--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wouldn't presume to define noir - if we…" description: "\"I wouldn't presume to define noir - if we could define it, we wouldn't need to use a French word for it - but it seems to me it's more a way of looking..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/lawrence-block-6776_french_i-wouldn-t-presume-to-define-noir-if-we_2493589.jpg" --- # I wouldn't presume to define noir - if we could define it… ![“I wouldn't presume to define noir - if we could define it, we wouldn't need to use a French word for it - but it seems to me it's more a way of looking at the world than what one sees.” quote by Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/lawrence-block-6776_french_i-wouldn-t-presume-to-define-noir-if-we_2493589.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/lawrence-block-6776_french_i-wouldn-t-presume-to-define-noir-if-we_2493589.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/lawrence-block-6776_french_i-wouldn-t-presume-to-define-noir-if-we_2493589.jpg) > “I wouldn't presume to define noir - if we could define it, we wouldn't need to use a French word for it - but it seems to me it's more a way of looking at the world than what one sees.” [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Noir is a perspective that colors how we interpret reality, not just a visual style. **In simple terms:** Noir is a worldview, not just a look. Key Takeaway Adopt a critical, skeptical view. Themes perspective interpretation worldview Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - film analysis - literary criticism - personal reflection - media studies Key Concepts existentialism cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How does your worldview shape what you notice? - Can you see noir in everyday life? A Different Perspective The term may be overused, diluting its meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Noir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noir/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > ['Entrepreneur' is a French word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-niel/entrepreneur-is-a-french-word/) [Xavier Niel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-niel/) > [The problem with the French is that they have no word for entrepreneur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/the-problem-with-the-french-is-that-they-have-no-word-for-entrepreneur/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [Approfondement is a French word that means 'playing easily in the deep.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/approfondement-is-a-french-word-that-means-playing-easily-in-the-deep/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“I always thought there was something French about her, ever since the word 'insouciance' flitted across the surface of my mind the first time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-pine/i-always-thought-there-was-something-french-about-her-ever-since-the/) Jessica Pine > [“The only French word I know is oui, which means “yes,” and only recently did I learn it’s spelled o-​u-​i and not w-​e-​e.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/the-only-french-word-i-know-is-oui-which-means-yes-and-only-recently/) [Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/) > [In French we have this word déclic. It's when you have, suddenly, a light shining and you say, "This is what I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-ghesquiere/in-french-we-have-this-word-d-clic-it-s-when-you-have-suddenly-a/) [Nicolas Ghesquiere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-ghesquiere/) > [I am attracted by almost any French word - written or spoken. Before I knew its meaning, I thought 'saucisson' so exquisite that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-de-havilland/i-am-attracted-by-almost-any-french-word-written-or-spoken-before-i/) [Olivia De Havilland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-de-havilland/) > [I don't know why you use a fancy French word like detente when there's a good English phrase for it - cold war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/golda-meir/i-don-t-know-why-you-use-a-fancy-french-word-like-detente-when-there/) [Golda Meir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/golda-meir/) > ['Griot' is a French word which means, you know, really, literally, 'cry.' You know, like the town crier. You know, they come in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/griot-is-a-french-word-which-means-you-know-really-literally-cry-you/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [Fair play is an English word. It is not a French word, and it has been copied all over the world. Unfortunately, it does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arsene-wenger/fair-play-is-an-english-word-it-is-not-a-french-word-and-it-has-been/) [Arsene Wenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arsene-wenger/) > [Poetry is a way of looking at the world for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/poetry-is-a-way-of-looking-at-the-world-for-the-first-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's no point in looking back. The world keeps going forward and it's not going to stop just for you. There's too many other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-no-point-in-looking-back-the-world-keeps-going-forward-and-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In looking out upon the world, we forget that the world is looking at itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-looking-out-upon-the-world-we-forget-that-the-world-is-looking-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want people to have a new way of looking at the world when they leave the theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-olson/i-want-people-to-have-a-new-way-of-looking-at-the-world-when-they/) [Jenni Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-olson/) > [There is this looking at the world as shapes and patterns and colors that have meaning, and you can't deny the superficial because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-tillmans/there-is-this-looking-at-the-world-as-shapes-and-patterns-and-colors/) [Wolfgang Tillmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-tillmans/) ## More by Lawrence Block > [If fate sends you a lemon, use it to make lemonade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/if-fate-sends-you-a-lemon-use-it-to-make-lemonade/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“She made love with the freshness of an impatient virgin and the ingenuity of a sex-scarred whore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/she-made-love-with-the-freshness-of-an-impatient-virgin-and-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“that would have hidden the decades of filth that had left their stamp upon the wooden floor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/that-would-have-hidden-the-decades-of-filth-that-had-left-their-stamp/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/serendipity-look-for-something-find-something-else-and-realize-that/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [And, as long as you can make yourself go on choosing the pain over the relief, you can keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/and-as-long-as-you-can-make-yourself-go-on-choosing-the-pain-over-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I don't plan an awful lot in life just as I don't plan an awful lot in my fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-don-t-plan-an-awful-lot-in-life-just-as-i-don-t-plan-an-awful-lot/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“Your unconscious mind takes the things you can’t handle and plays with them while you sleep until some of the sharp corners are worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/your-unconscious-mind-takes-the-things-you-can-t-handle-and-plays/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Dangerous thing, giving humanity the knowledge of good and evil. And the capacity to make the wrong choice more often than not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/dangerous-thing-giving-humanity-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil-and/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Back then, before it became clear that democracy was best served by a drunken electorate, the bars in New York City were required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/back-then-before-it-became-clear-that-democracy-was-best-served-by-a/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I’ve tried writing and the sentences come out fine, but I write a few pages and I don’t want to go on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-ve-tried-writing-and-the-sentences-come-out-fine-but-i-write-a-few/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [As a friend of mine, herself a writer, says, 'People who spend the most meaningful hours of their lives in the exclusive company of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/as-a-friend-of-mine-herself-a-writer-says-people-who-spend-the-most/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“My crime seemed destined to remain a secret forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/my-crime-seemed-destined-to-remain-a-secret-forever/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“you have a better chance to get pregnant if you keep your knees way up and stay that way as long as you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/you-have-a-better-chance-to-get-pregnant-if-you-keep-your-knees-way/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I can’t persuade myself that one of the problems facing the planet today might be a shortage of books by me,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-can-t-persuade-myself-that-one-of-the-problems-facing-the-planet/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Man, I so sick of dinosaurs. They wasn't extinct, I'd go out an' kill 'em myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/man-i-so-sick-of-dinosaurs-they-wasn-t-extinct-i-d-go-out-an-kill-em/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) [Explore all 96 Lawrence Block quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) ## More French quotes > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [French food is too poncy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gino-d-acampo/french-food-is-too-poncy/) [Gino D'Acampo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gino-d-acampo/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [I studied classical opera, so I was always singing in Italian and German and French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wang-leehom/i-studied-classical-opera-so-i-was-always-singing-in-italian-and/) [Wang Leehom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wang-leehom/) > [I can speak French but I cannot understand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-can-speak-french-but-i-cannot-understand-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's true, I'm the youngest, highest-grossing French director. I have a few records, but no one knows or simply doesn't care. That's good, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-leterrier/it-s-true-i-m-the-youngest-highest-grossing-french-director-i-have-a/) [Louis Leterrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-leterrier/) > [I'd had a French education for three years, my father being in the army. From 9 to 12, I went to French school. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-rampling/i-d-had-a-french-education-for-three-years-my-father-being-in-the/) [Charlotte Rampling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-rampling/) > [Biarritz is one of the most popular holiday destinations in France and it tops the list for coastal resorts along the French Atlantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-drinkwater/biarritz-is-one-of-the-most-popular-holiday-destinations-in-france/) [Carol Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-drinkwater/) > [I think the French have a romantic cliche that Englishmen have great style, great music, irony and sense of humour. Well, sometimes cliches are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-de-la-baume/i-think-the-french-have-a-romantic-cliche-that-englishmen-have-great/) [Josephine de La Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-de-la-baume/) > [“Our own dimension was coded ID-11 and was the only League member with diphtheria, David Hasselhoff and the French, which amused the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/our-own-dimension-was-coded-id-11-and-was-the-only-league-member-with/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [I don't feel French at all. That was never really a concern, and it's limiting to think that way. I think Paris is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-ghesquiere/i-don-t-feel-french-at-all-that-was-never-really-a-concern-and-it-s/) [Nicolas Ghesquiere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-ghesquiere/) > [I'd rather have a German Division in front of me than a French one behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-rather-have-a-german-division-in-front-of-me-than-a-french-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“La vie c’est comme la bicyclette : quand on arrête de pédaler on tombe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/la-vie-c-est-comme-la-bicyclette-quand-on-arr-te-de-p-daler-on-tombe/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“French zombie chauffeur.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/french-zombie-chauffeur/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [In 'Bras & Broomsticks,' Rachel Weinstein gets the shock of her life when she discovers that her mom and her younger sister, Miri, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mlynowski/in-bras-broomsticks-rachel-weinstein-gets-the-shock-of-her-life-when/) [Sarah Mlynowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mlynowski/) Browse all 926 French quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wouldn't presume to define noir - if we could define it, we wouldn't need to use a French word for it - but it seems to me it's more a way of looking at the world than what one sees.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lawrence Block" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-wouldn-t-presume-to-define-noir-if-we-could-define-it-we-wouldn-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "French" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-wouldn-t-presume-to-define-noir-if-we-could-define-it-we-wouldn-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/lawrence-block-6776_french_i-wouldn-t-presume-to-define-noir-if-we_2493589.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/lawrence-block-6776_french_i-wouldn-t-presume-to-define-noir-if-we_2493589.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/lawrence-block-6776_french_i-wouldn-t-presume-to-define-noir-if-we_2493589.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wouldn't presume to define noir - if we could define it, we wouldn't need to use a French word for it…” — Lawrence Block", "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": "Lawrence Block", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wouldn't presume to define noir...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-wouldn-t-presume-to-define-noir-if-we-could-define-it-we-wouldn-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-wouldn-t-presume-to-define-noir-if-we-could-define-it-we-wouldn-t/#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 } } ] } ```