--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The aphorism: a platitude that swerves…" description: "\"The aphorism: a platitude that swerves, or slides all the way around.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/mason-cooley-92_aphorism_the-aphorism-a-platitude-that-swerves-or_2135385.png" --- # The aphorism: a platitude that swerves, or slides all the… ![“The aphorism: a platitude that swerves, or slides all the way around.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/mason-cooley-92_aphorism_the-aphorism-a-platitude-that-swerves-or_2135385.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/mason-cooley-92_aphorism_the-aphorism-a-platitude-that-swerves-or_2135385.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/mason-cooley-92_aphorism_the-aphorism-a-platitude-that-swerves-or_2135385.png) > “The aphorism: a platitude that swerves, or slides all the way around.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An aphorism is a concise statement that often twists or evades straightforward meaning, making it a platitude in disguise. **In simple terms:** Aphorisms are clever, sometimes evasive sayings. Key Takeaway Question the depth of platitudes. Themes language wisdom critique philosophy Mood skeptical analytical Type aphoristic critical When to use this quote - public speaking - writing - education - media analysis Key Concepts literature rhetoric cultural studies Questions to Reflect On - When does a saying become a hollow platitude? - How can you discern genuine insight? A Different Perspective May be overly simplistic or vague. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aphorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism/) [Aphorism Platitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism-platitude-4421222/) [Platitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/platitude-414152/) [Platitude Swerves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/platitude-swerves-4421223/) [Platitudes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/platitudes/) [Quoting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quoting/) [Slides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slides/) [Swerve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swerve/) [Swerves Slides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swerves-slides-4421224/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Platitude: a statement that denies by implication what it explicitly affirms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/platitude-a-statement-that-denies-by-implication-what-it-explicitly/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nothing is more tedious than the dreaming platitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/nothing-is-more-tedious-than-the-dreaming-platitude/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Stated as an English sentence, of course, this is just a banal platitude-but the fact is that, in the day-to-day trenches of adult existence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/stated-as-an-english-sentence-of-course-this-is-just-a-banal/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [One likes to think there's something in it, that old platitude amor vincit omnia. But if I've learned one thing in my short sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/one-likes-to-think-there-s-something-in-it-that-old-platitude-amor/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Platitude: All that is mortal of a departed truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/platitude-all-that-is-mortal-of-a-departed-truth/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [PLATITUDE, n. The fundamental element and special glory of popular literature. A thought that snores in words that smoke. All that is mortal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/platitude-n-the-fundamental-element-and-special-glory-of-popular-2/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [If some dude I'd never heard of managed to broadcast a platitude like that to the whole globe, I'd probably just feel like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-kulash/if-some-dude-i-d-never-heard-of-managed-to-broadcast-a-platitude-like/) [Damian Kulash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-kulash/) > [“PLATITUDE, n. The fundamental element and special glory of popular literature. A thought that snores in words that smoke. The wisdom of a million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/platitude-n-the-fundamental-element-and-special-glory-of-popular/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Funny how people despise platitudes, when they are usually the truest thing going. 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Are”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-buckley/i-m-going-mad-with-the-knowledge-that-despite-the-fact-that-this-is/) [Ray Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-buckley/) > [Unfortunately, a platitude is not a plan. So I am encouraging people to turn towards the Green Party if they're looking for a real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamie-paul/unfortunately-a-platitude-is-not-a-plan-so-i-am-encouraging-people-to/) [Annamie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annamie-paul/) > [If your values don't alienate anyone, it is just platitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-kelman/if-your-values-don-t-alienate-anyone-it-is-just-platitude/) [Glenn Kelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-kelman/) ## More by Mason Cooley > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More Aphorism quotes > [“Who flies high, easily chooses his target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/who-flies-high-easily-chooses-his-target/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Listen! 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A bright past is ahead of me!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/i-got-married-a-bright-past-is-ahead-of-me/) [ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“People who smile while they are alone used to be called insane, until we invented smartphones and social media.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/people-who-smile-while-they-are-alone-used-to-be-called-insane-until/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Why must an aphorism be brief? 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