---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cecil flashed a grin. \"Quite. Plus your…"
description: "\"Cecil flashed a grin. \"Quite. Plus your rather irritating habit of treating your superior officers as your, ah...\" Cecil paused, apparently groping aga..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_cattle_cecil-flashed-a-grin-quite-plus-your-rat_2359526.jpg"
---

#  Cecil flashed a grin. "Quite. Plus your rather irritating…

![“Cecil flashed a grin. "Quite. Plus your rather irritating habit of treating your superior officers as your, ah..." Cecil paused, apparently groping again for just the right word. "Equals?" Miles hazarded. "Cattle," Cecil corrected judiciously.” quote by Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_cattle_cecil-flashed-a-grin-quite-plus-your-rat_2359526.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_cattle_cecil-flashed-a-grin-quite-plus-your-rat_2359526.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_cattle_cecil-flashed-a-grin-quite-plus-your-rat_2359526.jpg)

> “Cecil flashed a grin. "Quite. Plus your rather irritating habit of treating your superior officers as your, ah..." Cecil paused, apparently groping again for just the right word. "Equals?" Miles hazarded. "Cattle," Cecil corrected judiciously.”

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Humor and hierarchy clash when subordinates challenge authority with equality.

**In simple terms:** Equality jokes can expose power dynamics.

Key Takeaway

Use humor wisely to address hierarchy.

Themes

power humor equality

Mood

lighthearted critical

Type

dialogue fiction

When to use this quote

- workplace
- military
- team meetings

Key Concepts

social dynamics communication style

Questions to Reflect On

- When is humor appropriate in authority contexts?
- How to balance respect and equality?

A Different Perspective

Humor may be misinterpreted as disrespect.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Officers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/officers/)

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> [“Her jaw dropped. "You - you -" He chuckled and winked at her. Her ire evaporated like the steam from the pot--coiling and disappearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mallory/her-jaw-dropped-you-you-he-chuckled-and-winked-at-her-her-ire/)

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> [Come to earth to taste our sadness, He whose glories knew no end. By His life He brings us gladness, our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wesley/come-to-earth-to-taste-our-sadness-he-whose-glories-knew-no-end-by/)

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> [Buy our album, were Nirvana, a garage band from Seattle. Well, it sure beats raising cattle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buy-our-album-were-nirvana-a-garage-band-from-seattle-well-it-sure/)

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> [Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count. We still don't like to admit the war was even partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/why-do-we-not-care-to-acknowledge-them-the-cattle-the-body-count-we/)

[Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/)

> [Hitchcock said he viewed actors as cattle.. but some were free range.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crier/hitchcock-said-he-viewed-actors-as-cattle-but-some-were-free-range/)

[Catherine Crier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crier/)

> [The thing that bothers me the most is the recklessness and greed of the local ranchers, who run too many cattle back here, choking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/the-thing-that-bothers-me-the-most-is-the-recklessness-and-greed-of/)

[Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/)

> [It were good to know how much hay an acre of every sort will bear; how many cattle the same weight of each sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/it-were-good-to-know-how-much-hay-an-acre-of-every-sort-will-bear-how/)

[William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/)

> [My father was trained as a saddler, but in fact as a young man worked in his father's business of rearing and selling cattle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-klug/my-father-was-trained-as-a-saddler-but-in-fact-as-a-young-man-worked/)

[Aaron Klug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-klug/)

> [But remember that the Captain belongs to the most dangerous enemy to truth and freedom, the solid unmoving cattle of the majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/but-remember-that-the-captain-belongs-to-the-most-dangerous-enemy-to/)

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> [Work is the province of cattle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/work-is-the-province-of-cattle/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

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[Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/)

> [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/)

[Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/)

## More by Lois McMaster Bujold

> [What you are is a question only you can answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/what-you-are-is-a-question-only-you-can-answer/)

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> [Never do yourself, what you can con professionals into doing for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/never-do-yourself-what-you-can-con-professionals-into-doing-for-you/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“It reminded him of that definition of his father's. A weapon is a device for making your enemy change his mind. The mind was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/it-reminded-him-of-that-definition-of-his-father-s-a-weapon-is-a/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“I was imagining the most bizarre things befalling you.” “Did they include a six-hundred-pound ice bear and a pirate poet?” “No…” “Then they weren’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-was-imagining-the-most-bizarre-things-befalling-you-did-they/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [There is a sad disconnectedness that overcomes a library when its owner is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/there-is-a-sad-disconnectedness-that-overcomes-a-library-when-its/)

[Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

> [“No, amusing me only, I wonder if they realize how they are used?" "Not a bit. They think they are the emperors of creation."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/no-amusing-me-only-i-wonder-if-they-realize-how-they-are-used-not-a/)

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> [The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/the-dead-cannot-cry-out-for-justice-it-is-a-duty-of-the-living-to-do/)

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[Explore all 392 Lois McMaster Bujold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/)

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Browse all 314 Cattle quotes

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