--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Twas ostensibly ominous in the overview…" description: "\"“Twas ostensibly ominous in the overview To be 'orribly and onerously overrun.”\" — Ian McEwan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/ian-mcewan-494_ominous_twas-ostensibly-ominous-in-the-overview_3079588.png" --- # Twas ostensibly ominous in the overview To be 'orribly and… ![“Twas ostensibly ominous in the overview To be 'orribly and onerously overrun.” quote by Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/ian-mcewan-494_ominous_twas-ostensibly-ominous-in-the-overview_3079588.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/ian-mcewan-494_ominous_twas-ostensibly-ominous-in-the-overview_3079588.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/ian-mcewan-494_ominous_twas-ostensibly-ominous-in-the-overview_3079588.png) > ““Twas ostensibly ominous in the overview To be 'orribly and onerously overrun.”” [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The description suggests a foreboding, overwhelming situation. **In simple terms:** It sounds ominously overwhelming. Key Takeaway Recognize and address looming threats. Themes foreboding overwhelm anticipation Mood reflective analytical Type literary interpretive When to use this quote - reading analysis - creative writing - critical discussion Key Concepts narrative tension literary description Questions to Reflect On - What does the ominous tone imply? - How does it affect the narrative? A Different Perspective Interpretation may vary; could be metaphorical. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Those who forever seek the will of God are overrun by those who do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhard-bonnke/those-who-forever-seek-the-will-of-god-are-overrun-by-those-who-do-it/) [Reinhard Bonnke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhard-bonnke/) > [When people will not weed their own minds, they are apt to be overrun by nettles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/when-people-will-not-weed-their-own-minds-they-are-apt-to-be-overrun/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [“Shall the world, then, be overrun by oysters?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/shall-the-world-then-be-overrun-by-oysters/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Although enemy forces had overrun the mortar and some gun positions, they did not have everything their own way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-kramer/although-enemy-forces-had-overrun-the-mortar-and-some-gun-positions/) [Michael G. Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-kramer/) > [ It is very certain that the strong British race which has now overrun much of this continent, must also overrun \[Texas\], and Mexico and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-very-certain-that-the-strong-british-race-which-has-now-overrun/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The Freedom Tower has a cost overrun. A significant cost overrun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-freedom-tower-has-a-cost-overrun-a-significant-cost-overrun/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I am overrun, infested with a menagerie of desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-smart/i-am-overrun-infested-with-a-menagerie-of-desires/) [Elizabeth Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-smart/) > [All new states are invested, more or less, by a class of noisy, second-rate men who are always in favor of rash and extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-houston/all-new-states-are-invested-more-or-less-by-a-class-of-noisy-second/) [Sam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-houston/) > [Our borders are being overrun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kobach/our-borders-are-being-overrun/) [Kris Kobach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kobach/) > [“We’re about to be overrun by an entire generation of juvenile psychopaths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/we-re-about-to-be-overrun-by-an-entire-generation-of-juvenile/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [If it had been our intention to take Iraq, if it had been our intention to destroy the country, if it had been our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-schwarzkopf/if-it-had-been-our-intention-to-take-iraq-if-it-had-been-our/) [Norman Schwarzkopf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-schwarzkopf/) > [We may be well on our way to a society overrun by hordes of lawyers, hungry as locusts, and brigades of judges in numbers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-e-burger/we-may-be-well-on-our-way-to-a-society-overrun-by-hordes-of-lawyers/) [Warren E. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-e-burger/) > [I'm wondering if there's a spell to make lightning flash in the background whenever I make an ominous resolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-m-wondering-if-there-s-a-spell-to-make-lightning-flash-in-the/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“He liked murder. Murder and long walks had been two of his favorite things when he was younger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/he-liked-murder-murder-and-long-walks-had-been-two-of-his-favorite/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-is-ominous-is-the-ease-with-which-some-people-go-from-saying/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More by Ian McEwan > [“As you will see, we do not believe that artists have an obligation to strike up attitudes to the war. Indeed, they are wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/as-you-will-see-we-do-not-believe-that-artists-have-an-obligation-to/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [You could say that all novels are spy novels and all novelists are spy masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/you-could-say-that-all-novels-are-spy-novels-and-all-novelists-are/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I've never had a moment's doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-ve-never-had-a-moment-s-doubt-i-love-you-i-believe-in-you/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“It is shaming sometimes, how the body will not, or cannot, lie about emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-is-shaming-sometimes-how-the-body-will-not-or-cannot-lie-about/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“While my friends struggled and calculated, I reached a solution by a set of floating steps that were partly visual, partly just a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/while-my-friends-struggled-and-calculated-i-reached-a-solution-by-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Once, on a walk by a river- Eskdale in low reddish sunlight, with a dusting of snow- his daughter quoted to him an opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/once-on-a-walk-by-a-river-eskdale-in-low-reddish-sunlight-with-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Perhaps it's one of those cases of a microcosm giving you the whole world. Like a spode dinner plate. Or a single cell. Or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/perhaps-it-s-one-of-those-cases-of-a-microcosm-giving-you-the-whole/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Who you get, and how it works out- there's so much luck involved, as well as the million branching consequences of your conscious choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/who-you-get-and-how-it-works-out-there-s-so-much-luck-involved-as/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“On