--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Colin mustered a perfunctory leer, but…" description: "\"“Colin mustered a perfunctory leer, but his mind was obviously elsewhere. 'Do you know...' he began. I knew many things, but I didn't think he needed t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/lauren-willig-8632_canterbury-tales_colin-mustered-a-perfunctory-leer-but-hi_2615054.jpg" --- # Colin mustered a perfunctory leer, but his mind was… ![“Colin mustered a perfunctory leer, but his mind was obviously elsewhere. 'Do you know...' he began. I knew many things, but I didn't think he needed to hear the entirety of the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales right at just this moment.” quote by Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/lauren-willig-8632_canterbury-tales_colin-mustered-a-perfunctory-leer-but-hi_2615054.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/lauren-willig-8632_canterbury-tales_colin-mustered-a-perfunctory-leer-but-hi_2615054.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/lauren-willig-8632_canterbury-tales_colin-mustered-a-perfunctory-leer-but-hi_2615054.jpg) > ““Colin mustered a perfunctory leer, but his mind was obviously elsewhere. 'Do you know...' he began. I knew many things, but I didn't think he needed to hear the entirety of the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales right at just this moment.”” [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shows a character distracted, preferring to skip a classic introduction, highlighting selective attention. **In simple terms:** People often ignore context when preoccupied. Key Takeaway Focus on full context before acting. Themes distraction literature attention Mood contemplative thoughtful Type literary psychological When to use this quote - reading groups - academic lectures - creative writing Key Concepts cognitive bias information overload Questions to Reflect On - Why do we skip introductions? - How does missing context affect understanding? A Different Perspective May undervalue the importance of foundational knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Canterbury tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canterbury-tales/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [Unfortunately, unless the job description included a translation of the prologue of The Canterbury Tales, I was dreadfully under-qualified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/unfortunately-unless-the-job-description-included-a-translation-of/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [Patience is a conquering virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/patience-is-a-conquering-virtue/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“In the late 1300s, decades after the expulsion of the Jews from England, Geoffrey Chaucer, one of England’s earliest poets, included Hugh’s story in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/in-the-late-1300s-decades-after-the-expulsion-of-the-jews-from/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“For if a priest be foul, on whom we trust, No wonder is a common man should rust" -The Prologue of Chaucers Canterbury Tales-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/for-if-a-priest-be-foul-on-whom-we-trust-no-wonder-is-a-common-man/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“For he would rather have at his bed's head Some twenty books, all bound in black and red, Of Aristotle and his philosophy Than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-he-would-rather-have-at-his-bed-s-head-some-twenty-books-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I do worry that beginning cartoonists could feel somewhat strangled by the increasing critical seriousness comics has received of late and feel, like younger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-do-worry-that-beginning-cartoonists-could-feel-somewhat-strangled/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [I read a lot of 'The Canterbury Tales' on my phone last year, because I was cycling between three different editions, and I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-read-a-lot-of-the-canterbury-tales-on-my-phone-last-year-because-i/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [“English poetic education should, really, not begin with The Canterbury Tales, not with the Odyssey, not even with Genesis, but with Song of Amergin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/english-poetic-education-should-really-not-begin-with-the-canterbury/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [“Chaucer's world in The Canterbury Tales brings together, for the first time, a diversity of characters, social levels, attitudes, and ways of life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-carter/chaucer-s-world-in-the-canterbury-tales-brings-together-for-the-first/) [Ronald Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-carter/) > [“Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales was expected to clock in at anywhere between 100 and 120 chapters. Unfortunately, the dude only managed to finish 24…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacopo-della-quercia/chaucer-s-the-canterbury-tales-was-expected-to-clock-in-at-anywhere/) Jacopo della Quercia > [“Geoffrey Chaucer, the first author in the English language, devoted the longest story in The Canterbury Tales to the Asian conqueror Genghis Khan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/geoffrey-chaucer-the-first-author-in-the-english-language-devoted-the/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [But al be that he was a philosophre, Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/but-al-be-that-he-was-a-philosophre-yet-hadde-he-but-litel-gold-in/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“Until we're rotten, we cannot be ripe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/until-we-re-rotten-we-cannot-be-ripe/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/whan-that-aprill-with-his-shoures-soote-the-droghte-of-march-hath/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“The characters of Chaucer's Pilgrims are the characters which compose all ages and nations. As one age falls, another rises, different to mortal sight,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-characters-of-chaucer-s-pilgrims-are-the-characters-which-compose/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) ## More by Lauren Willig > [“This was what the poets couldn't put in their poetry, she thought dumbly, the rush of desire so fierce and pure it made one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/this-was-what-the-poets-couldn-t-put-in-their-poetry-she-thought/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [It was lovely to see cynicism in one so young. It positively restored his faith in human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/it-was-lovely-to-see-cynicism-in-one-so-young-it-positively-restored/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [“That's a good point, I suppose,' he said in that way people have when you've just said something that's so off the mark it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/that-s-a-good-point-i-suppose-he-said-in-that-way-people-have-when/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [“Such kindness wasn't a gift but a goad, scraping against one's skin like a yoke of thorns. She would have preferred him stiff, defensive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/such-kindness-wasn-t-a-gift-but-a-goad-scraping-against-one-s-skin/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [“He admired her for throwing off her aristocratic shackles -- his terms, that -- and making her own way in the world. 