--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of all the ridiculous expressions people…" description: "\"“Of all the ridiculous expressions people use - and people use a great many ridiculous expressions - one of the most ridiculous is 'No news is good new..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/lemony-snicket-663_bad-news_of-all-the-ridiculous-expressions-people_721846.jpg" --- # Of all the ridiculous expressions people use - and people… ![“Of all the ridiculous expressions people use - and people use a great many ridiculous expressions - one of the most ridiculous is 'No news is good news.' 'No new is good news' simply means that if you don't hear from someone, everything is probably fine, and you can see at once why this expression…” quote by Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/lemony-snicket-663_bad-news_of-all-the-ridiculous-expressions-people_721846.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/lemony-snicket-663_bad-news_of-all-the-ridiculous-expressions-people_721846.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81a/lemony-snicket-663_bad-news_of-all-the-ridiculous-expressions-people_721846.jpg) > ““Of all the ridiculous expressions people use - and people use a great many ridiculous expressions - one of the most ridiculous is 'No news is good news.' 'No new is good news' simply means that if you don't hear from someone, everything is probably fine, and you can see at once why this expression makes such little sense, because everything being fine is only one of many reasons why someone may not contact you. Perhaps they are tied up. Maybe they are surrounded by fierce weasels, or perhaps they are wedged tightly between two refrigerators and cannot get themselves out. The expression might well be changed to 'No new is bad news,' except that people may not be able to contact you because they have just been crowned king or are competing in a gymnastics tournament. The point is that there is no way to know why someone has not contacted you, until they contact you and explain themselves. For this reason, the sensible expression would be ;No news is no news,' except that it is so obvious it is hardly an expression at all.”” [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The saying “no news is good news” is unreliable because lack of contact can have many unknown reasons. **In simple terms:** Assuming silence means everything is fine is flawed. Key Takeaway Avoid assumptions; seek clarification. Themes communication assumptions uncertainty Mood cautious inquisitive Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - friendships - family - workplace - online dating Key Concepts information theory social psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why do we cling to comforting idioms? - How can we better handle ambiguous silence? A Different Perspective Silence may sometimes truly indicate no issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad news](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-news/) [Good news](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-news/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [New Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-good-765186/) [News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news/) [News Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news-good-623672/) [Ridiculous News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous-news-4171519/) ## Related quotes > [“I have good news and bad news The good news is that the jeep is still where we left it, and I got the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/i-have-good-news-and-bad-news-the-good-news-is-that-the-jeep-is-still/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [This is what I say: I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, you don't have to worry, you can't change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/this-is-what-i-say-i-ve-got-good-news-and-bad-news-the-good-news-is/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [Almost everything I say, no matter how innocent my intentions are, seems to get sort of manipulated and sensationalized and turned into some ridiculous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/almost-everything-i-say-no-matter-how-innocent-my-intentions-are/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [I have bad news and good news. The bad news is that it's going to drop to zero tonight. The good news is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-bad-news-and-good-news-the-bad-news-is-that-it-s-going-to-drop/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So, good news/bad news: good news that I'm progressing; bad news that life is short and art is long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/so-good-news-bad-news-good-news-that-i-m-progressing-bad-news-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/everyone-has-inside-of-him-a-piece-of-good-news-the-good-news-is-that/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [ There's some good news, too, and the good news is that the players \[finally\] have become more aware of the fact that we \[in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/there-s-some-good-news-too-and-the-good-news-is-that-the-players/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [No news is good news, unless you're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-mirabal-ramos/no-news-is-good-news-unless-you-re-dead/) [Ariel Mirabal-Ramos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-mirabal-ramos/) > [For most folks, no news is good news; for the press, good news is not news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-borger/for-most-folks-no-news-is-good-news-for-the-press-good-news-is-not/) [Gloria Borger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-borger/) > [“Sometimes it is good to throw some of your problems into the future and the good news is that there is a good possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/sometimes-it-is-good-to-throw-some-of-your-problems-into-the-future/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Evangelicals have to face it (like Roman Catholics of 16th century had to): Increasingly, our version of Good News is neither news nor good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/evangelicals-have-to-face-it-like-roman-catholics-of-16th-century-had/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [This world needs more than good works. It needs good news. Good works come out of the good news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/this-world-needs-more-than-good-works-it-needs-good-news-good-works/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [“Oh, no,” he said. “We don’t read the newspaper. It’s too depressing. Our motto is ‘No news is good news.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/oh-no-he-said-we-don-t-read-the-newspaper-it-s-too-depressing-our/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“The old order changes, giving place to the new... least on good custom should corrupts the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-tennyson/the-old-order-changes-giving-place-to-the-new-least-on-good-custom/) [Alfred Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-tennyson/) > [We imagine that when we are thrown out of our usual ruts all is lost, but it is only then that what is new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/we-imagine-that-when-we-are-thrown-out-of-our-usual-ruts-all-is-lost/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More by Lemony Snicket > [“Nevermore Tree was gargantuan, a word which here means 'having attained an inordinate amount of botanical volume.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/nevermore-tree-was-gargantuan-a-word-which-here-means-having-attained/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“But even if they could go home it would be difficult for me to tell you what the moral of the story is. