--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'English fair play' is a fine expression…" description: "\"'English fair play' is a fine expression. It justifies the bashing of the puny draper's assistant by the big hairy blacksmith, and this to the perfect ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/joseph-furphy-69316_assistants_english-fair-play-is-a-fine-expression-i_1424577.jpg" --- # 'English fair play' is a fine expression. It justifies the… ![“'English fair play' is a fine expression. It justifies the bashing of the puny draper's assistant by the big hairy blacksmith, and this to the perfect satisfaction of both parties, if they are worthy the name of Englishman.” quote by Joseph Furphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/joseph-furphy-69316_assistants_english-fair-play-is-a-fine-expression-i_1424577.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/joseph-furphy-69316_assistants_english-fair-play-is-a-fine-expression-i_1424577.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/joseph-furphy-69316_assistants_english-fair-play-is-a-fine-expression-i_1424577.jpg) > “'English fair play' is a fine expression. It justifies the bashing of the puny draper's assistant by the big hairy blacksmith, and this to the perfect satisfaction of both parties, if they are worthy the name of Englishman.” [Joseph Furphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-furphy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The phrase highlights a paradox where a supposedly noble ideal is used to legitimize violent domination, revealing hypocrisy in cultural identity. **In simple terms:** A noble ideal is twisted to justify cruelty. Key Takeaway Question the true meaning behind cultural slogans. Themes hypocrisy power identity Mood critical reflective Type analytical social commentary When to use this quote - sports teams - political rhetoric - media narratives Key Concepts colonialism social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape power dynamics? - When does tradition become oppression? A Different Perspective The phrase can be misused to mask aggression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assistants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistants/) [Big hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-hair/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Blacksmiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blacksmiths/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [English Fair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-fair-5055160/) [Englishmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/englishmen/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Expression Justifies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression-justifies-5055162/) [Fair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fair/) [Fair play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fair-play/) [Fairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairs/) [Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Insulting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insulting/) [Justify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justify/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Worthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthy/) [Worthy Englishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthy-englishman-5055161/) ## Related quotes > [My first job was in a Bohemian polka band, the Rejcek family polka band in Abbott. The old man in the band had another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/my-first-job-was-in-a-bohemian-polka-band-the-rejcek-family-polka/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [A few ideas seem to be agreed upon. Help none but those who help themselves. Educate only at schools which provide in some form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/a-few-ideas-seem-to-be-agreed-upon-help-none-but-those-who-help/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Give us Direction; the best of goodwill; Put us in touch with fair winds. Sing to us softly, hum the evening's song. Tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jethro-tull/give-us-direction-the-best-of-goodwill-put-us-in-touch-with-fair/) [Jethro Tull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jethro-tull/) > [You gotta call a blacksmith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/you-gotta-call-a-blacksmith/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [“Carpenters don’t make their saws and hammers, tailors don’t make their scissors and needles, and plumbers don’t make their wrenches, but blacksmiths can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/carpenters-don-t-make-their-saws-and-hammers-tailors-don-t-make-their/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [One day we will all cherish the memory of having blacksmiths on every corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-singleton/one-day-we-will-all-cherish-the-memory-of-having-blacksmiths-on-every/) [George Singleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-singleton/) > [It's not the fire nor the Blacksmiths hammer nor anvil it's the power of his mind, that forges the steel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/it-s-not-the-fire-nor-the-blacksmiths-hammer-nor-anvil-it-s-the-power/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [It's us fun being a horse when the tractor comes along, or the blacksmith when the car comes along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/it-s-us-fun-being-a-horse-when-the-tractor-comes-along-or-the/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [I wonder why people so commonly suppose that if two individuals are both writers they must therefore be hugely congenial," said Anne, rather scornfully.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wonder-why-people-so-commonly-suppose-that-if-two-individuals-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ But, did the Divinity \[of Christ\] suffer? \[...