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Not the pretty sort that poets mooned about, but the kind that made men's destinies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/her-eyes-were-as-hard-and-bright-as-stars-not-the-pretty-sort-that/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [“I’m not your gilded prince with the gilded chairs, Letty,” Geoff said simply. “I couldn’t be if I tried.” “I wouldn’t want you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/i-m-not-your-gilded-prince-with-the-gilded-chairs-letty-geoff-said/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [“After an initial startled gasp, his intended bride dissolved into his arms, returning his kiss with more fervor than she had ever shown before.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/after-an-initial-startled-gasp-his-intended-bride-dissolved-into-his/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [Patience is only a virtue when there is something worth waiting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/patience-is-only-a-virtue-when-there-is-something-worth-waiting-for/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [“Inside, the festivities would continue, probably well into the night, with flirtation and merriment and gratuitous use of mistletoe. It was an inexpressibly wearying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/inside-the-festivities-would-continue-probably-well-into-the-night/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [“Her eyes were as hard and bright as stars. Not the pretty sort that poets mooned about, but the kind that made men's destinies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/her-eyes-were-as-hard-and-bright-as-stars-not-the-pretty-sort-that-2/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [“I didn't know there could be an almost kiss. It seems like the sort of thing that either happens or it doesn't. Oh no...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/i-didn-t-know-there-could-be-an-almost-kiss-it-seems-like-the-sort-of/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [Why was it that cheering expressions were invariably so infuriating?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/why-was-it-that-cheering-expressions-were-invariably-so-infuriating/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) [Explore all 79 Lauren Willig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) ## More Canterbury tales quotes > [“The characters of Chaucer's Pilgrims are the characters which compose all ages and nations. As one age falls, another rises, different to mortal sight,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-characters-of-chaucer-s-pilgrims-are-the-characters-which-compose/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/whan-that-aprill-with-his-shoures-soote-the-droghte-of-march-hath/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“Until we're rotten, we cannot be ripe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/until-we-re-rotten-we-cannot-be-ripe/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But al be that he was a philosophre, Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/but-al-be-that-he-was-a-philosophre-yet-hadde-he-but-litel-gold-in/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“Geoffrey Chaucer, the first author in the English language, devoted the longest story in The Canterbury Tales to the Asian conqueror Genghis Khan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/geoffrey-chaucer-the-first-author-in-the-english-language-devoted-the/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [“Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales was expected to clock in at anywhere between 100 and 120 chapters. Unfortunately, the dude only managed to finish 24…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacopo-della-quercia/chaucer-s-the-canterbury-tales-was-expected-to-clock-in-at-anywhere/) Jacopo della Quercia > [“Chaucer's world in The Canterbury Tales brings together, for the first time, a diversity of characters, social levels, attitudes, and ways of life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-carter/chaucer-s-world-in-the-canterbury-tales-brings-together-for-the-first/) [Ronald Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-carter/) > [“English poetic education should, really, not begin with The Canterbury Tales, not with the Odyssey, not even with Genesis, but with Song of Amergin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/english-poetic-education-should-really-not-begin-with-the-canterbury/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [I read a lot of 'The Canterbury Tales' on my phone last year, because I was cycling between three different editions, and I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-read-a-lot-of-the-canterbury-tales-on-my-phone-last-year-because-i/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I do worry that beginning cartoonists could feel somewhat strangled by the increasing critical seriousness comics has received of late and feel, like younger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-do-worry-that-beginning-cartoonists-could-feel-somewhat-strangled/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [“For he would rather have at his bed's head Some twenty books, all bound in black and red, Of Aristotle and his philosophy Than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-he-would-rather-have-at-his-bed-s-head-some-twenty-books-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“For if a priest be foul, on whom we trust, No wonder is a common man should rust" -The Prologue of Chaucers Canterbury Tales-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/for-if-a-priest-be-foul-on-whom-we-trust-no-wonder-is-a-common-man/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“In the late 1300s, decades after the expulsion of the Jews from England, Geoffrey Chaucer, one of England’s earliest poets, included Hugh’s story in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/in-the-late-1300s-decades-after-the-expulsion-of-the-jews-from/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [Patience is a conquering virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/patience-is-a-conquering-virtue/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“Though there was nowhere one so busy as he/ He was less busy than he seemed to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/though-there-was-nowhere-one-so-busy-as-he-he-was-less-busy-than-he/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) [Browse all 22 Canterbury tales quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canterbury-tales/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Colin mustered a perfunctory leer, but his mind was obviously elsewhere. 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