--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was not a practical joker nor was he a…" description: "\"“He was not a practical joker nor was he a fool but he was determinedly original and had a vague and modest idea of himself as a legendary figure.”\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/john-cheever-3301_eccentricity_he-was-not-a-practical-joker-nor-was-he_637557.jpg" --- # He was not a practical joker nor was he a fool but he was… ![“He was not a practical joker nor was he a fool but he was determinedly original and had a vague and modest idea of himself as a legendary figure.” quote by John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/john-cheever-3301_eccentricity_he-was-not-a-practical-joker-nor-was-he_637557.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/john-cheever-3301_eccentricity_he-was-not-a-practical-joker-nor-was-he_637557.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/john-cheever-3301_eccentricity_he-was-not-a-practical-joker-nor-was-he_637557.jpg) > ““He was not a practical joker nor was he a fool but he was determinedly original and had a vague and modest idea of himself as a legendary figure.”” [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person may be original yet modest, seeing themselves as a legend without arrogance. **In simple terms:** Originality can coexist with modesty and self‑mythologizing. Key Takeaway Value humility while being creative. Themes originality humility self‑image Mood introspective inspirational Type literary psychological When to use this quote - writing - personal growth - creative work Key Concepts self‑myth confidence Questions to Reflect On - Do you balance confidence with humility? - How does self‑myth influence your actions? A Different Perspective Modesty may limit recognition of talent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Determinedly Original](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determinedly-original-5124989/) [Eccentricity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eccentricity/) [Fool Determinedly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-determinedly-5124990/) [Joker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joker/) [Joker Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joker-fool-4448918/) [Legendary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legendary/) [Legendary Figure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legendary-figure-5014785/) [Practical joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practical-joke/) ## Related quotes > [Berry Gordy has always been this hazy legendary figure that I've known about in my childhood that was responsible for everything that I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-victor-dixon/berry-gordy-has-always-been-this-hazy-legendary-figure-that-i-ve/) [Brandon Victor Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-victor-dixon/) > [Call me a joker, call me a fool, right at this moment I'm totally cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/call-me-a-joker-call-me-a-fool-right-at-this-moment-i-m-totally-cool/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [“He had a curiously stunted sense of humor and loved practical jokes that veered dangerously close to cruelty. Once on a hot day he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/he-had-a-curiously-stunted-sense-of-humor-and-loved-practical-jokes/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Lucasfilm called me out of the blue, and I almost hung up because I thought it was a practical joke. This was right before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-filoni/lucasfilm-called-me-out-of-the-blue-and-i-almost-hung-up-because-i/) [Dave Filoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-filoni/) > [ “Eventually they \[Sarunas Marciulionis and Don Nelson\] got a call from a representative of the Grateful Dead, whose members had been inspired by Lithuania's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mccallum/eventually-they-sarunas-marciulionis-and-don-nelson-got-a-call-from-a/) [Jack McCallum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mccallum/) > [Tabasco sauce is to bachelor cooking what forgiveness is to sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/tabasco-sauce-is-to-bachelor-cooking-what-forgiveness-is-to-sin/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The practical joke is the psychiatry of baseball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-luciano/the-practical-joke-is-the-psychiatry-of-baseball/) [Ron Luciano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-luciano/) > [On one show before a live audience, I had to look out the door and call for Will Smith to come in. The audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-avery/on-one-show-before-a-live-audience-i-had-to-look-out-the-door-and/) [James Avery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-avery/) > [If you are the source of Jax looking bad in anyway, he will stop at nothing to make you look way, way worse, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-sandoval/if-you-are-the-source-of-jax-looking-bad-in-anyway-he-will-stop-at/) [Tom Sandoval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-sandoval/) > [I was kind of like the cheeky kid in school. Nothing too malicious...Nothing too nasty...I never really got into too many fights, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-monaghan/i-was-kind-of-like-the-cheeky-kid-in-school-nothing-too-malicious/) [Dominic Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-monaghan/) > [I'm terrible at practical jokes. I do them too well, so they're not funny. I end up saying, “Oh, no, I'm joking, I'm joking .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-torv/i-m-terrible-at-practical-jokes-i-do-them-too-well-so-they-re-not/) [Anna Torv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-torv/) > [Penn & Teller stopped doing practical jokes, and the reason is we got much too good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/penn-teller-stopped-doing-practical-jokes-and-the-reason-is-we-got/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Life seemed to be an educator's practical joke in which you spent the first half learning and the second half learning that everything you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/life-seemed-to-be-an-educator-s-practical-joke-in-which-you-spent-the/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [If you make people laugh or cry about little black marks on sheets of white paper, what is that but a practical joke? All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/if-you-make-people-laugh-or-cry-about-little-black-marks-on-sheets-of/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“As his wife, Emilia must know Iago better than anybody else. She does not know, any more than the others, that he is malevolent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden-2/as-his-wife-emilia-must-know-iago-better-than-anybody-else-she-does/) [W.H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden-2/) ## More by John Cheever > [Only the opium eater truly understands the pain of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/only-the-opium-eater-truly-understands-the-pain-of-death/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [The poet or storyteller who feels that he is competing with a superb double play in the World Series is a lost man. