/no-exercise-brings-into-play-all-the-muscles-of-the-body-in-a-more/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [I'm a writer, and what I do is write. I wasn't able to do anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/i-m-a-writer-and-what-i-do-is-write-i-wasn-t-able-to-do-anything-else/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [The problem with Ireland is that it's a country full of genius, but with absolutely no talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/the-problem-with-ireland-is-that-it-s-a-country-full-of-genius-but/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) [Explore all 27 Hugh Leonard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) ## More Funny life quotes > [I've been funny my whole life. This is a gift God gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-ve-been-funny-my-whole-life-this-is-a-gift-god-gave-me/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [Don't take life too seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/don-t-take-life-too-seriously/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [Life is a bitch, but mine is a diva.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-a-bitch-but-mine-is-a-diva/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/when-you-are-courting-a-nice-girl-an-hour-seems-like-a-second/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [An autobiography is the story of how a man thinks he lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-autobiography-is-the-story-of-how-a-man-thinks-he-lived/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think all good drama is funny. All the best drama is ultimately very funny. Life is funny. You can't have any honest treatise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jane/i-think-all-good-drama-is-funny-all-the-best-drama-is-ultimately-very/) [Thomas Jane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jane/) > [What fills us is real, sweet, dopey, funny life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-fills-us-is-real-sweet-dopey-funny-life/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [There is nothing more miserable in the world than to arrive in paradise and look like your passport photo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/there-is-nothing-more-miserable-in-the-world-than-to-arrive-in/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Life is a crowded superhighway with bewildering cloverleaf exits on which a man is liable to find himself speeding back in the direction he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/life-is-a-crowded-superhighway-with-bewildering-cloverleaf-exits-on/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [Life isn't a cabaret. It's a dive bar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-paige/life-isn-t-a-cabaret-it-s-a-dive-bar/) Woody Paige > [Two wrongs don't make a right…but it does make it even.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/two-wrongs-don-t-make-a-right-but-it-does-make-it-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no guaranties in life except for death and this: When you leave the house looking like total crap, you're going to run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-s/there-are-no-guaranties-in-life-except-for-death-and-this-when-you/) [Laura S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-s/) > [My routine isn't so much dreaming up the comedy as just seeing what happens to me. I seem to be leading a very funny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pinette/my-routine-isn-t-so-much-dreaming-up-the-comedy-as-just-seeing-what/) [John Pinette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pinette/) > [We are all here on earth to help others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/we-are-all-here-on-earth-to-help-others/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Life is a nacho. It can be yummy-crunchy or squishy-yucky. It just depends on how long it takes for you to start eating it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-nacho-it-can-be-yummy-crunchy-or-squishy-yucky-it-just/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Browse all 93 Funny life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is only one immutable law in life - in a gentleman's toilet, incoming traffic has the right of way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hugh Leonard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life-in-a-gentleman-s-toilet/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Funny life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life-in-a-gentleman-s-toilet/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/hugh-leonard-22472_funny-life_there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life_784808.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/hugh-leonard-22472_funny-life_there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life_784808.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eee/hugh-leonard-22472_funny-life_there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life_784808.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is only one immutable law in life - in a gentleman's toilet, incoming traffic has the right of way.” — Hugh Leonard", "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": "Hugh Leonard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is only one immutable law...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life-in-a-gentleman-s-toilet/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/there-is-only-one-immutable-law-in-life-in-a-gentleman-s-toilet/#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 } } ] } ```