--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Turks have a dismissive phrase: he works…" description: "\"Turks have a dismissive phrase: he works like a clerk. I have turned this insult around: I am proud to say that I work like a clerk.\" — Orhan Pamuk" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/orhan-pamuk-500_clerks_turks-have-a-dismissive-phrase-he-works_323548.jpg" --- # Turks have a dismissive phrase: he works like a clerk. I… ![“Turks have a dismissive phrase: he works like a clerk. I have turned this insult around: I am proud to say that I work like a clerk.” quote by Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/orhan-pamuk-500_clerks_turks-have-a-dismissive-phrase-he-works_323548.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/orhan-pamuk-500_clerks_turks-have-a-dismissive-phrase-he-works_323548.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/orhan-pamuk-500_clerks_turks-have-a-dismissive-phrase-he-works_323548.jpg) > “Turks have a dismissive phrase: he works like a clerk. I have turned this insult around: I am proud to say that I work like a clerk.” [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A derogatory phrase about clerical work is reclaimed as a source of pride, turning an insult into empowerment. **In simple terms:** Reclaiming insult as pride. Key Takeaway Transform negative labels into personal strengths. Themes identity language reclamation pride culture Mood reflective empowering Type cultural personal When to use this quote - workplace dynamics - social media discourse - personal branding - community activism Key Concepts Sociolinguistics identity politics empowerment strategies Questions to Reflect On - How can you reshape negative labels? - What impact does reclamation have on self‑esteem? A Different Perspective May not change external perceptions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Optimistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimistic/) [Proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [ Gonna rain like a cow pissin' on a flat rock" \[drugstore clerk to detective Virgil Flowers\] Dark of the Moon, p.7 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/gonna-rain-like-a-cow-pissin-on-a-flat-rock-drugstore-clerk-to/) [John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/) > [But do not give it to a lawyer's clerk to write, for they use a legal hand that Satan himself will not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/but-do-not-give-it-to-a-lawyer-s-clerk-to-write-for-they-use-a-legal/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others -- poor young clerks who loitered in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/at-the-enchanted-metropolitan-twilight-i-felt-a-haunting-loneliness/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“They play like file clerks file.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kessler/they-play-like-file-clerks-file/) Lauren Kessler > [As a judge, I hire four law clerks each year. I look for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/as-a-judge-i-hire-four-law-clerks-each-year-i-look-for-the-best/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [The key to success is to get out into the store and listen to what the associates have to say. It's terribly important for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-key-to-success-is-to-get-out-into-the-store-and-listen-to-what/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [I actually never acted on "Deadwood." I have meetings all the time where people look at my IMDb page and see that I played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-actually-never-acted-on-deadwood-i-have-meetings-all-the-time-where/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Corporate types love to pretend their life is exciting. The whispers, fist-pumping and animated hand gestures are all designed to lift our job description…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/corporate-types-love-to-pretend-their-life-is-exciting-the-whispers/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [I had a lot of jobs, because I wanted to be an actor, and I had this bad habit of wanting to eat regularly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/i-had-a-lot-of-jobs-because-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor-and-i-had-this/) [Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/) > [I am proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/i-am-proud-that-a-majority-of-my-law-clerks-have-been-women/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [I do not rule Russia: ten thousand clerks do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-rule-russia-ten-thousand-clerks-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My law clerks come from diverse backgrounds and points of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/my-law-clerks-come-from-diverse-backgrounds-and-points-of-view/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier, a maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart. They never made it big. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/my-dad-was-a-bartender-my-mom-was-a-cashier-a-maid-and-a-stock-clerk/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I'm pretty much a 9-to-5 kind of guy. I usually get to work about 8 in the morning, and I work until 4 or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/i-m-pretty-much-a-9-to-5-kind-of-guy-i-usually-get-to-work-about-8-in/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) ## More by Orhan Pamuk > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I need the pain of loneliness to make my imagination work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-the-pain-of-loneliness-to-make-my-imagination-work/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I believe in a world where there are no heroes, and I've read and know humanity a lot. There are moments that I admire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-believe-in-a-world-where-there-are-no-heroes-and-i-ve-read-and-know/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I really don't want to portray the Islamists as simply evil, the way it's often done in the west.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-really-don-t-want-to-portray-the-islamists-as-simply-evil-the-way/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I am proud to be a Turk, and to write in Turkish about Turkey - and to have been translated into about 40 languages.