--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When affection fell on its ass…" description: "\"“When affection fell on its ass, politeness could step up.”\" — Lorrie Moore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/lorrie-moore-870_affection_when-affection-fell-on-its-ass-politenes_2446470.png" --- # When affection fell on its ass, politeness could step up. ![“When affection fell on its ass, politeness could step up.” quote by Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/lorrie-moore-870_affection_when-affection-fell-on-its-ass-politenes_2446470.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/lorrie-moore-870_affection_when-affection-fell-on-its-ass-politenes_2446470.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/lorrie-moore-870_affection_when-affection-fell-on-its-ass-politenes_2446470.png) > ““When affection fell on its ass, politeness could step up.”” [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When affection fails, courtesy can fill the gap and maintain dignity. **In simple terms:** Politeness can compensate for lost affection. Key Takeaway Practice courtesy to preserve respect. Themes relationships etiquette affection Mood reflective empathetic Type social advisory When to use this quote - conflict resolution - social gatherings - customer service Key Concepts social dynamics interpersonal skills Questions to Reflect On - Can politeness replace affection? - When is courtesy most needed? A Different Perspective May seem insufficient without genuine feeling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Affection Fell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection-fell-533194/) [Ass Politeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ass-politeness-533193/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Politeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politeness/) [Politeness Step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politeness-step-533195/) ## Related quotes > [The highest perfection of politeness is only a beautiful edifice, built, from the base to the dome, of ungraceful and gilded forms of charitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-highest-perfection-of-politeness-is-only-a-beautiful-edifice/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Politeness is a desire to be treated politely, and to be esteemed polite oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/politeness-is-a-desire-to-be-treated-politely-and-to-be-esteemed/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Bowing, ceremonious, formal compliments, stiff civilities, will never be politeness; that must be easy, natural, unstudied; and what will give this but a mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/bowing-ceremonious-formal-compliments-stiff-civilities-will-never-be/) [William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/) > [True politeness is perfect ease and freedom. It simply consists in treating others just as you love to be treated yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/true-politeness-is-perfect-ease-and-freedom-it-simply-consists-in/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Politeness, however, acts the lady's maid to our thoughts; and they are washed, dressed, curled, rouged, and perfumed, before they are presented to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/politeness-however-acts-the-lady-s-maid-to-our-thoughts-and-they-are/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) > [Unfortunately civility is hard to codify or legislate, but you know it when you see it. 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Depend upon it, the want of it never fails to produce something disagreeable to one or other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/politeness-is-fictitious-benevolence-depend-upon-it-the-want-of-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [(Politeness is) a tacit agreement that people's miserable defects, whether moral or intellectual, shall on either side be ignored and not be made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/politeness-is-a-tacit-agreement-that-people-s-miserable-defects/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Civility means a great deal more than just being nice to one another. It is complex and encompasses learning how to connect successfully and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-m-forni/civility-means-a-great-deal-more-than-just-being-nice-to-one-another/) [P. M. Forni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-m-forni/) > [Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/manners-are-a-sensitive-awareness-of-the-feelings-of-others/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) > [“Francis Bacon somewhere remarks that politeness veils vice just as dress masks wrinkles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-doran/francis-bacon-somewhere-remarks-that-politeness-veils-vice-just-as/) [John Doran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-doran/) > [Politeness and consideration for others is like investing pennies and getting dollars back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/politeness-and-consideration-for-others-is-like-investing-pennies-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More by Lorrie Moore > [But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-was-finally-i-knew-only-rupture/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I'm very interested in what people will do for money. Money: it's timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-m-very-interested-in-what-people-will-do-for-money-money-it-s/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“One of the problems with people in Chicago, she remembered, was that they were never lonely at the same time. Their sadness occurred in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/one-of-the-problems-with-people-in-chicago-she-remembered-was-that/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“If you had forgotten, it would quickly come back to you. Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/if-you-had-forgotten-it-would-quickly-come-back-to-you-aloneness-was/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Once love had seemed like magic. 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If she had been shy, not one of us would be at Perkins right now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/amber-was-not-shy-if-she-had-been-shy-not-one-of-us-would-be-at/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [People will do anything, anything, for a really nice laugh,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/people-will-do-anything-anything-for-a-really-nice-laugh/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Farmers aren't rich. They have land but no money." Actually, my father didn't even have that much land. He had once stood on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/farmers-aren-t-rich-they-have-land-but-no-money-actually-my-father/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“My grandmother, who, when I visited, stared at me with the staggering, arrogant stare of the dying, the wise vapidity of the already gone;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/my-grandmother-who-when-i-visited-stared-at-me-with-the-staggering/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I count too heavily on birthdays, though I know I shouldn't. Inevitably I begin to assess my life by them, figure out how I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-count-too-heavily-on-birthdays-though-i-know-i-shouldn-t-inevitably/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Life is sad. Here is someone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/life-is-sad-here-is-someone/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I had never feared insomnia before--like prison, wouldn't it just give you more time to read?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-had-never-feared-insomnia-before-like-prison-wouldn-t-it-just-give/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) [Explore all 340 Lorrie Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When affection fell on its ass, politeness could step up.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lorrie Moore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/when-affection-fell-on-its-ass-politeness-could-step-up/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affection" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/when-affection-fell-on-its-ass-politeness-could-step-up/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/lorrie-moore-870_affection_when-affection-fell-on-its-ass-politenes_2446470.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/lorrie-moore-870_affection_when-affection-fell-on-its-ass-politenes_2446470.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/654/lorrie-moore-870_affection_when-affection-fell-on-its-ass-politenes_2446470.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When affection fell on its ass, politeness could step up.” — Lorrie Moore", "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": "Lorrie Moore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When affection fell on its ass,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/when-affection-fell-on-its-ass-politeness-could-step-up/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/when-affection-fell-on-its-ass-politeness-could-step-up/#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 } } ] } ```