--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Their conversation had gone like this…" description: "\"“Their conversation had gone like this: 'Something something, something something, something something something…the White Dog of Afghanistan…something..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/mark-helprin-1171_communication_their-conversation-had-gone-like-this-so_1621688.jpg" --- # Their conversation had gone like this: 'Something… ![“Their conversation had gone like this: 'Something something, something something, something something something…the White Dog of Afghanistan…something something something, something, something, something else, something entirely unintelligible.” quote by Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/mark-helprin-1171_communication_their-conversation-had-gone-like-this-so_1621688.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/mark-helprin-1171_communication_their-conversation-had-gone-like-this-so_1621688.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/mark-helprin-1171_communication_their-conversation-had-gone-like-this-so_1621688.jpg) > ““Their conversation had gone like this: 'Something something, something something, something something something…the White Dog of Afghanistan…something something something, something, something, something else, something entirely unintelligible.”” [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A chaotic, fragmented dialogue reflects confusion and the difficulty of communicating in a war-torn setting. **In simple terms:** Talk is disjointed and hard to understand. Key Takeaway Seek clarity amid chaos. Themes communication confusion war human connection Mood tense disorienting Type narrative reflective When to use this quote - military briefings - cross‑cultural meetings - emergency response - media reporting Key Concepts fragmented narrative linguistic breakdown cultural clash Questions to Reflect On - How can you clarify messages under pressure? - What role does context play in understanding? A Different Perspective Meaning can be lost in noise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) ## Related quotes > [“Neil had no idea how the conversation had gone from murder to Renee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-sakavic/neil-had-no-idea-how-the-conversation-had-gone-from-murder-to-renee/) [Nora Sakavic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-sakavic/) > [“He's the unintelligible one, the unpredictable one. He's the one who doesn't do things for sensible, predictable reasons. I'm going to survive, and once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-s-the-unintelligible-one-the-unpredictable-one-he-s-the-one-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always choose to use the word often instead of (unintelligible). Just changing it up, changing it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayden-panettiere/i-always-choose-to-use-the-word-often-instead-of-unintelligible-just/) [Hayden Panettiere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayden-panettiere/) > [A malefactor who atones for making your writing nonsense by permitting the compositor to make it unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/a-malefactor-who-atones-for-making-your-writing-nonsense-by/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“My dad mumbled something unintelligible. “Woo!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/my-dad-mumbled-something-unintelligible-woo/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [On the surface, an intelligible lie; underneath, the unintelligible truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/on-the-surface-an-intelligible-lie-underneath-the-unintelligible-truth/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I have never been able to understand why it is that just because I am unintelligible nobody understands me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-why-it-is-that-just-because-i-am/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Metaphysics is almost always an attempt to prove the incredible by an appeal to the unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/metaphysics-is-almost-always-an-attempt-to-prove-the-incredible-by-an/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“This particularly rapid, unintelligible patter Isn't generally heard, and if it is it doesn't matter, This particularly rapid, unintelligible patter Isn't generally heard, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert-2/this-particularly-rapid-unintelligible-patter-isn-t-generally-heard/) [W.S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert-2/) > [ \[P\]hilosophy . . .consists chiefly in suggesting unintelligible answers to insoluble problems. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/p-hilosophy-consists-chiefly-in-suggesting-unintelligible-answers-to/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/ridicule-is-the-only-weapon-which-can-be-used-against-unintelligible/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [It has been jestingly said that the works of John Paul Richter are almost unintelligible to any but the Germans, and even to some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/it-has-been-jestingly-said-that-the-works-of-john-paul-richter-are/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-cannot-speak-well-enough-to-be-unintelligible/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“You're never "keeping it real" with your lack of punctuation and proofreading, you're keeping it unintelligible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/you-re-never-keeping-it-real-with-your-lack-of-punctuation-and/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) ## More by Mark Helprin > [“Defiance, Catherine, is a gift of God, who is superior to nature. When nature comes to get you, honor God by treating it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/defiance-catherine-is-a-gift-of-god-who-is-superior-to-nature-when/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [Because there were all kinds of hell - some were black and dirty, and some were silvery and high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/because-there-were-all-kinds-of-hell-some-were-black-and-dirty-and/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“In living, one muddles through the years for the sake of those one or two moments which are indisputably great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/in-living-one-muddles-through-the-years-for-the-sake-of-those-one-or/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“Do you know why you walk slowly when you’re old?” “No.” “Because with age you receive the gift of friction. The less time you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/do-you-know-why-you-walk-slowly-when-you-re-old-no-because-with-age/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [The British monarchy has the political and constitutional task of subtracting from the government and governors of Britain the papal and kingly airs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/the-british-monarchy-has-the-political-and-constitutional-task-of/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“Your time is a good time, and though I have to leave, you can stay. How lucky you are to be in the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/your-time-is-a-good-time-and-though-i-have-to-leave-you-can-stay-how/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [Truth is no rounder than a horse's eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/truth-is-no-rounder-than-a-horse-s-eye/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [They were dancing around the fountain, arm in arm, in an old Dutch dance, their cheeks touching, their hands entwined. They had no music;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/they-were-dancing-around-the-fountain-arm-in-arm-in-an-old-dutch/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [For what can be imagined more beautiful than the sight of a perfectly just city rejoicing in justice alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/for-what-can-be-imagined-more-beautiful-than-the-sight-of-a-perfectly/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [I follow my own nose. So I read things that are different. People will always say to me, "Have you read Robert S. Bosco's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/i-follow-my-own-nose-so-i-read-things-that-are-different-people-will/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“If all the months and all their days could be like June weather in New York, there would be paradise on earth. Often, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/if-all-the-months-and-all-their-days-could-be-like-june-weather-in/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“At least until there are new lakes in the clouds that open upon living cities as yet unknown, and perhaps forever, that is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/at-least-until-there-are-new-lakes-in-the-clouds-that-open-upon/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [You will most appreciate 'Freddy and Fredericka' if you are familiar with the story of the Fall, the Good Hermit, 'Tom Jones,' 'Huckleberry Finn,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/you-will-most-appreciate-freddy-and-fredericka-if-you-are-familiar/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [their powerlessness, innocence, and imagination fused to enable them to turn time inside out, travel on the wind, and enter the souls of animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/their-powerlessness-innocence-and-imagination-fused-to-enable-them-to/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > ['Freeing' a literary work into the public domain is less a public benefit than a transfer of wealth from the families of American writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/freeing-a-literary-work-into-the-public-domain-is-less-a-public/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) [Explore all 279 Mark Helprin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Their conversation had gone like this: 'Something something, something something, something something something…the White Dog of Afghanistan…something something something, something, something, something else, something entirely unintelligible.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Helprin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/their-conversation-had-gone-like-this-something-something-something/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/their-conversation-had-gone-like-this-something-something-something/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/mark-helprin-1171_communication_their-conversation-had-gone-like-this-so_1621688.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/mark-helprin-1171_communication_their-conversation-had-gone-like-this-so_1621688.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/mark-helprin-1171_communication_their-conversation-had-gone-like-this-so_1621688.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Their conversation had gone like this: 'Something something, something something, something something…” — Mark Helprin", "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": "Mark Helprin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Their conversation had gone like this:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/their-conversation-had-gone-like-this-something-something-something/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/their-conversation-had-gone-like-this-something-something-something/#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 } } ] } ```