--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's nice to be on the periphery looking…" description: "\"It's nice to be on the periphery looking in. And to be an idiot. That's all right.\" — Lee Evans" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/lee-evans-4645_idiot_it-s-nice-to-be-on-the-periphery-looking_2047702.png" --- # It's nice to be on the periphery looking in. And to be an… ![“It's nice to be on the periphery looking in. And to be an idiot. That's all right.” quote by Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/lee-evans-4645_idiot_it-s-nice-to-be-on-the-periphery-looking_2047702.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/lee-evans-4645_idiot_it-s-nice-to-be-on-the-periphery-looking_2047702.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/lee-evans-4645_idiot_it-s-nice-to-be-on-the-periphery-looking_2047702.png) > “It's nice to be on the periphery looking in. And to be an idiot. That's all right.” [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The performer finds comfort in observing from the edge, embracing ignorance as acceptable, highlighting self‑acceptance in social observation **In simple terms:** Being an outsider and accepting one's own foolishness is okay Key Takeaway Embrace your outsider perspective and be kind to yourself Themes self‑acceptance observation humor identity Mood playful introspective Type comedic philosophical When to use this quote - social gatherings - online forums - creative brainstorming - team meetings Key Concepts social dynamics self‑awareness humorous introspection Questions to Reflect On - How does observing from the edge shape your insights? - When is it beneficial to admit ignorance? A Different Perspective Over‑identifying with the periphery can lead to isolation ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot/) ## Related quotes > [“There is no better time in history to be an idiot than right now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-jacobs/there-is-no-better-time-in-history-to-be-an-idiot-than-right-now/) [A.J. Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-jacobs/) > [“…And then I turned and saw a guy staring at me… "What are you looking at, idiot?" I asked, giving him the sneer that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristan-higgins/and-then-i-turned-and-saw-a-guy-staring-at-me-what-are-you-looking-at/) [Kristan Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristan-higgins/) > [“You must think I'm a complete idiot right? That I'm just some doormat who'll wait for you on the sidelines forever? That you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/you-must-think-i-m-a-complete-idiot-right-that-i-m-just-some-doormat/) [Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/) > [When we are not realized, we are moving on the periphery, like a wheel and we are disturbed. But a realized soul is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/when-we-are-not-realized-we-are-moving-on-the-periphery-like-a-wheel/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [As for garden photographers, how differently they see things. With what ease the camera seems to compose a picture of great beauty with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirabel-osler/as-for-garden-photographers-how-differently-they-see-things-with-what/) [Mirabel Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirabel-osler/) > [In order to find out how to reveal our innermost Being, the sages explored the various sheaths of existence, starting from body and progressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/in-order-to-find-out-how-to-reveal-our-innermost-being-the-sages/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Yes, all fundamentalists feel that in a secular society, God has been relegated to the margin, to the periphery and they are all in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/yes-all-fundamentalists-feel-that-in-a-secular-society-god-has-been/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [My technique has always been to include all the periphery around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/my-technique-has-always-been-to-include-all-the-periphery-around-me/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [I've always stayed on the periphery of things. When I used to go to the punk clubs and things like that, I was never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/i-ve-always-stayed-on-the-periphery-of-things-when-i-used-to-go-to/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. Someday I'm going to die and I don't have time to toe-dance around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/all-right-i-am-often-brash-rude-and-brutally-direct-someday-i-m-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [ The pope \[Francis\] takes his vocabulary from his pastoral experience, not from the rhetorical tool kit of liberation theology, with its Marxist yammering about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weigel/the-pope-francis-takes-his-vocabulary-from-his-pastoral-experience/) [George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weigel/) > [I never run away from things but confront them, and I preferred to stay on the periphery of Mumbai film industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepti-naval/i-never-run-away-from-things-but-confront-them-and-i-preferred-to/) [Deepti Naval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepti-naval/) > [Whenever you are in anger, remember yourself. In that very remembering the focus changes, the gestalt changes. You become more and more centred. Anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/whenever-you-are-in-anger-remember-yourself-in-that-very-remembering/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [We make a mistake forsaking England and moving out into the periphery of life. After all, Taormina, Ceylon, Africa, America -- as far as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/we-make-a-mistake-forsaking-england-and-moving-out-into-the-periphery/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If you inhale a millionth of a gram of plutonium, the surrounding cells receive a very, very high dose. Most die within that area,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-caldicott/if-you-inhale-a-millionth-of-a-gram-of-plutonium-the-surrounding/) [Helen Caldicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-caldicott/) ## More by Lee Evans > [All I'm interested in is being creative and working with creative people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/all-i-m-interested-in-is-being-creative-and-working-with-creative/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [Yeah, we toured the Orkneys once. In a tiny biplane which they shot out of a catapult. And then we got off the plane.