--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The old ladies were dressing up, she…" description: "\"“The old ladies were dressing up, she thought; the clouds draped around the mountains' shoulders like a dirty boa, with the snowcaps jutting above and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be6/linda-howard-3072_old-ladies_the-old-ladies-were-dressing-up-she-thou_566937.png" --- # The old ladies were dressing up, she thought; the clouds… ![“The old ladies were dressing up, she thought; the clouds draped around the mountains' shoulders like a dirty boa, with the snowcaps jutting above and the broad green bases below.” quote by Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be6/linda-howard-3072_old-ladies_the-old-ladies-were-dressing-up-she-thou_566937.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be6/linda-howard-3072_old-ladies_the-old-ladies-were-dressing-up-she-thou_566937.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be6/linda-howard-3072_old-ladies_the-old-ladies-were-dressing-up-she-thou_566937.png) > ““The old ladies were dressing up, she thought; the clouds draped around the mountains' shoulders like a dirty boa, with the snowcaps jutting above and the broad green bases below.”” [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator likens clouds draped over mountains to a dirty boa, creating vivid, atmospheric imagery. **In simple terms:** Clouds look like a dirty boa on the mountains. Key Takeaway Use vivid metaphor to paint scenes. Themes nature imagery metaphor description beauty Mood evocative reflective Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - fiction - descriptive prose - nature writing - visual metaphor Key Concepts visual storytelling poetic language environmental mood creative writing Questions to Reflect On - How does this imagery affect mood? - What other natural metaphors could work? A Different Perspective Metaphor may obscure clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clouds Draped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds-draped-4688074/) [Draped Mountains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draped-mountains-4688077/) [Mountains Shoulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountains-shoulders-4688076/) [Old Ladies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-ladies/) [Snowcaps Jutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowcaps-jutting-4688075/) ## Related quotes > [Old ladies in wheelchairs with blankets over their legs, I don't think so...retired mermaids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-jones/old-ladies-in-wheelchairs-with-blankets-over-their-legs-i-don-t-think/) [Milton Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-jones/) > [You're mugging old ladies every bit as much if you pinch their pension fund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/you-re-mugging-old-ladies-every-bit-as-much-if-you-pinch-their/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [“... I regularly frequent St. George';s, Hanover Square, during the genteel marriage season; and though I have never seen the bridegroom's male friends give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/i-regularly-frequent-st-george-s-hanover-square-during-the-genteel/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Hold the door for an old man. Old ladies can take care of themselves; they've been doing it long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perry-brass/hold-the-door-for-an-old-man-old-ladies-can-take-care-of-themselves/) [Perry Brass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perry-brass/) > [ I wish that she had had a black loon because I don't think that Nina \[Simone\] did. I have always had - I've been… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-wish-that-she-had-had-a-black-loon-because-i-don-t-think-that-nina/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [I open the door for old ladies, I help old ladies across the road. I do a show for leukemia every year, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-open-the-door-for-old-ladies-i-help-old-ladies-across-the-road-i-do/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [The thing about having a very young mother who had you at 20 is that you expect that you're going to be old ladies together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/the-thing-about-having-a-very-young-mother-who-had-you-at-20-is-that/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [The number of old ladies who've beaten me up on TV is absolutely ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/the-number-of-old-ladies-who-ve-beaten-me-up-on-tv-is-absolutely/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [“They don’t use no bad words?” she asked. “No fighting and killing? No naked people?” “That’s right.” “Who would write like that except for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-reese/they-don-t-use-no-bad-words-she-asked-no-fighting-and-killing-no/) [Joe Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-reese/) > [Henry James was one of the nicest old ladies I ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/henry-james-was-one-of-the-nicest-old-ladies-i-ever-met/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It's just kinda what I did: played crazy old ladies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-lawrence/it-s-just-kinda-what-i-did-played-crazy-old-ladies/) [Vicki Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-lawrence/) > [... a gaggle of old ladies is glued to the window at the end of the hall like children or jailbirds. They're spidery and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/a-gaggle-of-old-ladies-is-glued-to-the-window-at-the-end-of-the-hall/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > ["I'm not going anywhere," she told me that night. But until we are old ladies-a cypress age, a Sawtooth age-I will continue to link…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/i-m-not-going-anywhere-she-told-me-that-night-but-until-we-are-old/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [Besides, old ladies are always right. That's how they get to be so old. It's one of those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-kelsey/besides-old-ladies-are-always-right-that-s-how-they-get-to-be-so-old/) [Ian Kelsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-kelsey/) > [Fashion has this youth mania. But 70-year-old ladies don't have 18-year-old bodies, and 18-year-olds don't have a 70-year-old's dollars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/fashion-has-this-youth-mania-but-70-year-old-ladies-don-t-have-18/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) ## More by Linda Howard > [I have a real low tolerance for parasites, and you're so close to the limit that I'm already reaching for the flea powder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/i-have-a-real-low-tolerance-for-parasites-and-you-re-so-close-to-the/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“amusement in her eyes and had to grin. "How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice dropping to a low, intimate tone that excluded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/amusement-in-her-eyes-and-had-to-grin-how-are-you-feeling-he-asked/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“You remember the 'be quiet' part of the rules? Embrace it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/you-remember-the-be-quiet-part-of-the-rules-embrace-it/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“It's daylight. Shouldn't you have burned to a crisp, or something? Don't you have to crawl into a coffin? Where do you keep it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/it-s-daylight-shouldn-t-you-have-burned-to-a-crisp-or-something-don-t/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“Everything feels like the end of the world, and you can't reason with someone who can't see tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/everything-feels-like-the-end-of-the-world-and-you-can-t-reason-with/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“Pure hell was living in her eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/pure-hell-was-living-in-her-eyes/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“The lessons learned hardest were the lessons learned best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/the-lessons-learned-hardest-were-the-lessons-learned-best/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [Cows are the Devil's handmaidens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/cows-are-the-devil-s-handmaidens/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“What?” he demanded testily. Trammell raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t say anything.” “You’re thinking something, though. You’ve got that shit-eating smirk on your face.