--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Miss Manners’ mother always told her to…" description: "\"“Miss Manners’ mother always told her to travel either first or third class, but never second, when crossing. (Not crossing class lines, silly; crossin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/904/judith-martin-1927_atlantic-ocean_miss-manners-mother-always-told-her-to-t_2989058.png" --- # Miss Manners’ mother always told her to travel either… ![“Miss Manners’ mother always told her to travel either first or third class, but never second, when crossing. (Not crossing class lines, silly; crossing the Atlantic Ocean, in the days when that was done properly, with bouillon at eleven on the promenade deck and tea at five in the salon.) In first…” quote by Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/904/judith-martin-1927_atlantic-ocean_miss-manners-mother-always-told-her-to-t_2989058.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/904/judith-martin-1927_atlantic-ocean_miss-manners-mother-always-told-her-to-t_2989058.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/904/judith-martin-1927_atlantic-ocean_miss-manners-mother-always-told-her-to-t_2989058.png) > ““Miss Manners’ mother always told her to travel either first or third class, but never second, when crossing. (Not crossing class lines, silly; crossing the Atlantic Ocean, in the days when that was done properly, with bouillon at eleven on the promenade deck and tea at five in the salon.) In first class, in those days, you had luxury; in third class, you had fun. This is the proper distribution of the world’s blessings. In second class, you had neither. Naturally, then, someone invented the one-class ship, where the advantages of second class could be enjoyed by all, which is probably why we have those overanxious things called airplanes for crossings these days. You”” [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The anecdote uses travel class metaphors to illustrate that extremes offer distinct benefits, while the middle lacks both, prompting innovation to combine advantages. **In simple terms:** Avoid the middle ground. Key Takeaway Seek balanced solutions. Themes social class travel innovation Mood thoughtful creative Type cultural inspirational When to use this quote - transport - education - product development Key Concepts sociology economics design Questions to Reflect On - How can we blend extremes? - When is a middle path preferable? A Different Perspective Middle options can be viable with nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atlantic ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atlantic-ocean/) [Crossing Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crossing-class-4687285/) [First class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-class/) [Invented Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented-class-4687286/) [Luxury Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury-class-3991743/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Second Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-class-1226334/) ## Related quotes > [“Thu luxury of one class is counterbalanced by the indigence of another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/thu-luxury-of-one-class-is-counterbalanced-by-the-indigence-of-another/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A second-class is a first-class mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/a-second-class-is-a-first-class-mistake/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [If we were second class citizens we'd be driving old Cadillacs and living good. If we were first class we'd be driving a Rolls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/if-we-were-second-class-citizens-we-d-be-driving-old-cadillacs-and/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [The first class of readers may be compared to an hour-glass, their reading being as the sand; it runs in and runs out, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-first-class-of-readers-may-be-compared-to-an-hour-glass-their/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Imagine a ship that is sinking and needs all the available power to run the pumps to drain out the rising waters. The first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthieu-ricard/imagine-a-ship-that-is-sinking-and-needs-all-the-available-power-to/) [Matthieu Ricard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthieu-ricard/) > [A centre of excellence is, by definition, a place where second class people may perform first class work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/a-centre-of-excellence-is-by-definition-a-place-where-second-class/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [The third class consists of men to whom nothing seems great but reason. If force interests them, it is not in its exertion, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/the-third-class-consists-of-men-to-whom-nothing-seems-great-but/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [“Koto taka AC second class?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pritam-banikk/koto-taka-ac-second-class/) [Pritam Banikk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pritam-banikk/) > [The implication here is that those who came to America legally over the years are somehow second-class citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-mcconnell/the-implication-here-is-that-those-who-came-to-america-legally-over/) [Mitch McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-mcconnell/) > [Women are still second-class citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/women-are-still-second-class-citizens/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [I was taught from a young age that many people would treat me as a second-class citizen because I was African-American and because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-latifah/i-was-taught-from-a-young-age-that-many-people-would-treat-me-as-a/) [Queen Latifah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-latifah/) > [You have to be taught to be second class; you're not born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-horne/you-have-to-be-taught-to-be-second-class-you-re-not-born-that-way/) [Lena Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-horne/) > [Both in Raleigh and in Washington, middle class shouldn't mean second class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-cooper/both-in-raleigh-and-in-washington-middle-class-shouldn-t-mean-second/) [Roy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-cooper/) > [There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bused to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/there-was-a-little-girl-in-california-who-was-part-of-the-second/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [There's no such thing as second class citizenship. That's like telling me you can be a little bit pregnant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rap-brown/there-s-no-such-thing-as-second-class-citizenship-that-s-like-telling/) [H. Rap Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rap-brown/) ## More by Judith Martin > [Smart people duck when they hear the dread announcement 'I'm going to be perfectly honest with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/smart-people-duck-when-they-hear-the-dread-announcement-i-m-going-to/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [If you put together all the ingredients that naturally attract children - sex, violence, revenge, spectacle and vigorous noise - what you have is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/if-you-put-together-all-the-ingredients-that-naturally-attract/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [The one prediction that never comes true is, 'You'll thank me for telling you this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/the-one-prediction-that-never-comes-true-is-you-ll-thank-me-for/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Chaperons, even in their days of glory, were almost never able to enforce morality; what they did was to force immorality to be