--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And to kill time while awaiting death, I…" description: "\"And to kill time while awaiting death, I smoke slender cigarettes thumbing my nose to the gods.\" — Jules Laforgue" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/jules-laforgue-50104_cigarette_and-to-kill-time-while-awaiting-death-i_315813.jpg" --- # And to kill time while awaiting death, I smoke slender… ![“And to kill time while awaiting death, I smoke slender cigarettes thumbing my nose to the gods.” quote by Jules Laforgue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/jules-laforgue-50104_cigarette_and-to-kill-time-while-awaiting-death-i_315813.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/jules-laforgue-50104_cigarette_and-to-kill-time-while-awaiting-death-i_315813.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/jules-laforgue-50104_cigarette_and-to-kill-time-while-awaiting-death-i_315813.jpg) > “And to kill time while awaiting death, I smoke slender cigarettes thumbing my nose to the gods.” [Jules Laforgue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-laforgue/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet kills time by smoking thin cigarettes, offering a defiant gesture to fate while awaiting death. **In simple terms:** Uses smoking to pass time before death. Key Takeaway Find meaning in small acts. Themes mortality time defiance Mood melancholic resigned Type poetic existential When to use this quote - waiting rooms - loneliness - creative work Key Concepts existentialism nihilism Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront the inevitability of death? - What alternatives to self‑destructive habits exist? A Different Perspective Smoking may not truly alleviate existential dread. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cigarette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarette/) [Cigarettes Thumbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarettes-thumbing-2987269/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-smoke-1535367/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Nose Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nose-gods-2987272/) [Noses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noses/) [Slender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slender/) [Slender Cigarettes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slender-cigarettes-2987270/) [Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoke/) [Smoke Slender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoke-slender-2987271/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [You can drink yourself to death, you can smoke yourself to death, you can eat yourself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/you-can-drink-yourself-to-death-you-can-smoke-yourself-to-death-you/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [Everything one does in life, even love, occurs in an express train racing toward death. To smoke opium is to get out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/everything-one-does-in-life-even-love-occurs-in-an-express-train/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I found myself grinning until my cheeks hurt, my scalp prickling till I thought it might lift off my head. My tongue ran away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-found-myself-grinning-until-my-cheeks-hurt-my-scalp-prickling-till/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [Yet, every now and then, there would pass a young girl, slender, fair and desirable, arousing in young men a not ignoble desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/yet-every-now-and-then-there-would-pass-a-young-girl-slender-fair-and/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [All things human hang by a slender thread; and that which seemed to stand strong suddenly falls and sinks in ruins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/all-things-human-hang-by-a-slender-thread-and-that-which-seemed-to/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Creativity is our true nature; blocks are an unnatural thwarting of a process at once as normal and as miraculous as the blossoming of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/creativity-is-our-true-nature-blocks-are-an-unnatural-thwarting-of-a/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Of all trees, I observe God hath chosen the vine, a low plant that creeps upon the helpful wall; of all beasts, the soft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/of-all-trees-i-observe-god-hath-chosen-the-vine-a-low-plant-that/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Incredible what slender threads you begin to hang your hopes on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/incredible-what-slender-threads-you-begin-to-hang-your-hopes-on/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [The beauteous dragonfly's dancing By the waves of the rivulet glancing; She dances here and she dances there, The glimmering, glittering flutterer fair. Full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/the-beauteous-dragonfly-s-dancing-by-the-waves-of-the-rivulet/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [Two roses on one slender spray In sweet communion grew, Together hailed the morning ray And drank the evening dew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-montgomery/two-roses-on-one-slender-spray-in-sweet-communion-grew-together/) [James Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-montgomery/) > [Women have been charged with deviousness and duplicity since the dawn of civilization so they have never been able to pretend that their masks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/women-have-been-charged-with-deviousness-and-duplicity-since-the-dawn/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [His mane was like a crest, mounting, then falling low. His neck was long and slender, and arched to the small, savagely beautiful head.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-farley/his-mane-was-like-a-crest-mounting-then-falling-low-his-neck-was-long/) [Walter Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-farley/) > [The whole force of the respectable circles to which I belonged, that respectable circle which knew as I did notthe value of security won,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/the-whole-force-of-the-respectable-circles-to-which-i-belonged-that/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [Annabelle gave him a chiding smile. “If you’re implying that I’m spoiled, I assure you that I am not.” “You should be.” His warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/annabelle-gave-him-a-chiding-smile-if-you-re-implying-that-i-m/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) ## More by Jules Laforgue > [“O who can cure Poor little Andromeda Naughty naughty Naughty thing Tears run down her childish breast, the song being so sad. The shower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-laforgue/o-who-can-cure-poor-little-andromeda-naughty-naughty-naughty-thing/) [Jules Laforgue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-laforgue/) > [Oh, how daily life is. (Ah, que la vie est quotidienne.