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/the-poet-or-storyteller-who-feels-that-he-is-competing-with-a-superb/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [“She perceived vaguely the pitiful corruption of the adult world; how cruel and frail it was, like a worn piece of burlap, patched with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/she-perceived-vaguely-the-pitiful-corruption-of-the-adult-world-how/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [For lovers, touch is metamorphosis. All the parts of their bodies seem to change, and they seem to become something different and better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/for-lovers-touch-is-metamorphosis-all-the-parts-of-their-bodies-seem/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [“I dream that someone in space says to me: So let us rush, then, to see the world. It is shaped like an egg,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/i-dream-that-someone-in-space-says-to-me-so-let-us-rush-then-to-see/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [I don't like to see all my energies, all of my youth, wasted in fur coats and radios and slipcovers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/i-don-t-like-to-see-all-my-energies-all-of-my-youth-wasted-in-fur/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [Literature has been the salvation of the damned, literature has inspired and guided lovers, routed despair and can perhaps in this case save the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/literature-has-been-the-salvation-of-the-damned-literature-has/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [At my back I hear the word-"homosexual"-and it seems to split my world in two… It is ignorance, our ignorance of one another, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/at-my-back-i-hear-the-word-homosexual-and-it-seems-to-split-my-world/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [One would never have guessed that the world had such a capacity for genuine grief. The most we can do is exploit our memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/one-would-never-have-guessed-that-the-world-had-such-a-capacity-for/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [“His stepmother -wearing a nightgown for comfort and a flowered hat for looks- had spent her days sitting in their parlor window in Baltimore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/his-stepmother-wearing-a-nightgown-for-comfort-and-a-flowered-hat-for/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [Fear tastes like a rusty knife and do not let her into your house. Courage tastes of blood. Stand up straight. Admire the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/fear-tastes-like-a-rusty-knife-and-do-not-let-her-into-your-house/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [I dream that my face appears on a postage stamp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/i-dream-that-my-face-appears-on-a-postage-stamp/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [Wisdom is the knowledge of good and evil, not the strength to choose between the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/wisdom-is-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil-not-the-strength-to-choose/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [“There was some faint coughing, a moan, and then a man spoke. "Are you all right, darling?" he asked. "Yes," a woman said wearily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/there-was-some-faint-coughing-a-moan-and-then-a-man-spoke-are-you-all/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [“It was one of those midsummer Sundays when everyone sits around saying, "I drank too much last night." You might have heard it whispered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/it-was-one-of-those-midsummer-sundays-when-everyone-sits-around/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) [Explore all 132 John Cheever quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) ## More Eccentricity quotes > [Something will be there when the flood recedes. We know that. It will be those people now standing in the water, and on those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/something-will-be-there-when-the-flood-recedes-we-know-that-it-will/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [The feminist movement has been important to me because it's made me feel less odd and also because it has made me understand some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-feminist-movement-has-been-important-to-me-because-it-s-made-me/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The difference between tragedy and comedy is the difference between experience and intuition. In the experience we strive against every condition of our animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/the-difference-between-tragedy-and-comedy-is-the-difference-between/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [No one can be profoundly original who does not avoid eccentricity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/no-one-can-be-profoundly-original-who-does-not-avoid-eccentricity/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [“To the extent that self-expression does broadcast and reinforce a person's character, it clarifies a link between art, eccentricity, and mental illness. The more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-weaver-flaherty/to-the-extent-that-self-expression-does-broadcast-and-reinforce-a/) [Alice Weaver Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-weaver-flaherty/) > [“English: "From a certain degree of freedom, understanding is impossible." Česky: „Od určité míry svobody je dorozumění nemožné.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-from-a-certain-degree-of-freedom-understanding-is-impossible/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [“Weirdism is definitely the cornerstone of many an artist's career.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/weirdism-is-definitely-the-cornerstone-of-many-an-artist-s-career/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/eccentricity-is-not-as-dull-people-would-have-us-believe-a-form-of/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [I am not eccentric. It's just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/i-am-not-eccentric-it-s-just-that-i-am-more-alive-than-most-people-i/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [No matter how valuable you are and your ideas, fools will certainly play both of you down, so exclude yourselves from the inflammatory environs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/no-matter-how-valuable-you-are-and-your-ideas-fools-will-certainly/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [It's okay to be eccentric if you're rich; otherwise you're just crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/it-s-okay-to-be-eccentric-if-you-re-rich-otherwise-you-re-just-crazy/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Eccentricity, to be socially acceptable, had still to have at least four or five generations of inbreeding behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osbert-lancaster/eccentricity-to-be-socially-acceptable-had-still-to-have-at-least/) [Osbert Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osbert-lancaster/) > [It may be expecting too much to expect most intellectuals to have common sense, when their whole life is based on their being uncommon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/it-may-be-expecting-too-much-to-expect-most-intellectuals-to-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [I seem to have the blind self-acceptance of the eccentric who can't conceive that his eccentricities are not clearly understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-seem-to-have-the-blind-self-acceptance-of-the-eccentric-who-can-t/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [In our imaginations the adults of our childhood remain extreme, essential - we might say radical since they are the roots that fed luxuriant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/in-our-imaginations-the-adults-of-our-childhood-remain-extreme/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Browse all 166 Eccentricity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eccentricity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He was not a practical joker nor was he a fool but he was determinedly original and had a vague and modest idea of himself as a legendary figure.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Cheever" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/he-was-not-a-practical-joker-nor-was-he-a-fool-but-he-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eccentricity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/he-was-not-a-practical-joker-nor-was-he-a-fool-but-he-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/john-cheever-3301_eccentricity_he-was-not-a-practical-joker-nor-was-he_637557.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/john-cheever-3301_eccentricity_he-was-not-a-practical-joker-nor-was-he_637557.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/john-cheever-3301_eccentricity_he-was-not-a-practical-joker-nor-was-he_637557.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He was not a practical joker nor was he a fool but he was determinedly original and had a vague and modest…” — John Cheever", "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": "John Cheever", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He was not a practical joker...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/he-was-not-a-practical-joker-nor-was-he-a-fool-but-he-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/he-was-not-a-practical-joker-nor-was-he-a-fool-but-he-was/#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 } } ] } ```