--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cole was meticulous to a fault; office…" description: "\"“Cole was meticulous to a fault; office scuttlebut had it that he never went out in public without first having his shoelaces ironed.”\" — Robert Littell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/robert-littell-33003_shoelaces_cole-was-meticulous-to-a-fault-office-sc_834023.jpg" --- # Cole was meticulous to a fault; office scuttlebut had it… ![“Cole was meticulous to a fault; office scuttlebut had it that he never went out in public without first having his shoelaces ironed.” quote by Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/robert-littell-33003_shoelaces_cole-was-meticulous-to-a-fault-office-sc_834023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/robert-littell-33003_shoelaces_cole-was-meticulous-to-a-fault-office-sc_834023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/robert-littell-33003_shoelaces_cole-was-meticulous-to-a-fault-office-sc_834023.jpg) > ““Cole was meticulous to a fault; office scuttlebut had it that he never went out in public without first having his shoelaces ironed.”” [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cole’s obsessive attention to detail extended even to ironing his shoelaces. **In simple terms:** Obsessive perfectionism in trivial matters. Key Takeaway Recognize when detail becomes counterproductive. Themes character study humor obsessiveness Mood humorous critical Type character analysis satire When to use this quote - office dynamics - personal relationships - self‑assessment Key Concepts perfectionism social awkwardness eccentricity Questions to Reflect On - When does attention to detail become a hindrance? - How can you balance quality with practicality? A Different Perspective Excessive perfectionism can hinder productivity and social ease. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [I've loved men that wear un-ironed clothes, it doesn't make me fall out of love. When you love someone, you should see beyond their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-kurylenko/i-ve-loved-men-that-wear-un-ironed-clothes-it-doesn-t-make-me-fall/) [Olga Kurylenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-kurylenko/) > [My hair is very straight - people always think that I've ironed it when I get to set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-ratajkowski/my-hair-is-very-straight-people-always-think-that-i-ve-ironed-it-when/) [Emily Ratajkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-ratajkowski/) > [...she starched and ironed her face, forming it into just what people wanted to see...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/she-starched-and-ironed-her-face-forming-it-into-just-what-people/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [“I’ll be washed and ironed. I’ll be washed and ironed and starched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/i-ll-be-washed-and-ironed-i-ll-be-washed-and-ironed-and-starched/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [I see no reason to have my shirts ironed. It's irrational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/i-see-no-reason-to-have-my-shirts-ironed-it-s-irrational/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [She already got the blue dress on I ironed this morning, the one with sixty-five pleats on the waist, so tiny I got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/she-already-got-the-blue-dress-on-i-ironed-this-morning-the-one-with/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [I always insist on my jeans being ironed. Is that a problem?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-connors/i-always-insist-on-my-jeans-being-ironed-is-that-a-problem/) [Jimmy Connors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-connors/) > [I had never ironed anything in my life. The proper pressing of a shirt was a mystery of the universe akin to black holes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/i-had-never-ironed-anything-in-my-life-the-proper-pressing-of-a-shirt/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [When something needs to be ironed I put it in the ironing basket. If a year goes by and the item is still in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/when-something-needs-to-be-ironed-i-put-it-in-the-ironing-basket-if-a/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [“I like to have my morning newspaper ironed before I read it. I like to have my shoes boned before they are polished. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/i-like-to-have-my-morning-newspaper-ironed-before-i-read-it-i-like-to/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [“Sure, I want to look like I’m worth the ef­fort. Washed but not ironed. Clean but not pol­ished. Con­fi­dent but hum­ble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/sure-i-want-to-look-like-i-m-worth-the-ef-fort-washed-but-not-ironed/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“THE HOUSE straightened up and then go on and fix some of that chicken salad now,” say Miss Leefolt. It’s bridge club day. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/the-house-straightened-up-and-then-go-on-and-fix-some-of-that-chicken/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [Having all your dress clothes ironed and on, then your body is like: I gotta pee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crapp/having-all-your-dress-clothes-ironed-and-on-then-your-body-is-like-i/) [Crapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crapp/) > [Delicate fabrics should not be ironed. But if you don't have a steamer, next time you take a hot shower hang the item in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-o-porter/delicate-fabrics-should-not-be-ironed-but-if-you-don-t-have-a-steamer/) [Dawn O'Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-o-porter/) > [Switzerland would me a mighty big place if it were ironed flat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/switzerland-would-me-a-mighty-big-place-if-it-were-ironed-flat/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Robert Littell > [Fill your pages with details. Work hard to get the right word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/fill-your-pages-with-details-work-hard-to-get-the-right-word/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [“To the success of our hopeless cause”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/to-the-success-of-our-hopeless-cause/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [“Life is short,” I told her. “The challenge is to make it sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/life-is-short-i-told-her-the-challenge-is-to-make-it-sweet/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [“The difference between and amateur and a professional.. a professional believes if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well. An amateur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/the-difference-between-and-amateur-and-a-professional-a-professional/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [For me, Fitzgerald was one of the great American writers of the last century; a wordsmith, a storyteller, a perfectionist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/for-me-fitzgerald-was-one-of-the-great-american-writers-of-the-last/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [I am not conventionally religious, but I am an ongoing student of the Old and the New Testament and the history of the Jewish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/i-am-not-conventionally-religious-but-i-am-an-ongoing-student-of-the/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [“Everything, as Mr. Yul Brynner used to tell us six nights a week and Saturday matinees, is a puzzlement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/everything-as-mr-yul-brynner-used-to-tell-us-six-nights-a-week-and/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [I