--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The really polished New Yorker, as editor…" description: "\"“The really polished New Yorker, as editor Walter Whitman noted in an 1856 “Advice to Strangers” piece, was one who could coolly respond to a con man’s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/mike-wallace-5222_new-yorker_the-really-polished-new-yorker-as-editor_2959587.jpg" --- # The really polished New Yorker, as editor Walter Whitman… ![“The really polished New Yorker, as editor Walter Whitman noted in an 1856 “Advice to Strangers” piece, was one who could coolly respond to a con man’s pitch by looking him in the eye and saying: “You’ve waked up the wrong passenger.” quote by Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/mike-wallace-5222_new-yorker_the-really-polished-new-yorker-as-editor_2959587.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/mike-wallace-5222_new-yorker_the-really-polished-new-yorker-as-editor_2959587.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/mike-wallace-5222_new-yorker_the-really-polished-new-yorker-as-editor_2959587.jpg) > ““The really polished New Yorker, as editor Walter Whitman noted in an 1856 “Advice to Strangers” piece, was one who could coolly respond to a con man’s pitch by looking him in the eye and saying: “You’ve waked up the wrong passenger.”” [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Quotes a 1856 advice piece highlighting a calm, confident response to deception. **In simple terms:** Stay composed and confront a con artist directly. Key Takeaway Respond calmly to deception. Themes confidence deception communication Mood cautious assertive Type advice historical When to use this quote - business - personal safety - interpersonal conflict Key Concepts assertiveness psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does calmness affect a liar’s tactics? - When is direct confrontation appropriate? A Different Perspective May provoke aggression if not handled delicately. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Con Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/con-man/) [New yorker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-yorker/) ## Related quotes > [ David Remnick \[the New Yorker's editor in chief\]is about as interested in anything gay as I am interested in anything to do with baseball.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/david-remnick-the-new-yorker-s-editor-in-chief-is-about-as-interested/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [I just so desperately wanted to be published in New Yorker, and I'd so desperately try to get something in it. But I'd always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-just-so-desperately-wanted-to-be-published-in-new-yorker-and-i-d-so/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [I had a brief period of questioning whether I should perhaps adopt a child. 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He was a wanderer, nomadic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-aiello/my-father-was-a-good-man-but-he-was-a-con-man-he-was-a-wanderer/) [Danny Aiello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-aiello/) > [“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/) > [No one helped my grandparents when a con man stole our house, or when I needed help paying for a plane ticket to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-harrison/no-one-helped-my-grandparents-when-a-con-man-stole-our-house-or-when/) [Jaime Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-harrison/) > [“Inej knew the moment Kaz entered the Slat. His presence reverberated through the cramped rooms and crooked hallways as every thug, thief, dealer, con…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/inej-knew-the-moment-kaz-entered-the-slat-his-presence-reverberated/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) ## More by Mike Wallace > [It's astonishing what you learn and feel and see along the way. That's why a reporter's job, as you know, is such a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/it-s-astonishing-what-you-learn-and-feel-and-see-along-the-way-that-s/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Residents grimly spoke of the crisis as “O Grab Me”—“embargo” spelled backward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/residents-grimly-spoke-of-the-crisis-as-o-grab-me-embargo-spelled/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“The key to success in the Gold Room was information. 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I mean that was - everybody wanted to go to work for CBS News.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/when-i-came-to-cbs-it-was-the-mother-church-i-mean-that-was-everybody/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [Even though Jack Kennedy and I were about the same age and lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same elementary school, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/even-though-jack-kennedy-and-i-were-about-the-same-age-and-lived-in/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Warner took to writing in hopes of making money and submitted a pious and sentimental novel to Harpers, which rebuffed it with the single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/warner-took-to-writing-in-hopes-of-making-money-and-submitted-a-pious/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Horace Greeley cautioned one upstate hopeful: “You do not realize how little the mere talent of writing well has to do with success or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/horace-greeley-cautioned-one-upstate-hopeful-you-do-not-realize-how/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Political editors were a truculent breed. Leggett’s boss, William Cullen Bryant, took a cowskin whip to William Leete Stone of the Commercial Advertiser in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/political-editors-were-a-truculent-breed-leggett-s-boss-william/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [But I was never, you know, when I see some kids today who are close to their parents, close to their friends... I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/but-i-was-never-you-know-when-i-see-some-kids-today-who-are-close-to/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“And among the prissiest. Gilder’s method of raising public standards of taste and morality required the production of bloodless pages. As custodian of genteel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/and-among-the-prissiest-gilder-s-method-of-raising-public-standards/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [Covering Richard Nixon's triumphant run in 1968 turned out to be my last major assignment as a general correspondent for CBS News. In September…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/covering-richard-nixon-s-triumphant-run-in-1968-turned-out-to-be-my/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [There's not a better job in journalism than the one we have, seriously on '60 Minutes' - not a better job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/there-s-not-a-better-job-in-journalism-than-the-one-we-have-seriously/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [Both my parents came from Russia and suddenly they wound up in Boston, Massachusetts, Brookline, Massachusetts and they felt the sun rose and set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/both-my-parents-came-from-russia-and-suddenly-they-wound-up-in-boston/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“In the symphonic world, musically inclined industrialists and financiers were having problems of a different sort with the New York Philharmonic. The old German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/in-the-symphonic-world-musically-inclined-industrialists-and/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) [Explore all 102 Mike Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) ## More New yorker quotes > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [Yes, Im a New Yorker, born and bred. While Im not quite the L.A. snob that Woody Allen is, I do find myself happier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stoll/yes-im-a-new-yorker-born-and-bred-while-im-not-quite-the-l-a-snob/) [Corey Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stoll/) > [I'm a born and bred New Yorker. I belong here. Everytime I leave it's like losing a leg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-holliday/i-m-a-born-and-bred-new-yorker-i-belong-here-everytime-i-leave-it-s/) [Judy Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-holliday/) > [I aspired from early on to write a novel, to be in the 'New Yorker,' to be on Broadway, and at least in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-o-donnell/i-aspired-from-early-on-to-write-a-novel-to-be-in-the-new-yorker-to/) [Mark O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-o-donnell/) > [A true New Yorker never backs down, and I'm no exception. Holla!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-thomson/a-true-new-yorker-never-backs-down-and-i-m-no-exception-holla/) Heather Thomson > [I have no credentials. I have no money. I literally come from a poor place. I was a servant. I dropped out of college.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-have-no-credentials-i-have-no-money-i-literally-come-from-a-poor/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [ My chronology is terrible. \[Work with William Shawn\] must have some ago. It was after he was fired by Newhouse. After New - when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/my-chronology-is-terrible-work-with-william-shawn-must-have-some-ago/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [“Every time you hear a car alarm, Ruby said, another New Yorker has gone to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-spanbauer/every-time-you-hear-a-car-alarm-ruby-said-another-new-yorker-has-gone/) [Tom Spanbauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-spanbauer/) > [I'm a New Yorker, and I rarely get to work at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-m-a-new-yorker-and-i-rarely-get-to-work-at-home/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [I grew up in Chelsea on 22nd Street... 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