--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: it was a point of good manners not to sit…" description: "\"“it was a point of good manners not to sit with a clique of the same friends all the time, and it meant that conversation at dinner had to be open and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/philip-pullman-525_communication_it-was-a-point-of-good-manners-not-to-si_1843971.png" --- # it was a point of good manners not to sit with a clique of… ![“it was a point of good manners not to sit with a clique of the same friends all the time, and it meant that conversation at dinner had to be open and general rather than close and gossipy” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/philip-pullman-525_communication_it-was-a-point-of-good-manners-not-to-si_1843971.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/philip-pullman-525_communication_it-was-a-point-of-good-manners-not-to-si_1843971.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/philip-pullman-525_communication_it-was-a-point-of-good-manners-not-to-si_1843971.png) > ““it was a point of good manners not to sit with a clique of the same friends all the time, and it meant that conversation at dinner had to be open and general rather than close and gossipy”” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good manners involve avoiding exclusive cliques, encouraging open and inclusive conversation at social gatherings. **In simple terms:** Be inclusive, avoid forming exclusive groups. Key Takeaway Foster open dialogue and avoid gossip. Themes manners social dynamics inclusion Mood thoughtful reflective Type social philosophical When to use this quote - dinner parties - team meetings - social events Key Concepts social etiquette group psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance closeness with inclusivity? - What benefits arise from diverse conversations? A Different Perspective Excluding close friends can sometimes create deeper bonds elsewhere. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Close Gossipy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-gossipy-2372817/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation-dinner-1213288/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Good manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-manners/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Manners Sit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners-sit-922939/) [Table manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/table-manners/) ## Related quotes > [Oh, where are my manners? Do sit down. Pull up a small child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/oh-where-are-my-manners-do-sit-down-pull-up-a-small-child/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Good manners are just a way of showing other people that we have respect for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kelly/good-manners-are-just-a-way-of-showing-other-people-that-we-have/) [Bill Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kelly/) > [I like something simple and traditional, like dinner and a movie. The best way to get to know someone is to have a conversation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/i-like-something-simple-and-traditional-like-dinner-and-a-movie-the/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [He is clearly bookish. I did not follow a single word of their conversation at dinner last night, not one jot of it. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carriger/he-is-clearly-bookish-i-did-not-follow-a-single-word-of-their/) [Gail Carriger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carriger/) > [“The conversation at dinner hadn't been successful either; it bore the marks of an old married couple who had very little left to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/the-conversation-at-dinner-hadn-t-been-successful-either-it-bore-the/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [This conversation with the audience has been going on since, what, '72, '73... Sometimes it's like a conversation after dinner with friends. You're in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-van-zandt/this-conversation-with-the-audience-has-been-going-on-since-what-72/) [Steven Van Zandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-van-zandt/) > [“I just want somebody I can have a decent conversation with over dinner.” —Tom Hanks, Sleepless in Seattle (1993)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-bennett/i-just-want-somebody-i-can-have-a-decent-conversation-with-over/) [Jenn Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-bennett/) > [What we need to question is bricks, concrete, glass, our table manners, our utensils, our tools, the way we spend our time, our rhythms.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-perec/what-we-need-to-question-is-bricks-concrete-glass-our-table-manners/) [Georges Perec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-perec/) > [Fashionably amusing table manners are a matter of breaking the right rule at the right time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/fashionably-amusing-table-manners-are-a-matter-of-breaking-the-right/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I don't know why people would want to have lunch with writers. I've eaten with writers. We have appalling table manners, and rarely say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-don-t-know-why-people-would-want-to-have-lunch-with-writers-i-ve/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I don't like people's table manners. That really puts you off eating food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/i-don-t-like-people-s-table-manners-that-really-puts-you-off-eating/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [Basil Stag Hare tut-tutted severely as he remarked to Ambrose Spike, 'Tch, tch. Dreadful table manners. Just look at those three wallahs, kicking up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/basil-stag-hare-tut-tutted-severely-as-he-remarked-to-ambrose-spike/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [To use bad taste, you have to know the rules of good taste. I've always thanked my mother for that. She taught how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/to-use-bad-taste-you-have-to-know-the-rules-of-good-taste-i-ve-always/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Good manners are not bred in moments, but in years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-mcnair-wright/good-manners-are-not-bred-in-moments-but-in-years/) [Julia McNair Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-mcnair-wright/) ## More by Philip Pullman > [The state of mind which I put myself when I tell a story is one in which superstition flourishes very easily. And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [We don't need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do's and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-don-t-need-lists-of-rights-and-wrongs-tables-of-do-s-and-don-ts-we/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-stolen-ideas-from-every-book-i-have-ever-read/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [All the stories of the Bible that I know came to me first from my grandfather's lips... He would see stories in everything. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/all-the-stories-of-the-bible-that-i-know-came-to-me-first-from-my/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [What I do say is that I can write verse, and that the writing of verse in strict form is the best possible training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/what-i-do-say-is-that-i-can-write-verse-and-that-the-writing-of-verse/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Writing is tyranny ... but reading is democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/writing-is-tyranny-but-reading-is-democracy/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“Middlemarch is a novel that is diminished by being put on the screen. It can't help but be, because so much of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/middlemarch-is-a-novel-that-is-diminished-by-being-put-on-the-screen/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [And think what worrying does: has anyone ever added a single hour to the length of his life by worrying about it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/and-think-what-worrying-does-has-anyone-ever-added-a-single-hour-to/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“The question authors get asked more than any other is "Where do you get your ideas from?" And we all find a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-question-authors-get-asked-more-than-any-other-is-where-do-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not,” said the witch, “or die of despair.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-are-all-subject-to-the-fates-but-we-must-all-act-as-if-we-are-not/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Lonely? I don't know. They tell me this is cold. I don't know what cold is, because I don't freeze. So I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/lonely-i-don-t-know-they-tell-me-this-is-cold-i-don-t-know-what-cold/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Just finished 'Secrecy' - truly enthralling both as a love story and as a tale of suspense - but much more than both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/just-finished-secrecy-truly-enthralling-both-as-a-love-story-and-as-a/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“As Auden is believed to have said, no poem saved a single Jew from the gas chambers. Never mind. Write the poems anyway. Play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/as-auden-is-believed-to-have-said-no-poem-saved-a-single-jew-from-the/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) [Explore all 479 Philip Pullman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) [Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/) > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“it was a point of good manners not to sit with a clique of the same friends all the time, and it meant that conversation at dinner had to be open and general rather than close and gossipy”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Pullman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/it-was-a-point-of-good-manners-not-to-sit-with-a-clique-of-the-same/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/it-was-a-point-of-good-manners-not-to-sit-with-a-clique-of-the-same/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/philip-pullman-525_communication_it-was-a-point-of-good-manners-not-to-si_1843971.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/philip-pullman-525_communication_it-was-a-point-of-good-manners-not-to-si_1843971.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/philip-pullman-525_communication_it-was-a-point-of-good-manners-not-to-si_1843971.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“it was a point of good manners not to sit with a clique of the same friends all the time, and it meant that…” — Philip Pullman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Philip Pullman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“it was a point of good...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/it-was-a-point-of-good-manners-not-to-sit-with-a-clique-of-the-same/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/it-was-a-point-of-good-manners-not-to-sit-with-a-clique-of-the-same/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```