am an amateur mountain climber. Once or twice a year I go off to Chamonix in the French Alps, under Mont Blanc, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/i-am-an-amateur-mountain-climber-once-or-twice-a-year-i-go-off-to/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [“I am a bookworm. For play, I bury myself in the corners of libraries and read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/i-am-a-bookworm-for-play-i-bury-myself-in-the-corners-of-libraries/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [“The conversation had gotten off on the wrong foot and she knew it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/the-conversation-had-gotten-off-on-the-wrong-foot-and-she-knew-it/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [When people ask me if I have worked for the C.I.A., I often answer: what good to you is my answer? Because if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/when-people-ask-me-if-i-have-worked-for-the-c-i-a-i-often-answer-what/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [The poetry of Walt Whitman. I can return again and again to these magnificent poems and still get pleasure from reading them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/the-poetry-of-walt-whitman-i-can-return-again-and-again-to-these/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [“We need to take our cue from the drug dealers in Hoboken who, when they reach twenty, go to the local undertaker and prepay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/we-need-to-take-our-cue-from-the-drug-dealers-in-hoboken-who-when/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) > [Mark Twain said, 'The right word is to the nearly right word as lightning is to the lightning bug.' Fill your book with lightning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/mark-twain-said-the-right-word-is-to-the-nearly-right-word-as/) [Robert Littell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) [Explore all 15 Robert Littell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/) ## More Shoelaces quotes > [My youngest sister, Cindy, has Down syndrome, and I remember my mother spending hours and hours with her, teaching her to tie her shoelaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chua/my-youngest-sister-cindy-has-down-syndrome-and-i-remember-my-mother/) [Amy Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chua/) > [I wear football socks and I actually tape my shoelaces to my socks. I don't like anything to be putting me off. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-smith/i-wear-football-socks-and-i-actually-tape-my-shoelaces-to-my-socks-i/) [Steve Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-smith/) > [A grandparent will help you with your buttons, your zippers, and your shoelaces and not be in any hurry for you to grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/a-grandparent-will-help-you-with-your-buttons-your-zippers-and-your/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/you-know-you-re-getting-old-when-you-stoop-to-tie-your-shoelaces-and/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Tie jingle bells on your kid's shoelaces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/tie-jingle-bells-on-your-kid-s-shoelaces/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We did make use, from time to time, of candles, neckties, scarves, shoelaces, a little water-color paintbrush, her hairbrush, butter, whipped cream, strawberry jam,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/we-did-make-use-from-time-to-time-of-candles-neckties-scarves/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [Kids can make fun of you for having the wrong shoelaces: that's just kids. But I don't think I had any trouble making friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ronson/kids-can-make-fun-of-you-for-having-the-wrong-shoelaces-that-s-just/) [Mark Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ronson/) > [Life's a trip, don't forget to tie your shoelaces!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-a-trip-don-t-forget-to-tie-your-shoelaces/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In my rush, I hadn’t tied my shoelaces. Noah was now tying them for me. He looked up at me through his dark fringe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-hodkin/in-my-rush-i-hadn-t-tied-my-shoelaces-noah-was-now-tying-them-for-me/) [Michelle Hodkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-hodkin/) > [I could've died because you had to tie your shoelace?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/i-could-ve-died-because-you-had-to-tie-your-shoelace/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [I quit shoelaces a long time ago..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-styles/i-quit-shoelaces-a-long-time-ago/) [Harry Styles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-styles/) > [Here, let me tie your shoelaces, so you won't be fall for anyone else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-flores/here-let-me-tie-your-shoelaces-so-you-won-t-be-fall-for-anyone-else/) [Lara Flores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-flores/) > [Historians who stuff in every item of research they have found, every shoelace and telephone call of a biographical subject, are not doing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/historians-who-stuff-in-every-item-of-research-they-have-found-every/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I checked my gear, my pockets, my shoelaces, and realized that I had crossed the line between making sure I was ready and trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/i-checked-my-gear-my-pockets-my-shoelaces-and-realized-that-i-had/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“I pull my scarf forward to hide the blonde streaks of my hair and avoid using my hands - the giveaway of a European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-klinec/i-pull-my-scarf-forward-to-hide-the-blonde-streaks-of-my-hair-and/) [Jennifer Klinec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-klinec/) Browse all 53 Shoelaces quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Cole was meticulous to a fault; office scuttlebut had it that he never went out in public without first having his shoelaces ironed.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Littell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/cole-was-meticulous-to-a-fault-office-scuttlebut-had-it-that-he-never/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Shoelaces" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/cole-was-meticulous-to-a-fault-office-scuttlebut-had-it-that-he-never/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/robert-littell-33003_shoelaces_cole-was-meticulous-to-a-fault-office-sc_834023.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/robert-littell-33003_shoelaces_cole-was-meticulous-to-a-fault-office-sc_834023.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/robert-littell-33003_shoelaces_cole-was-meticulous-to-a-fault-office-sc_834023.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cole was meticulous to a fault; office scuttlebut had it that he never went out in public without first…” — Robert Littell", "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": "Robert Littell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-littell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Cole was meticulous to a fault;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/cole-was-meticulous-to-a-fault-office-scuttlebut-had-it-that-he-never/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-littell/cole-was-meticulous-to-a-fault-office-scuttlebut-had-it-that-he-never/#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 } } ] } ```