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-am-proud-to-be-a-turk-and-to-write-in-turkish-about-turkey-and-to/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I don't want to be a tree; I want to be its meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-tree-i-want-to-be-its-meaning/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“...love is deep attention, deep compassion...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/love-is-deep-attention-deep-compassion/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [Books, which we mistake for consolation, only add depth to our sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/books-which-we-mistake-for-consolation-only-add-depth-to-our-sorrow/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“If you think you are better than Stork, then by all means, get hold of me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/if-you-think-you-are-better-than-stork-then-by-all-means-get-hold-of/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I need a moment of time for myself every day, like a child playing with his things. When I travel, I routinely find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-a-moment-of-time-for-myself-every-day-like-a-child-playing/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [Love is a sacred silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/love-is-a-sacred-silence/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“Creíamos saber mucho, pero no sabíamos nada. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/cre-amos-saber-mucho-pero-no-sab-amos-nada/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“- Za nas je otkucaj sata, baš kao žuvor šadrvana u dvorištu džamije, odjek zakoračenja u ono što je u nama, a ne zvuk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/za-nas-je-otkucaj-sata-ba-kao-uvor-adrvana-u-dvori-tu-d-amije-odjek/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“A writer is someone who spends years patiently trying to discover the second being inside him, and the world that makes him who he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/a-writer-is-someone-who-spends-years-patiently-trying-to-discover-the/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [“Near Taksim he suddenly found himself inside a crowd of people leaving a movie theater. They were staring straight ahead, as if in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/near-taksim-he-suddenly-found-himself-inside-a-crowd-of-people/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) [Explore all 402 Orhan Pamuk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) ## More Clerks quotes > [ Gonna rain like a cow pissin' on a flat rock" \[drugstore clerk to detective Virgil Flowers\] Dark of the Moon, p.7 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/gonna-rain-like-a-cow-pissin-on-a-flat-rock-drugstore-clerk-to/) [John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier, a maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart. They never made it big. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/my-dad-was-a-bartender-my-mom-was-a-cashier-a-maid-and-a-stock-clerk/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [My law clerks come from diverse backgrounds and points of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/my-law-clerks-come-from-diverse-backgrounds-and-points-of-view/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [I do not rule Russia: ten thousand clerks do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-rule-russia-ten-thousand-clerks-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/i-am-proud-that-a-majority-of-my-law-clerks-have-been-women/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [I had a lot of jobs, because I wanted to be an actor, and I had this bad habit of wanting to eat regularly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/i-had-a-lot-of-jobs-because-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor-and-i-had-this/) [Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/) > [Corporate types love to pretend their life is exciting. The whispers, fist-pumping and animated hand gestures are all designed to lift our job description…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/corporate-types-love-to-pretend-their-life-is-exciting-the-whispers/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [I actually never acted on "Deadwood." I have meetings all the time where people look at my IMDb page and see that I played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-actually-never-acted-on-deadwood-i-have-meetings-all-the-time-where/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [The key to success is to get out into the store and listen to what the associates have to say. It's terribly important for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-key-to-success-is-to-get-out-into-the-store-and-listen-to-what/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [As a judge, I hire four law clerks each year. I look for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/as-a-judge-i-hire-four-law-clerks-each-year-i-look-for-the-best/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [“They play like file clerks file.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kessler/they-play-like-file-clerks-file/) Lauren Kessler > [At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others -- poor young clerks who loitered in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/at-the-enchanted-metropolitan-twilight-i-felt-a-haunting-loneliness/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [But do not give it to a lawyer's clerk to write, for they use a legal hand that Satan himself will not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/but-do-not-give-it-to-a-lawyer-s-clerk-to-write-for-they-use-a-legal/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [I'm pretty much a 9-to-5 kind of guy. I usually get to work about 8 in the morning, and I work until 4 or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/i-m-pretty-much-a-9-to-5-kind-of-guy-i-usually-get-to-work-about-8-in/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) Browse all 184 Clerks quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Turks have a dismissive phrase: he works like a clerk. 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