Chesil Beach he could have called out to Florence, he could have gone after her. He did not know, or would not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/on-chesil-beach-he-could-have-called-out-to-florence-he-could-have/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [It was always the view of my parents...that hot weather encouraged loose morals among young people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-was-always-the-view-of-my-parents-that-hot-weather-encouraged/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I would rather be physically disabled obviously than mentally. I would rather be paraplegic than nuts. And it is a terrifying prospect and actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-would-rather-be-physically-disabled-obviously-than-mentally-i-would/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Words, as I'm beginning to appreciate, can make things true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/words-as-i-m-beginning-to-appreciate-can-make-things-true/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I couldn't think about novels at all. It seemed the only writing that was appropriate to that horrendous event was journalism, reportage. And, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-couldn-t-think-about-novels-at-all-it-seemed-the-only-writing-that/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I did not kill my father, but I sometimes felt I had helped him on his way. And but for the fact that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-did-not-kill-my-father-but-i-sometimes-felt-i-had-helped-him-on-his/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) [Explore all 496 Ian McEwan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## More Ominous quotes > [What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-is-ominous-is-the-ease-with-which-some-people-go-from-saying/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“He liked murder. Murder and long walks had been two of his favorite things when he was younger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/he-liked-murder-murder-and-long-walks-had-been-two-of-his-favorite/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [I'm wondering if there's a spell to make lightning flash in the background whenever I make an ominous resolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-m-wondering-if-there-s-a-spell-to-make-lightning-flash-in-the/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [When 1:45 came, half the class left, and Danny Hupfer whispered, "If she gives you a cream puff after we leave, I'm going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-d-schmidt/when-1-45-came-half-the-class-left-and-danny-hupfer-whispered-if-she/) [Gary D. Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-d-schmidt/) > [The younger and healthier a woman is and the more her new and glossy body seems destined for eternal freshness, the less useful is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-younger-and-healthier-a-woman-is-and-the-more-her-new-and-glossy/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [I like to think that I'm not as ominous in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dae-kim/i-like-to-think-that-i-m-not-as-ominous-in-real-life/) [Daniel Dae Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dae-kim/) > [“It was what should have been a bright summer day, but the smoke from the burning world filled the sky, through which the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/it-was-what-should-have-been-a-bright-summer-day-but-the-smoke-from/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [...and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/and-see-ominous-clouds-of-inferiority-beginning-to-form-in-her-little/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Sunday morning may be cheery enough, with its extra cup of coffee and litter of Sunday newspapers, but there is always hanging over it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/sunday-morning-may-be-cheery-enough-with-its-extra-cup-of-coffee-and/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [“It's my belief that if we do not willingly embrace the challenge of Eden with all our hearts, then we will likely be forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mango-wodzak/it-s-my-belief-that-if-we-do-not-willingly-embrace-the-challenge-of/) [Mango Wodzak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mango-wodzak/) > [Great griefs exhaust. They discourage us with life. The man into whom they enter feels something taken from him. In youth, their visit is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/great-griefs-exhaust-they-discourage-us-with-life-the-man-into-whom/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“I find it intolerable that this lord is out there going about his depravities unhindered. I was hoping you might know some way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/i-find-it-intolerable-that-this-lord-is-out-there-going-about-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) > [“Bond looked at the beautiful day and smiled. And no man, not even Mr. Big, would have liked the expression on his face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/bond-looked-at-the-beautiful-day-and-smiled-and-no-man-not-even-mr/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [People just... disappear," he says. "The Earth just opens up and swallows people," I say, some what sadly, checking my Rolex. "Eerie." Kimball yawns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/people-just-disappear-he-says-the-earth-just-opens-up-and-swallows/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [Market moralities and mentalities-- fueled by economic imperatives to make a profit at nearly any cost-- yield unprecedented levels of loneliness, isolation, and sadness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/market-moralities-and-mentalities-fueled-by-economic-imperatives-to/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) Browse all 136 Ominous quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Twas ostensibly ominous in the overview To be 'orribly and onerously overrun.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian McEwan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/twas-ostensibly-ominous-in-the-overview-to-be-orribly-and-onerously/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ominous" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/twas-ostensibly-ominous-in-the-overview-to-be-orribly-and-onerously/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/ian-mcewan-494_ominous_twas-ostensibly-ominous-in-the-overview_3079588.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/ian-mcewan-494_ominous_twas-ostensibly-ominous-in-the-overview_3079588.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/ian-mcewan-494_ominous_twas-ostensibly-ominous-in-the-overview_3079588.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Twas ostensibly ominous in the overview To be 'orribly and onerously overrun.” — Ian McEwan", "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": "Ian McEwan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Twas ostensibly ominous in the overview...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/twas-ostensibly-ominous-in-the-overview-to-be-orribly-and-onerously/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/twas-ostensibly-ominous-in-the-overview-to-be-orribly-and-onerously/#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 } } ] } ```