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/what-he-demanded-testily-trammell-raised-his-eyebrows-i-didn-t-say/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [He needed a woman. Bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/he-needed-a-woman-bad/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [God, I love you," he said, and laid his head on her belly, his arms locked around her hips. Madelyn slid her fingers into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/god-i-love-you-he-said-and-laid-his-head-on-her-belly-his-arms-locked/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“She felt oddly safe with him, though not safe from him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/she-felt-oddly-safe-with-him-though-not-safe-from-him/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“Oh, Jesus,” he said, wheezing with the effort it took to control himself. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/oh-jesus-he-said-wheezing-with-the-effort-it-took-to-control-himself/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“Don’t you want it?” “Want what?” “The engagement ring.” “Oh, is that what’s in the box? You threw my engagement ring at me?” Boy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/don-t-you-want-it-want-what-the-engagement-ring-oh-is-that-what-s-in/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“She had no sense of time, of what day it was, or anything beyond the bed she was on and the unceasing battle she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/she-had-no-sense-of-time-of-what-day-it-was-or-anything-beyond-the/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) [Explore all 137 Linda Howard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) ## More Old Ladies quotes > [Old ladies in wheelchairs with blankets over their legs, I don't think so...retired mermaids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-jones/old-ladies-in-wheelchairs-with-blankets-over-their-legs-i-don-t-think/) [Milton Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-jones/) > [Besides, old ladies are always right. That's how they get to be so old. It's one of those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-kelsey/besides-old-ladies-are-always-right-that-s-how-they-get-to-be-so-old/) [Ian Kelsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-kelsey/) > ["I'm not going anywhere," she told me that night. But until we are old ladies-a cypress age, a Sawtooth age-I will continue to link…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/i-m-not-going-anywhere-she-told-me-that-night-but-until-we-are-old/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [... a gaggle of old ladies is glued to the window at the end of the hall like children or jailbirds. They're spidery and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/a-gaggle-of-old-ladies-is-glued-to-the-window-at-the-end-of-the-hall/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [It's just kinda what I did: played crazy old ladies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-lawrence/it-s-just-kinda-what-i-did-played-crazy-old-ladies/) [Vicki Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-lawrence/) > [Henry James was one of the nicest old ladies I ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/henry-james-was-one-of-the-nicest-old-ladies-i-ever-met/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“They don’t use no bad words?” she asked. “No fighting and killing? No naked people?” “That’s right.” “Who would write like that except for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-reese/they-don-t-use-no-bad-words-she-asked-no-fighting-and-killing-no/) [Joe Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-reese/) > [The number of old ladies who've beaten me up on TV is absolutely ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/the-number-of-old-ladies-who-ve-beaten-me-up-on-tv-is-absolutely/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [The thing about having a very young mother who had you at 20 is that you expect that you're going to be old ladies together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/the-thing-about-having-a-very-young-mother-who-had-you-at-20-is-that/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [I open the door for old ladies, I help old ladies across the road. I do a show for leukemia every year, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-open-the-door-for-old-ladies-i-help-old-ladies-across-the-road-i-do/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [ I wish that she had had a black loon because I don't think that Nina \[Simone\] did. I have always had - I've been… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-wish-that-she-had-had-a-black-loon-because-i-don-t-think-that-nina/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [Hold the door for an old man. Old ladies can take care of themselves; they've been doing it long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perry-brass/hold-the-door-for-an-old-man-old-ladies-can-take-care-of-themselves/) [Perry Brass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perry-brass/) > [“... I regularly frequent St. George';s, Hanover Square, during the genteel marriage season; and though I have never seen the bridegroom's male friends give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/i-regularly-frequent-st-george-s-hanover-square-during-the-genteel/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [You're mugging old ladies every bit as much if you pinch their pension fund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/you-re-mugging-old-ladies-every-bit-as-much-if-you-pinch-their/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [Fashion has this youth mania. But 70-year-old ladies don't have 18-year-old bodies, and 18-year-olds don't have a 70-year-old's dollars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/fashion-has-this-youth-mania-but-70-year-old-ladies-don-t-have-18/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) [Browse all 56 Old Ladies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-ladies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The old ladies were dressing up, she thought; the clouds draped around the mountains' shoulders like a dirty boa, with the snowcaps jutting above and the broad green bases below.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Linda Howard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/the-old-ladies-were-dressing-up-she-thought-the-clouds-draped-around/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Old Ladies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/the-old-ladies-were-dressing-up-she-thought-the-clouds-draped-around/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be6/linda-howard-3072_old-ladies_the-old-ladies-were-dressing-up-she-thou_566937.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be6/linda-howard-3072_old-ladies_the-old-ladies-were-dressing-up-she-thou_566937.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be6/linda-howard-3072_old-ladies_the-old-ladies-were-dressing-up-she-thou_566937.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The old ladies were dressing up, she thought; the clouds draped around the mountains' shoulders like a dirty…” — Linda Howard", "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": "Linda Howard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The old ladies were dressing up,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/the-old-ladies-were-dressing-up-she-thought-the-clouds-draped-around/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/the-old-ladies-were-dressing-up-she-thought-the-clouds-draped-around/#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 } } ] } ```