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/but-even-if-they-could-go-home-it-would-be-difficult-for-me-to-tell/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Their adventure would be exciting and memorable like being chased by a werewolf through a field of thorny bushes at midnight with nobody around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/their-adventure-would-be-exciting-and-memorable-like-being-chased-by/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“I am very, very sorry to leave you hanging like that, but as I was writing the tale of the Baudelaire orphans, I happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/i-am-very-very-sorry-to-leave-you-hanging-like-that-but-as-i-was/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“being skeptical is a good thing for a journalist, because it means you don't completely trust anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/being-skeptical-is-a-good-thing-for-a-journalist-because-it-means-you/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Baudelaire children had a slightly different”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/baudelaire-children-had-a-slightly-different/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“To those who hadn't been around Violet long, nothing would have seemed unusual, but those who knew her well knew that when she tied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/to-those-who-hadn-t-been-around-violet-long-nothing-would-have-seemed/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Pietrisycamollaviadelrechiotemexity," Sunny said, which you will probably recall means something along the lines of "I must admit I don’t have the faintest idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/pietrisycamollaviadelrechiotemexity-sunny-said-which-you-will/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Behind these two booths was an enormous roller coaster, a phrase which here means “a series of small carts where people can sit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/behind-these-two-booths-was-an-enormous-roller-coaster-a-phrase-which/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“All these things are miracles. It is a miracle if you can find true friends, and it is a miracle if you have enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/all-these-things-are-miracles-it-is-a-miracle-if-you-can-find-true/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Uncle Monty tell”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/uncle-monty-tell/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“As you and I listen to Uncle Monty tell the three Baudelaire orphans that no harm will ever come to them in the Reptile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/as-you-and-i-listen-to-uncle-monty-tell-the-three-baudelaire-orphans/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“They tried picturing leaving Uncle Monty and living by themselves, trying to find jobs and take care of each other. It was a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/they-tried-picturing-leaving-uncle-monty-and-living-by-themselves/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“To Beatrice- darling, dearest, dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/to-beatrice-darling-dearest-dead/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“The French expression 'cul-de-sac' describes what the Baudelaire orphans found when they reached the end of the dark hallway, and like all French expressions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/the-french-expression-cul-de-sac-describes-what-the-baudelaire/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) [Explore all 384 Lemony Snicket quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) ## More Bad news quotes > [In the wake of such bad news, it was heartening to know that what 'Sense8' stood for meant so much to so many people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-j-smith/in-the-wake-of-such-bad-news-it-was-heartening-to-know-that-what/) [Brian J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-j-smith/) > [“I remember a man, a very lonely man, coming up to me at the end of a reading and looking into my face and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-remember-a-man-a-very-lonely-man-coming-up-to-me-at-the-end-of-a/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [In the business world, bad news is usually good news - for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/in-the-business-world-bad-news-is-usually-good-news-for-somebody-else/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [You never want to have to give your child bad news of any kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/you-never-want-to-have-to-give-your-child-bad-news-of-any-kind/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [If there's one thing you should know about me it's that I'm utterly unsuited for bureaucracy. I don't know my passwords to anything. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-torres/if-there-s-one-thing-you-should-know-about-me-it-s-that-i-m-utterly/) [Julio Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-torres/) > [I seem to thrive by destroying the last thing I did, in a kind of cartoon Nietzsche way. Emerson says in "Experience" something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-seem-to-thrive-by-destroying-the-last-thing-i-did-in-a-kind-of/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [“The bad news is that, measured in terms of geologic time, if the Earth’s history is an accurate guide, glaciers will soon return to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bernstein/the-bad-news-is-that-measured-in-terms-of-geologic-time-if-the-earth/) [Andrew Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bernstein/) > [I love an underdog. No, I don't necessarily mean the cartoon. I mean like David, as in Goliath, or the Bears, as in The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-lublin/i-love-an-underdog-no-i-don-t-necessarily-mean-the-cartoon-i-mean/) [Nancy Lublin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-lublin/) > [The good news is that economists are intelligent, engaging and often charming folks. The bad news is their work is often of little use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/the-good-news-is-that-economists-are-intelligent-engaging-and-often/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [The flatter the corporate hierarchy, the more likely it is that employees will communicate bad news and act upon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-flatter-the-corporate-hierarchy-the-more-likely-it-is-that/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The good news may be that Nature is phasing out the white man, but the bad news is that's who She thinks we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-good-news-may-be-that-nature-is-phasing-out-the-white-man-but-the/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [For a long period of time, the media covered rap music and hip hop the same way they cover a lot of black people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/for-a-long-period-of-time-the-media-covered-rap-music-and-hip-hop-the/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [“Shifting from a superior/inferior paradigm to a strength-in-difference paradigm was kind of a good news/bad news situation. On the downside, I had to admit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debby-irving/shifting-from-a-superior-inferior-paradigm-to-a-strength-in/) [Debby Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debby-irving/) > [“The best way to mess with the head of your reader is to strategize the delivery of bad news.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-your-reader-is-to-strategize/) [Benjamin Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/) > [“The real secret, though, is that nobody belongs, whether they are natives or not. After expulsion from paradise all humans are in exile. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-codrescu/the-real-secret-though-is-that-nobody-belongs-whether-they-are/) [Andrei Codrescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-codrescu/) [Browse all 691 Bad news quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-news/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Of all the ridiculous expressions people use - and people use a great many ridiculous expressions - one of the most ridiculous is 'No news is good news.' 'No new is good news' simply means that if you don't hear from someone, everything is probably fine, and you can see at once why this expression makes such little sense, because everything being fine is only one of many reasons why someone may not contact you. Perhaps they are tied up. Maybe they are surrounded by fierce weasels, or perhaps they are wedged tightly between two refrigerators and cannot get themselves out. The expression might well be changed to 'No new is bad news,' except that people may not be able to contact you because they have just been crowned king or are competing in a gymnastics tournament. The point is that there is no way to know why someone has not contacted you, until they contact you and explain themselves. 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