--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People may say that what I do is very…" description: "\"People may say that what I do is very clever, but it's not really at all. It's not Swift.\" — Rory Bremner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/rory-bremner-9411_clever_people-may-say-that-what-i-do-is-very-cl_15384.jpg" --- # People may say that what I do is very clever, but it's not… ![“People may say that what I do is very clever, but it's not really at all. It's not Swift.” quote by Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/rory-bremner-9411_clever_people-may-say-that-what-i-do-is-very-cl_15384.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/rory-bremner-9411_clever_people-may-say-that-what-i-do-is-very-cl_15384.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/rory-bremner-9411_clever_people-may-say-that-what-i-do-is-very-cl_15384.jpg) > “People may say that what I do is very clever, but it's not really at all. It's not Swift.” [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker downplays their own ingenuity, suggesting their work lacks true brilliance or speed. **In simple terms:** Self‑deprecation about skill Key Takeaway True talent may be modest Themes humility self‑perception modesty creativity effort Mood wry self‑aware Type aphor self‑reflective When to use this quote - self‑assessment - creative work - public speaking Key Concepts identity performance Practical Applications - humor writing - personal branding Questions to Reflect On - How does humility affect perception of ability? - When is modesty advantageous? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [All my life I've wanted, just once, to say something clever without losing my train of thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/all-my-life-i-ve-wanted-just-once-to-say-something-clever-without/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [How clever am I? I'm really quite clever. I mean, look, I've got a first-class degree from Oxford.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-coren/how-clever-am-i-i-m-really-quite-clever-i-mean-look-i-ve-got-a-first/) [Giles Coren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-coren/) > [Most of the people who write to me are really clever, really engaged. 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Tossing her hangs out of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-sell-your-own-wares-then-are-you-clever-at-it-shelby-lifted-her/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/quickly-bring-me-a-beaker-of-wine-so-that-i-may-wet-my-mind-and-say/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“He announces that lately he keeps losing things. "Like your wife and child," I want to say, but don´t. At fourty, I´ve learned not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-finnamore/he-announces-that-lately-he-keeps-losing-things-like-your-wife-and/) [Suzanne Finnamore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-finnamore/) > [“What is it to be witty, then?” “To say clever things.” “And what is cleverness?” “I …” Why was he having this conversation? “I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/what-is-it-to-be-witty-then-to-say-clever-things-and-what-is/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“When I say a clever thing to people they look startled and uncomfortable. I should just like to be quiet for years and years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/when-i-say-a-clever-thing-to-people-they-look-startled-and/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [You and Teacher,” said Molly. “Yes,” said Peter. “She’s very clever. You’ll like her.” “I’m sure,” said Molly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/you-and-teacher-said-molly-yes-said-peter-she-s-very-clever-you-ll/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Man is a rational animal—so at least I have been told. … Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/man-is-a-rational-animal-so-at-least-i-have-been-told-aristotle-so/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [But since the Modernists (as they are commonly and rightly called) employ a very clever artifice, namely, to present their doctrines without order and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-x/but-since-the-modernists-as-they-are-commonly-and-rightly-called/) [Pope Pius X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-x/) > [Audiences are very sophisticated and they know the nuts and bolts of the genre - certainly with horror more than others I think. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reece-shearsmith/audiences-are-very-sophisticated-and-they-know-the-nuts-and-bolts-of/) [Reece Shearsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reece-shearsmith/) > [When you hear a word, think about it, no matter how dull it sounds! Because on the second thought, it may sound very clever!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-hear-a-word-think-about-it-no-matter-how-dull-it-sounds/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) ## More by Rory Bremner > [Now I'm instantly nervous about the demands of doing a weekly column.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/now-i-m-instantly-nervous-about-the-demands-of-doing-a-weekly-column/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [Or the Department of Education and another ministry were worried about duplication of effort, so what did they do? 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I call it plate spinning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/i-think-i-probably-tend-to-make-life-hard-for-myself-by-taking-on-too/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [When you consider what Tony Blair was saying about liberty, human rights and that sort of thing, it would be terribly revolutionary to sell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/when-you-consider-what-tony-blair-was-saying-about-liberty-human/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [I had an Edinburgh, middle-class childhood and a public school education,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/i-had-an-edinburgh-middle-class-childhood-and-a-public-school/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [I'm supposed to be the director of a television company, but I've only ever seen that company as a vehicle for making the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/i-m-supposed-to-be-the-director-of-a-television-company-but-i-ve-only/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [I love the 6 Nations rugby. I feel very Scottish then. I feel very Scottish now, sitting in the middle of Chelsea. But thats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/i-love-the-6-nations-rugby-i-feel-very-scottish-then-i-feel-very/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [Politics now is rather like going into Starbucks for a coffee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/politics-now-is-rather-like-going-into-starbucks-for-a-coffee/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [I've no idea what they make of me. People usually don't recognise themselves in an impression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/i-ve-no-idea-what-they-make-of-me-people-usually-don-t-recognise/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [When I think back to my childhood, it's with a mixture of amusement and embarrassment. I was always forgetting things. My mum called me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/when-i-think-back-to-my-childhood-it-s-with-a-mixture-of-amusement/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [I don't have olive skin. Nobody could tell from my skin that I'm Mediterranean. I'm quite fair, and I do burn easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/i-don-t-have-olive-skin-nobody-could-tell-from-my-skin-that-i-m/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) [Explore all 73 Rory Bremner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) ## More Clever quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“There was once an old but clever donkey, who never liked the sting of any bee, Nor for all the Slung mud, did he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyavrat-thareja/there-was-once-an-old-but-clever-donkey-who-never-liked-the-sting-of/) [Priyavrat Thareja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyavrat-thareja/) > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [If she is stupid enough to let you go, you're clever enough not to look back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-she-is-stupid-enough-to-let-you-go-you-re-clever-enough-not-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Need to go to the pharmacy, because I'm so sick!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-matthews/need-to-go-to-the-pharmacy-because-i-m-so-sick/) Tasha Matthews > [My valour is certainly going! - it is sneaking off! - I feel it oozing out as it were at the palms of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/my-valour-is-certainly-going-it-is-sneaking-off-i-feel-it-oozing-out/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > ['I Love You' fails to sum up all the memories, smiles, laughs, trials, and tribulations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/i-love-you-fails-to-sum-up-all-the-memories-smiles-laughs-trials-and/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I'd done that ... even if I didn't make it, you wouldn't've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-do-remember-what-i-said-the-promise-to-protect-her-if-i-d-done-that/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [“Regrets are like mistresses," he informed her. "I ..." Her hand dropped from the handle. "What?" "Good men don't have them." 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