\] The holy fathers explained this point through the aforementioned clear example of the red-hot iron, it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/but-did-the-divinity-of-christ-suffer-the-holy-fathers-explained-this/) [Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/) > [I was a blacksmith's boy but yesterday; I am - what shall I say I am today?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-was-a-blacksmith-s-boy-but-yesterday-i-am-what-shall-i-say-i-am/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I read the best works of some of the best satirists, and indeed best writers from the beginning of the Victorian era to about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-read-the-best-works-of-some-of-the-best-satirists-and-indeed-best/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Many authors write like amateur blacksmiths making their first horseshoe; the clank of the anvil, the stench of the scorched leather apron, the sparks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/many-authors-write-like-amateur-blacksmiths-making-their-first/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad/a-good-friend-and-a-bad-friend-are-like-a-perfume-seller-and-a/) [Muhammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad/) > [So wary as to disappear for centuries and reappear but never caught, the unicorn has been preserved by an unmatched device wrought like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-and-reappear-but-never-caught/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) ## More by Joseph Furphy > [Such is life, my fellow-mummers-just like a poor player that bluffs and feints his hour upon the stage, and then cheapens down to mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-furphy/such-is-life-my-fellow-mummers-just-like-a-poor-player-that-bluffs/) [Joseph Furphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-furphy/) > [Age cannot limit him, nor use exhaust his infinite mendacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-furphy/age-cannot-limit-him-nor-use-exhaust-his-infinite-mendacity/) [Joseph Furphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-furphy/) > [Who can control his fate? asks the ruined Othello. No one, indeed. But everyone controls his option, chooses his alternative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-furphy/who-can-control-his-fate-asks-the-ruined-othello-no-one-indeed-but/) [Joseph Furphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-furphy/) [Explore all 4 Joseph Furphy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-furphy/) ## More Assistants quotes > [I'm a good assistant. 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I really insist on doing everything myself because I value the role of the artist's hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-robleto/to-this-day-i-ve-never-had-an-assistant-i-really-insist-on-doing/) [Dario Robleto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dario-robleto/) > [ Well, that would be a title \[the busiest guy in Hollywood\] still reserved for Ryan Seacrest. I have one assistant; he has about nine.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-mchale/well-that-would-be-a-title-the-busiest-guy-in-hollywood-still/) [Joel McHale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-mchale/) > [Everyone believed the Senate could not really be led. It used to take so long to rise up through seniority. In two years Lyndon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/everyone-believed-the-senate-could-not-really-be-led-it-used-to-take/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [I know that you observe Christmas Day as you learned it at home. I do not observe it. 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My assistants and my agency do whatever Photoshop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-erwitt/photoshop-is-useful-in-many-ways-but-must-never-be-used-for-the/) [Elliott Erwitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-erwitt/) > [Remember, this is back in the '40s, and the idea of a museum being a place where interested people could come in direct contact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/remember-this-is-back-in-the-40s-and-the-idea-of-a-museum-being-a/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [The mind reels at the multiplication of books intended to justify the author's promotion from assistant to associate professor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-northcote-parkinson/the-mind-reels-at-the-multiplication-of-books-intended-to-justify-the/) [C. Northcote Parkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-northcote-parkinson/) > [I was in Japan, and my assistant director had worked with Kurosawa. I used quite of number of Kurosawa's crew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boorman/i-was-in-japan-and-my-assistant-director-had-worked-with-kurosawa-i/) [John Boorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boorman/) > [It's one of the most beautiful memories of my life. Not everyone has a chance to meet Greta Garbo! I was so in awe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanna-cau/it-s-one-of-the-most-beautiful-memories-of-my-life-not-everyone-has-a/) [Giovanna Cau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanna-cau/) > [Think like a head coach, but act like an assistant coach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-amaker/think-like-a-head-coach-but-act-like-an-assistant-coach/) [Tommy Amaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-amaker/) > [I must have assistants who will solve their own problems and tell me later what they've done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-marshall/i-must-have-assistants-who-will-solve-their-own-problems-and-tell-me/) [George C. Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-marshall/) [Browse all 322 Assistants quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistants/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'English fair play' is a fine expression. 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