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/yeah-we-toured-the-orkneys-once-in-a-tiny-biplane-which-they-shot-out/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [When I was a kid I sort of sat in a darkened room a lot of the time. I was very lonely and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/when-i-was-a-kid-i-sort-of-sat-in-a-darkened-room-a-lot-of-the-time-i/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [I take the bins out, do the washing-up and all the run-of-the-mill things like that and that's how I like it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/i-take-the-bins-out-do-the-washing-up-and-all-the-run-of-the-mill/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [Me and the missus have come a long way since our first flat in Southend. When I first came to London I looked in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/me-and-the-missus-have-come-a-long-way-since-our-first-flat-in/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [When I'm at home I'm Lee, I take out the rubbish and I take Molly to school in the mornings. When I'm working, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/when-i-m-at-home-i-m-lee-i-take-out-the-rubbish-and-i-take-molly-to/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [It's a real honour to be the first comedian to play the O2 which will be the single biggest gig of my career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/it-s-a-real-honour-to-be-the-first-comedian-to-play-the-o2-which-will/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [I wouldn't like to say what I've turned down - they've been huge successes. But I don't mind because I didn't want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/i-wouldn-t-like-to-say-what-i-ve-turned-down-they-ve-been-huge/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [Endgame' has a definite association with my life. I see Hamm as The Establishment and me as the monkey boy who comes out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/endgame-has-a-definite-association-with-my-life-i-see-hamm-as-the/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [We never stayed anywhere for long. Southport, Blackpool, Bristol, Essex - we moved all the time. I went to dozens of schools. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/we-never-stayed-anywhere-for-long-southport-blackpool-bristol-essex/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [My ambition isn't just to be successful in showbusiness - it's to be a successful person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/my-ambition-isn-t-just-to-be-successful-in-showbusiness-it-s-to-be-a/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [I've done every kind of student gig going, where you get beat up, spat out, chucked out, and your car nicked. Working on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/i-ve-done-every-kind-of-student-gig-going-where-you-get-beat-up-spat/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [It's true that Scottish audiences are harder to impress but, if they like you, they're very passionate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/it-s-true-that-scottish-audiences-are-harder-to-impress-but-if-they/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [I will never go back to Hollywood. It was like a nightmare. I enjoyed it at the time, but I wanted to be back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/i-will-never-go-back-to-hollywood-it-was-like-a-nightmare-i-enjoyed/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [The Magic Roundabout' has become something of a national treasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/the-magic-roundabout-has-become-something-of-a-national-treasure/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) [Explore all 108 Lee Evans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) ## More Idiot quotes > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [Thirty guys equals five percent die-off among active wingsuit base jumpers. That means there's a flaw in our system and you're an idiot if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-potter/thirty-guys-equals-five-percent-die-off-among-active-wingsuit-base/) [Dean Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-potter/) > [You have to be an idiot to run out of gas…I just did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-burke/you-have-to-be-an-idiot-to-run-out-of-gas-i-just-did/) [Brooke Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-burke/) > [Mechanical instruments, potentially a vehicle of rational human purposes, are scarcely a blessing when they enable the gossip of the village idiot and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/mechanical-instruments-potentially-a-vehicle-of-rational-human/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [I need to look like an idiot at least twice a day to keep myself humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-need-to-look-like-an-idiot-at-least-twice-a-day-to-keep-myself/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [“But no idiot-proofing can overcome a determined idiot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-weir/but-no-idiot-proofing-can-overcome-a-determined-idiot/) [Andy Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-weir/) > [One or two years ago, I didn't know who I was on court and I used to swear a lot. But now I've learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-federer/one-or-two-years-ago-i-didn-t-know-who-i-was-on-court-and-i-used-to/) [Roger Federer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-federer/) > [“He came for me. I couldn’t believe it. He came for me . Into a flying palace full of thousands of armed rakshasas in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/he-came-for-me-i-couldn-t-believe-it-he-came-for-me-into-a-flying/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Why does man behave like perfect idiot? This is the problem I wish to deal with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-szent-gyorgyi/why-does-man-behave-like-perfect-idiot-this-is-the-problem-i-wish-to/) [Albert Szent-Gyorgyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-szent-gyorgyi/) > [Without sounding like a right idiot, my mum and my dad are my role models. They devoted everything to my sister and me -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/without-sounding-like-a-right-idiot-my-mum-and-my-dad-are-my-role/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [“The woman may be a biomedical engineer, but I begin to think that she is a certifiable idiot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-khoury/the-woman-may-be-a-biomedical-engineer-but-i-begin-to-think-that-she/) [Jessica Khoury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-khoury/) > [“Knowledge cannot replace friendship. I'd rather be an idiot than lose you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-to-spongebob/knowledge-cannot-replace-friendship-i-d-rather-be-an-idiot-than-lose/) Patrick to Spongebob > [Solemnity is the shield of idiots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/solemnity-is-the-shield-of-idiots/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’ve noticed that you are retarded, Dr. Phil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-leigh-stewart/i-ve-noticed-that-you-are-retarded-dr-phil/) [Christy Leigh Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-leigh-stewart/) > [“You heard what she said, idiot. She’s not dating, especially not a man her uptight daddy can’t stand the sight of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/codi-gary/you-heard-what-she-said-idiot-she-s-not-dating-especially-not-a-man/) [Codi Gary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/codi-gary/) [Browse all 2,115 Idiot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's nice to be on the periphery looking in. And to be an idiot. 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