discreet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/chaperons-even-in-their-days-of-glory-were-almost-never-able-to/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [There are always proper responses, even to rude questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/there-are-always-proper-responses-even-to-rude-questions/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Perhaps the greatest rudenesses of our time come not from the callousness of strangers, but from the solicitousness of intimates who believe that their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/perhaps-the-greatest-rudenesses-of-our-time-come-not-from-the/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [We are all entitled to our little harmless habits, but we are not entitled to demand approval for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/we-are-all-entitled-to-our-little-harmless-habits-but-we-are-not/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [“Lady” is not used before the lady’s first name unless she is the daughter of a duke, marquess or earl; those who come by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/lady-is-not-used-before-the-lady-s-first-name-unless-she-is-the/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Greece is a good place for rebirths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/greece-is-a-good-place-for-rebirths/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Adorable children are considered to be the general property of the human race. Rude children belong to their mothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/adorable-children-are-considered-to-be-the-general-property-of-the/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [I have always believed that the key to a happy marriage was the ability to say with a straight face, 'Why, I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/i-have-always-believed-that-the-key-to-a-happy-marriage-was-the/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [It is, indeed, a trial to maintain the virtue of humility when one can't help being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/it-is-indeed-a-trial-to-maintain-the-virtue-of-humility-when-one-can/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Honesty is a virtue, but not the only one. If you're in a courtroom you need the whole truth and nothing but the truth;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/honesty-is-a-virtue-but-not-the-only-one-if-you-re-in-a-courtroom-you/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Only a person who considers himself too good for you is good enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/only-a-person-who-considers-himself-too-good-for-you-is-good-enough/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Society cannot exist without etiquette ... It never has, and until our own century, everybody knew that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/society-cannot-exist-without-etiquette-it-never-has-and-until-our-own/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) [Explore all 197 Judith Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) ## More Atlantic ocean quotes > [“The very name Impressionism is taken from an Atlantic Ocean painting - that of Monet, of sunrise in the harbor of Le Havre, done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/the-very-name-impressionism-is-taken-from-an-atlantic-ocean-painting/) [Simon winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [“AT&T developed cross-country systems of microwave relay towers, which marched across the countryside from coast to coast and border to border, every 20 to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-t-developed-cross-country-systems-of-microwave-relay-towers-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Force was the factor in the government of the world when Christ was born, and force was the source and exercise of authority both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-depew/force-was-the-factor-in-the-government-of-the-world-when-christ-was/) [Chauncey Depew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-depew/) > [“Fear and hope are alike beneath it. There is somewhat low even in hope. In the hour of vision, there is nothing that can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/fear-and-hope-are-alike-beneath-it-there-is-somewhat-low-even-in-hope/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The state of New York had just one important advantage—an opening to the west through the Appalachian Mountains, the chain that runs in rough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-state-of-new-york-had-just-one-important-advantage-an-opening-to/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“People still said that “The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire,” even though the Commonwealth was starting to come apart. In spite of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-two/people-still-said-that-the-sun-never-sets-on-the-british-empire-even/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-two/) > [The Atlantic Ocean was something then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-atlantic-ocean-was-something-then/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [Men might as well project a voyage to the Moon as attempt to employ steam navigation against the stormy North Atlantic Ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dionysius-lardner/men-might-as-well-project-a-voyage-to-the-moon-as-attempt-to-employ/) [Dionysius Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dionysius-lardner/) > [ \[On Jane Austen:\] To believe her limited in range because she was harmonious in method is as sensible as to imagine that when the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/on-jane-austen-to-believe-her-limited-in-range-because-she-was/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“The gap between most people’s capacity to conjure beauty from scratch and to merely recognize it when they see it is the width of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-gap-between-most-people-s-capacity-to-conjure-beauty-from-scratch/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“Grand Turk Island is so named because it is the largest island in the Turks Islands, which is the smaller of the two archipelagos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker/grand-turk-island-is-so-named-because-it-is-the-largest-island-in-the/) [Captain Hank Bracker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker/) > [I was very much disappointed in the Atlantic Ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-was-very-much-disappointed-in-the-atlantic-ocean/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“So what if somewhere, back a hundred years and change and across the Atlantic Ocean, some other Watson made best friends with some other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-cavallaro/so-what-if-somewhere-back-a-hundred-years-and-change-and-across-the/) [Brittany Cavallaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-cavallaro/) > [“If I had hoped to skirt the sense of being a stranger in the world by coming to Ghana, then disappointment awaited me. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saidiya-v-hartman/if-i-had-hoped-to-skirt-the-sense-of-being-a-stranger-in-the-world-by/) [Saidiya V. Hartman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saidiya-v-hartman/) > [“Excursion from marrakech offers the possibilty to discover Morocco with all his rich history from his amazing Sahara deserts, imperial cities ( MARRAKECH MEKNES…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/excursion-from-marrakech/excursion-from-marrakech-offers-the-possibilty-to-discover-morocco/) [Excursion from Marrakech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/excursion-from-marrakech/) [Browse all 83 Atlantic ocean quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atlantic-ocean/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Miss Manners’ mother always told her to travel either first or third class, but never second, when crossing. 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