--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can make a sordid thing sound like a…" description: "\"You can make a sordid thing sound like a brilliant drawing-room comedy. Probably a fear we have of facing up to the real issues. Could you say we were ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/peter-de-vries-7735_brilliant_you-can-make-a-sordid-thing-sound-like-a_325421.jpg" --- # You can make a sordid thing sound like a brilliant… ![“You can make a sordid thing sound like a brilliant drawing-room comedy. Probably a fear we have of facing up to the real issues. Could you say we were guilty of Noel Cowardice?” quote by Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/peter-de-vries-7735_brilliant_you-can-make-a-sordid-thing-sound-like-a_325421.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/peter-de-vries-7735_brilliant_you-can-make-a-sordid-thing-sound-like-a_325421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64d/peter-de-vries-7735_brilliant_you-can-make-a-sordid-thing-sound-like-a_325421.jpg) > “You can make a sordid thing sound like a brilliant drawing-room comedy. Probably a fear we have of facing up to the real issues. Could you say we were guilty of Noel Cowardice?” [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People can disguise serious problems with humor, avoiding confronting underlying issues. **In simple terms:** Humor can hide real problems. Key Takeaway Recognize when jokes mask deeper concerns. Themes humor avoidance psychology communication Mood reflective cautious Type analysis insight When to use this quote - personal relationships - workplace meetings - creative collaborations Key Concepts deflection self‑deception social masks Questions to Reflect On - When does humor become avoidance? - How can you address the real issue behind the joke? A Different Perspective Relying on humor may prevent genuine resolution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) [Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Noel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noel/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [I've rarely gotten a good review in my life, yet, to paraphrase Noel Coward, I am happy to console myself with the bitter palliative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/i-ve-rarely-gotten-a-good-review-in-my-life-yet-to-paraphrase-noel/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [I'm not temperamentally into high comedy. I'm not a Noel Coward kind of girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-reilly/i-m-not-temperamentally-into-high-comedy-i-m-not-a-noel-coward-kind/) [Kelly Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-reilly/) > [Business, life itself, is damned hard work if you wanna be good at it. Actually, that's precisely wrong. Business ceases to be work when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/business-life-itself-is-damned-hard-work-if-you-wanna-be-good-at-it/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [They're great devotees of Noel Coward in England, of course, he's a favorite son, and so to play Coward in London is such fun,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-lansbury/they-re-great-devotees-of-noel-coward-in-england-of-course-he-s-a/) [Angela Lansbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-lansbury/) > [It was Noel Coward whose technique I envied and tried to emulate. I collected all his records and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-williams/it-was-noel-coward-whose-technique-i-envied-and-tried-to-emulate-i/) [Kenneth Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-williams/) > [My philosophy is as simple as ever - smoking, drinking, moderate sexual intercourse on a diminishing scale, reading and writing (not arithmetic). I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-coward/my-philosophy-is-as-simple-as-ever-smoking-drinking-moderate-sexual/) [Noel Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-coward/) > [Noel Coward said work is more fun than fun, but then he didn't work in the Bird's Eye factory packing frozen fish fingers nine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-o-grady/noel-coward-said-work-is-more-fun-than-fun-but-then-he-didn-t-work-in/) [Paul O'Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-o-grady/) > [If you're 'stuck' right now, you're probably into fear. Get out of there. You've already looked both ways. 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Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-t-lucas/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [I have done, this year, what I said I would: overcome my fear of facing a blank page day after day, acknowledging myself, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-done-this-year-what-i-said-i-would-overcome-my-fear-of-facing/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Some allow themselves to be overcome by panic, and others charge because they dare not remain at their posts. Some may be found whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/some-allow-themselves-to-be-overcome-by-panic-and-others-charge/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) ## More by Peter De Vries > [A hundred years ago Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter was given an A for adultery; today she would rate no better than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/a-hundred-years-ago-hester-prynne-of-the-scarlet-letter-was-given-an/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [Celibacy is the worst form of self-abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/celibacy-is-the-worst-form-of-self-abuse/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [Marriage is a lottery in which men stake their liberty and women their happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/marriage-is-a-lottery-in-which-men-stake-their-liberty-and-women/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [What we are assigned to bear is in a sense a measure of our stature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/what-we-are-assigned-to-bear-is-in-a-sense-a-measure-of-our-stature/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [ “Who of us is mature enough for offspring before the offspring themselves arrive? The value of \[parenthood\] is not that adults produce children but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/who-of-us-is-mature-enough-for-offspring-before-the-offspring/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [I wondered whether any woman could be happy with a man who says 'folderol'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/i-wondered-whether-any-woman-could-be-happy-with-a-man-who-says/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [When I see a paragraph shrinking under my eyes like a strip of bacon in a skillet, I know I'm on the right track.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/when-i-see-a-paragraph-shrinking-under-my-eyes-like-a-strip-of-bacon/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [We must love one another, yes, yes, that's all true enough, but nothing says we have to like each other. It may be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/we-must-love-one-another-yes-yes-that-s-all-true-enough-but-nothing/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [Gluttony is an emotional escape, a sign something is eating us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/gluttony-is-an-emotional-escape-a-sign-something-is-eating-us/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [The tuba is certainly the most intestinal of instruments, the very lower bowel of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/the-tuba-is-certainly-the-most-intestinal-of-instruments-the-very/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [My father hated radio and could not wait for television to be invented so he could hate that too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/my-father-hated-radio-and-could-not-wait-for-television-to-be/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is good for dandruff - it is a palliative rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/confession-is-good-for-the-soul-only-in-the-sense-that-a-tweed-coat/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [Life is a crowded superhighway with bewildering cloverleaf exits on which a man is liable to find himself speeding back in the direction he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/life-is-a-crowded-superhighway-with-bewildering-cloverleaf-exits-on/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [If there's anything I hate it's the word humorist-I feel like countering with the word seriousist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/if-there-s-anything-i-hate-it-s-the-word-humorist-i-feel-like/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [I wanted to be bored to death, as good a way to go as any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/i-wanted-to-be-bored-to-death-as-good-a-way-to-go-as-any/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) [Explore all 88 Peter De Vries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) ## More Brilliant quotes > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. Isn't that what everyone in the world wants to do? 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He's a brilliant composer and arranger who uses uncommon and unique musical intelligence to redefine jazz and blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-coryell/bruce-katz-is-a-spectacular-talent-he-s-a-brilliant-composer-and/) [Larry Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-coryell/) > [No matter how brilliant an actor is, there's always a point where they let you down, but that's all part of their journey. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hale/no-matter-how-brilliant-an-actor-is-there-s-always-a-point-where-they/) [Amanda Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hale/) > [I enjoy working with Deborah Ann, I think she's brilliant. It's been a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutina-wesley/i-enjoy-working-with-deborah-ann-i-think-she-s-brilliant-it-s-been-a/) [Rutina Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutina-wesley/) > [Gravity Falls' didn't just appear overnight - every spooky cave and moss covered tree was created by a team of brilliant artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-hirsch/gravity-falls-didn-t-just-appear-overnight-every-spooky-cave-and-moss/) [Alex Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-hirsch/) > [I like men who are very cool but who are also so brilliant that they are almost insane. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Bob Dylan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-blalock/i-like-men-who-are-very-cool-but-who-are-also-so-brilliant-that-they/) [Jolene Blalock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-blalock/) > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. 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