--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The old vacuum cleaner keeps dying on her…" description: "\"“The old vacuum cleaner keeps dying on her over and over until at last the cleaning woman scares it by yelling: \"Motherfucker!”\" — Lydia Davis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/lydia-davis-3244_humor_the-old-vacuum-cleaner-keeps-dying-on-he_2774006.png" --- # The old vacuum cleaner keeps dying on her over and over… ![“The old vacuum cleaner keeps dying on her over and over until at last the cleaning woman scares it by yelling: "Motherfucker!” quote by Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/lydia-davis-3244_humor_the-old-vacuum-cleaner-keeps-dying-on-he_2774006.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/lydia-davis-3244_humor_the-old-vacuum-cleaner-keeps-dying-on-he_2774006.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/lydia-davis-3244_humor_the-old-vacuum-cleaner-keeps-dying-on-he_2774006.png) > ““The old vacuum cleaner keeps dying on her over and over until at last the cleaning woman scares it by yelling: "Motherfucker!”” [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The cleaning woman scares a failing vacuum by yelling "Motherfucker!". **In simple terms:** Yelling scares the broken vacuum. Key Takeaway Use humor to confront malfunction. Themes humor frustration technology Mood irreverent comic Type literary satirical When to use this quote - household chores - workplace - creative writing Key Concepts problem solving stress relief Questions to Reflect On - Why choose profanity? - What alternatives exist? A Different Perspective May not actually fix the device. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cleaning Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleaning-woman-2877296/) [Dying Cleaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying-cleaning-3262805/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Motherfucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motherfucker/) [Old Vacuum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-vacuum-1406090/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Yelling Motherfucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yelling-motherfucker-3262806/) ## Related quotes > [I can't write if someone else is in the house, not even the cleaning woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/i-can-t-write-if-someone-else-is-in-the-house-not-even-the-cleaning/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [You and my old vacuum cleaner have a lot in common. You both suck and are completely useless to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-armas/you-and-my-old-vacuum-cleaner-have-a-lot-in-common-you-both-suck-and/) [Lily Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-armas/) > [“I DON'T BREAK, MOTHERFUCKER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimber-s-dawn/i-don-t-break-motherfucker/) [Kimber S. Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimber-s-dawn/) > [Goin off on a motherfucker like that with a gat that's pointed at yo ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nwa/goin-off-on-a-motherfucker-like-that-with-a-gat-that-s-pointed-at-yo/) [NWA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nwa/) > [“Motherfucker! York was going to punch the shit out of Griffin directly after this session was over. If he so much as laid a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlene-hartnady/motherfucker-york-was-going-to-punch-the-shit-out-of-griffin-directly/) [Charlene Hartnady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlene-hartnady/) > [You dizzy motherfucker, you! -Tommy DeVito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goodfellas/you-dizzy-motherfucker-you-tommy-devito/) [Goodfellas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goodfellas/) > [Bullshit, motherfucker! Do you know who you are fucking with?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-blackson/bullshit-motherfucker-do-you-know-who-you-are-fucking-with/) [Michael Blackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-blackson/) > [You'll get taken by a stupid dope brotha who will smother word to the motherfucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nwa/you-ll-get-taken-by-a-stupid-dope-brotha-who-will-smother-word-to-the/) [NWA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nwa/) > [“Not worth it," Cheryl decreed, "been there, done that, got the fuckin' t-shirt and it didn't fit so I threw the motherfucker out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/not-worth-it-cheryl-decreed-been-there-done-that-got-the-fuckin-t/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [Try again, motherfucker!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-blackson/try-again-motherfucker/) [Michael Blackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-blackson/) > [If someone hates you without reason, Give that motherfucker a reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalifa-shavez/if-someone-hates-you-without-reason-give-that-motherfucker-a-reason/) [Khalifa Shavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalifa-shavez/) > [“After the exciting word lesson, he started telling me all the possible Q words one can spell without a U. I wondered, Is there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/after-the-exciting-word-lesson-he-started-telling-me-all-the-possible/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Black folk etymological theory posits that motherfucker was a term developed by the children of enslaved Africans in the United States. According to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-sammy-alim-and-geneva-smitherman/black-folk-etymological-theory-posits-that-motherfucker-was-a-term/) [H. Sammy Alim and Geneva Smitherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-sammy-alim-and-geneva-smitherman/) > [“Yes, the hermitage is underground--miles beneath the surface of Antarctica. And yes, Ike refers to it as unten--literally 'under' or 'below.' But, hello, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/yes-the-hermitage-is-underground-miles-beneath-the-surface-of/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [“My letters seeking a job, though truthful, diminished the full truth. Face would blanch if the facts had been complete: "Dear Sir," I thought.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bunker/my-letters-seeking-a-job-though-truthful-diminished-the-full-truth/) [Edward Bunker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bunker/) ## More by Lydia Davis > [Heart weeps. Head tries to help heart. Head tells heart how it is, again: You will lose the ones you love. They will all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/heart-weeps-head-tries-to-help-heart-head-tells-heart-how-it-is-again/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“But on that particular day I did not even begin to feel interested in this chore, and was suddenly more deeply bored than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/but-on-that-particular-day-i-did-not-even-begin-to-feel-interested-in/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [If a translation doesn't have obvious writing problems, it may seem quite all right at first glance. We readers, after all, quickly adapt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/if-a-translation-doesn-t-have-obvious-writing-problems-it-may-seem/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I always interrupt work with other work, either in a small way or big way, so that's normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-always-interrupt-work-with-other-work-either-in-a-small-way-or-big/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [ I worked more intensively hour after hour when I was starting out \[writing\]. More laboriously. I'd say quantity is important as well as quality,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-worked-more-intensively-hour-after-hour-when-i-was-starting-out/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I don't feel I have to struggle against allegory. I let the readers do the interpreting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-don-t-feel-i-have-to-struggle-against-allegory-i-let-the-readers-do/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“because she couldn’t write the name of what she was: a wa wam owm owamn womn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/because-she-couldn-t-write-the-name-of-what-she-was-a-wa-wam-owm/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“Everything was sharper, clearer, and closer, as though, before, I had been seeing only little bits at a time, not all of it, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/everything-was-sharper-clearer-and-closer-as-though-before-i-had-been/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“He did not know exactly when to thank his hostess after attending a dinner or a weekend party. In his uncertainty, he would thank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/he-did-not-know-exactly-when-to-thank-his-hostess-after-attending-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“There was no confusion of our bodies. I knew which arm was his and which mine, and which leg, and which shoulder. I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/there-was-no-confusion-of-our-bodies-i-knew-which-arm-was-his-and/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“So it’s not really $100 a shot because it goes on all day, from the start when you wake up and feel her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/so-it-s-not-really-100-a-shot-because-it-goes-on-all-day-from-the/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“The people of the town, though, remained strangers: I could not realize that I must be seeing some of them over and over again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-people-of-the-town-though-remained-strangers-i-could-not-realize/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“He does not trust her: she will claim to be in a bad mood when she is not, and then require him to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/he-does-not-trust-her-she-will-claim-to-be-in-a-bad-mood-when-she-is/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I would recommend, definitely, developing a 'day job' that you like - don't expect to make money writing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-would-recommend-definitely-developing-a-day-job-that-you-like-don-t/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [the translator, a lonely sort of acrobat, becomes confused in a labyrinth of paradox, or climbs a pyramid of dependent clauses and has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-translator-a-lonely-sort-of-acrobat-becomes-confused-in-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) [Explore all 135 Lydia Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## More Humor quotes > ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. 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