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-laforgue/oh-how-daily-life-is-ah-que-la-vie-est-quotidienne/) [Jules Laforgue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-laforgue/) > [“And above it all, the gentle, eternal stars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-laforgue/and-above-it-all-the-gentle-eternal-stars/) [Jules Laforgue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-laforgue/) > [What a day-to-day affair life is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-laforgue/what-a-day-to-day-affair-life-is/) [Jules Laforgue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-laforgue/) > [Oh, what a day-to-day business life is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-laforgue/oh-what-a-day-to-day-business-life-is/) [Jules Laforgue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-laforgue/) > [Oh, how daily life is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-laforgue/oh-how-daily-life-is/) [Jules Laforgue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-laforgue/) [Explore all 7 Jules Laforgue quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-laforgue/) ## More Cigarette quotes > [“Yeah,' I said and started smoking another cigarette. Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Books were always important. I have to thank my father, he filled my life with books. He didn't write but he always read. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rawi-hage/books-were-always-important-i-have-to-thank-my-father-he-filled-my/) [Rawi Hage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rawi-hage/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) > [We have too many preacherettes preaching too many sermonettes to too many Christianettes smoking cigarettes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/we-have-too-many-preacherettes-preaching-too-many-sermonettes-to-too/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [Since I don't smoke, I decided to grow a mustache - it is better for the health. However, I always carried a jewel-studded cigarette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/since-i-don-t-smoke-i-decided-to-grow-a-mustache-it-is-better-for-the/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [If the fact that people make poor decisions is reason enough for the government to second-guess their decisions about dangerous activities such as smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-sullum/if-the-fact-that-people-make-poor-decisions-is-reason-enough-for-the/) [Jacob Sullum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-sullum/) > [“When I was young” … “Before I was twenty, I mean, I used to think that life was a thing that kept gaining impetus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/when-i-was-young-before-i-was-twenty-i-mean-i-used-to-think-that-life/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [They represent tomorrow's cigarette business. . . As this 14-24 age group matures, they will account for a key share of the total cigarette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-reynolds/they-represent-tomorrow-s-cigarette-business-as-this-14-24-age-group/) [R. J. Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-reynolds/) > [If all boys could be made to know that with every breath of cigarette smoke they inhale imbecility and exhale manhood ... and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hudson-maxim/if-all-boys-could-be-made-to-know-that-with-every-breath-of-cigarette/) [Hudson Maxim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hudson-maxim/) > [The ratings thing is the real issue. It really hurts movies. For example, in Redbelt, I smoked. The whole plot of my character was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/the-ratings-thing-is-the-real-issue-it-really-hurts-movies-for/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) > [I am a completely horizontal author. I can't think unless I'm lying down, either in bed or stretched on a couch and with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-am-a-completely-horizontal-author-i-can-t-think-unless-i-m-lying/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [They should give until it hurts, maybe a very small thing, maybe just a packet of cigarettes, but instead of by smoking that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/they-should-give-until-it-hurts-maybe-a-very-small-thing-maybe-just-a/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [You can accept or reject the way you are treated by other people, but until you heal the wounds of your past, you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/you-can-accept-or-reject-the-way-you-are-treated-by-other-people-but/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [Then he bummed a cigarette.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-rogers/then-he-bummed-a-cigarette/) [Kenny Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-rogers/) > [You're a religious man, ... You believe in God and life after death. I also believe. When we come to the other world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/you-re-a-religious-man-you-believe-in-god-and-life-after-death-i-also/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) [Browse all 787 Cigarette quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigarette/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And to kill time while awaiting death, I smoke slender cigarettes thumbing my nose to the gods.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jules Laforgue" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-laforgue/and-to-kill-time-while-awaiting-death-i-smoke-slender-cigarettes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cigarette" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-laforgue/and-to-kill-time-while-awaiting-death-i-smoke-slender-cigarettes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/jules-laforgue-50104_cigarette_and-to-kill-time-while-awaiting-death-i_315813.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/jules-laforgue-50104_cigarette_and-to-kill-time-while-awaiting-death-i_315813.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/jules-laforgue-50104_cigarette_and-to-kill-time-while-awaiting-death-i_315813.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And to kill time while awaiting death, I smoke slender cigarettes thumbing my nose to the gods.” — Jules Laforgue", "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": "Jules Laforgue", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-laforgue/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And to kill time while awaiting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-laforgue/and-to-kill-time-while-awaiting-death-i-smoke-slender-cigarettes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-laforgue/and-to-kill-time-while-awaiting-death-i-smoke-slender-cigarettes/#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 } } ] } ```