--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mr. Blank's old friend is acting up…" description: "\"“Mr. Blank's old friend is acting up again, and because our hero is no longer wearing the cotton trousers and underpants and is quite naked under the p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/paul-auster-351_amusing_mr-blank-s-old-friend-is-acting-up-again_1324691.jpg" --- # Mr. Blank's old friend is acting up again, and because our… ![“Mr. Blank's old friend is acting up again, and because our hero is no longer wearing the cotton trousers and underpants and is quite naked under the pajama bottoms, there is no barrier to prevent Mr. Bigshot from bounding out through the slit and poking his head into the light of day.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/paul-auster-351_amusing_mr-blank-s-old-friend-is-acting-up-again_1324691.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/paul-auster-351_amusing_mr-blank-s-old-friend-is-acting-up-again_1324691.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/paul-auster-351_amusing_mr-blank-s-old-friend-is-acting-up-again_1324691.jpg) > ““Mr. Blank's old friend is acting up again, and because our hero is no longer wearing the cotton trousers and underpants and is quite naked under the pajama bottoms, there is no barrier to prevent Mr. Bigshot from bounding out through the slit and poking his head into the light of day.”” [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character’s vulnerability is exposed when conventional protections are removed, allowing hidden forces to intrude unexpectedly. **In simple terms:** Loss of safety invites unexpected intrusion. Key Takeaway Maintain personal boundaries and stay aware of hidden risks. Themes vulnerability exposure hidden threats identity Mood cautious thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal safety - online privacy - emotional honesty - creative expression Key Concepts psychology social dynamics literary metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards protect you when you feel exposed? - How do you balance openness with self‑preservation? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on danger can cause paranoia. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amusing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amusing/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Mr Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mr-blank-4424971/) [Naked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naked/) [Naked Pajama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naked-pajama-4424972/) [Nudity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nudity/) [Old friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-friend/) [Pajama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pajama-1265437/) [Quite Naked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quite-naked-3703086/) ## Related quotes > [Mr.Blank's reputation as a card shark had preceded him. No one accused him of being dishonest, but on the other hand no one accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/mr-blank-s-reputation-as-a-card-shark-had-preceded-him-no-one-accused/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [Few Indians only had breech cloths, most being wrapped in buffalo robes, otherwise quite naked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zebulon-pike/few-indians-only-had-breech-cloths-most-being-wrapped-in-buffalo/) [Zebulon Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zebulon-pike/) > [Jokes have to be quite naked to be understood. They have to be quite simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/jokes-have-to-be-quite-naked-to-be-understood-they-have-to-be-quite/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Oggie sat facing us in a threadbare blazer and pajama bottoms, as if he'd been expecting company--just not pants-worthy company-- . . .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/oggie-sat-facing-us-in-a-threadbare-blazer-and-pajama-bottoms-as-if-2/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [The neighborhood grocery clerk asked for my picture. Does this mean I can no longer wear pajama bottoms when I grocery shop?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-rae-jepsen/the-neighborhood-grocery-clerk-asked-for-my-picture-does-this-mean-i/) [Carly Rae Jepsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-rae-jepsen/) > [People come up to me all the time who saw Dad in 'Oklahoma!' or 'Pajama Game,' and they say they'll never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/people-come-up-to-me-all-the-time-who-saw-dad-in-oklahoma-or-pajama/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) > [I'm just waiting to be 85 and be in a pajama community. Everyone's welcome to join me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-m-just-waiting-to-be-85-and-be-in-a-pajama-community-everyone-s/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [On 'Rhoda,' they wanted my husband, Joe, to wear a pajama top when we were doing love scenes. They finally let him take it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/on-rhoda-they-wanted-my-husband-joe-to-wear-a-pajama-top-when-we-were/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) > [“Oh…man. She was dressed for love, as far as he was concerned: Flannel pajama bottoms with stars and moons on them. Little white T-shirt.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/oh-man-she-was-dressed-for-love-as-far-as-he-was-concerned-flannel/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“Patrice Marcum shook her head in amazement as two middle-aged women fought over the last pair of flannel pajama pants marked down to $4.99.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-reid/patrice-marcum-shook-her-head-in-amazement-as-two-middle-aged-women/) [Terri Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-reid/) > [Unlike F. Scott Fitzgerald and Tom Wolfe, I don't like proper dress while working. I like writing in pajama-like clothing, which eases and relaxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/unlike-f-scott-fitzgerald-and-tom-wolfe-i-don-t-like-proper-dress/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [T-shirt and stretchy pants? Yup, that's fine. It's pajama-y, good night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-romijn/t-shirt-and-stretchy-pants-yup-that-s-fine-it-s-pajama-y-good-night/) [Rebecca Romijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-romijn/) > [After many years of volunteer work with Starlight Children's Foundation, Genevieve Piturro founded the Pajama Program, which has provided over 3 million pairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randi-zuckerberg/after-many-years-of-volunteer-work-with-starlight-children-s/) [Randi Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randi-zuckerberg/) > [“Oggie sat facing us in a threadbare blazer and pajama bottoms, as if he'd been expecting company - just not pants-worthy company - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/oggie-sat-facing-us-in-a-threadbare-blazer-and-pajama-bottoms-as-if/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“the doorjamb, clothed in only her favorite pajama top, her arms crossed over her chest as if chilled.  “You know,” she said finally, “there’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-harmon/the-doorjamb-clothed-in-only-her-favorite-pajama-top-her-arms-crossed/) [Brian Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-harmon/) ## More by Paul Auster > [“On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/on-his-best-walks-he-was-able-to-feel-that-he-was-nowhere-and-this/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“No es que escribir me produzca un gran placer, pero es mucho peor si no lo hago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-es-que-escribir-me-produzca-un-gran-placer-pero-es-mucho-peor-si/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [You see, the interesting thing about books, as opposed, say, to films, is that it's always just one person encountering the book, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/you-see-the-interesting-thing-about-books-as-opposed-say-to-films-is/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I'm not a man deeply interested in technology. It eludes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-m-not-a-man-deeply-interested-in-technology-it-eludes-me/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The joke is the purest, most essential form of storytelling. Every word has to count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-joke-is-the-purest-most-essential-form-of-storytelling-every-word/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“What people saw when he appeared before them, then, was not really him, but a person he had invented, an artificial creature he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/what-people-saw-when-he-appeared-before-them-then-was-not-really-him/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I had made an empirical discovery and it carried all the weight of a mathematical proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-had-made-an-empirical-discovery-and-it-carried-all-the-weight-of-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [As long as there's one person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/as-long-as-there-s-one-person-to-believe-it-there-s-no-story-that-can/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Writing has always had a tactile quality for me. It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. It's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-ideal-reader-s-the-same-and-i-suppose-this-person-has-never-had-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“Most lives vanish. A person dies, and little by little all traces of that life disappear. An inventor survives in his inventions, an architect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/most-lives-vanish-a-person-dies-and-little-by-little-all-traces-of/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“and cut down many trees. When the Humans”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/and-cut-down-many-trees-when-the-humans/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) [Explore all 582 Paul Auster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## More Amusing quotes > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [By amusing myself with all these games, all this nonsense, all these picture puzzles, I became famous... I am only a public entertainer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/by-amusing-myself-with-all-these-games-all-this-nonsense-all-these/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [I was reading Neil Postman's 'Amusing Ourselves to Death'. It's one of my favourites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-faiyaz/i-was-reading-neil-postman-s-amusing-ourselves-to-death-it-s-one-of/) [Brent Faiyaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-faiyaz/) > [People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/people-of-our-time-are-losing-the-power-of-celebration-instead-of/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [No one survives in times of war unless they make war their home. How did I get so old and wise, but for welcoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/no-one-survives-in-times-of-war-unless-they-make-war-their-home-how/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Funny things tend not to happen to me. I am not a natural comic. I need to think about things a lot before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/funny-things-tend-not-to-happen-to-me-i-am-not-a-natural-comic-i-need/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [ \[A\]n Obama presidency would be an amusing approximation of the Carter administration, complete with vaporous moralizing and foreign policy bungling. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-tyrrell/a-n-obama-presidency-would-be-an-amusing-approximation-of-the-carter/) [Emmett Tyrrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-tyrrell/) > [It's amusing how arrogant people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amusing-how-arrogant-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Men are not amusing during the shooting season; but, after all, my dear, men were not especially designed to amuse women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/men-are-not-amusing-during-the-shooting-season-but-after-all-my-dear/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [All men are fools, if truth be told, but the ones in motley are more amusing than ones with crowns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-men-are-fools-if-truth-be-told-but-the-ones-in-motley-are-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [It's always amusing to see how much less the political class knows than the rest of us do. ... it's never occurred to \[the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-cox/it-s-always-amusing-to-see-how-much-less-the-political-class-knows/) [Stephen D. Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-d-cox/) > [Are there bears in these mountains?" he asked. His companion nodded. "Of course. 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