--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In my estimation, the only thing that is…" description: "\"In my estimation, the only thing that is more to be guarded against than bad taste is good taste.\" — Russell Lynes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/russell-lynes-14222_bad-taste_in-my-estimation-the-only-thing-that-is_1814752.png" --- # In my estimation, the only thing that is more to be… ![“In my estimation, the only thing that is more to be guarded against than bad taste is good taste.” quote by Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/russell-lynes-14222_bad-taste_in-my-estimation-the-only-thing-that-is_1814752.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/russell-lynes-14222_bad-taste_in-my-estimation-the-only-thing-that-is_1814752.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/russell-lynes-14222_bad-taste_in-my-estimation-the-only-thing-that-is_1814752.png) > “In my estimation, the only thing that is more to be guarded against than bad taste is good taste.” [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good taste can be more dangerous than bad taste because it can mask poor judgment. **In simple terms:** Good taste may hide bad judgment. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about popular preferences. Themes taste judgment culture Mood critical analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - fashion critique - marketing - personal style - media consumption Key Concepts aesthetic standards social conformity Questions to Reflect On - How does popular taste influence your choices? - When should you challenge conventional aesthetics? A Different Perspective Good taste may still lead to poor decisions if unexamined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-taste/) [Estimation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/estimation/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-taste/) [Guarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guarded/) [Guarded Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guarded-bad-2144440/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/) [Taste Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste-good/) ## Related quotes > [To understand bad taste one must have very good taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/to-understand-bad-taste-one-must-have-very-good-taste/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [They have bad taste. I am not a good-looking guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-joe-armstrong/they-have-bad-taste-i-am-not-a-good-looking-guy/) [Billie Joe Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-joe-armstrong/) > [It is good taste, and good taste alone, that possesses the power to sterilize and is always the first handicap to any creative functioning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/it-is-good-taste-and-good-taste-alone-that-possesses-the-power-to/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Food has to look good, it has to taste good and it has to be good for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-adams/food-has-to-look-good-it-has-to-taste-good-and-it-has-to-be-good-for/) [Eric Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-adams/) > [“Food that's good for you should taste good! ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norene-gilletz/food-that-s-good-for-you-should-taste-good/) [Norene Gilletz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norene-gilletz/) > [Good taste" is a virtue of the keepers of museums. If you scorn bad taste, you will have neither painting nor dancing, neither palaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/good-taste-is-a-virtue-of-the-keepers-of-museums-if-you-scorn-bad/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [The kind of people who always go on about whether a thing is in good taste invariably have very bad taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-orton/the-kind-of-people-who-always-go-on-about-whether-a-thing-is-in-good/) [Joe Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-orton/) > [As soon as you're interested in what is good taste, then you're in bad taste land already. What's comfortable and what represents your life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goldblum/as-soon-as-you-re-interested-in-what-is-good-taste-then-you-re-in-bad/) [Jeff Goldblum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goldblum/) > [I suppose that I was a kind of consultant for taste. Is it good taste? Or bad taste? I had an attention to detail,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hench/i-suppose-that-i-was-a-kind-of-consultant-for-taste-is-it-good-taste/) [John Hench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hench/) > [In San Francisco, vulgarity, "bad taste," ostentation are regarded as a kind of alien blight, an invasion or encroachment from outside. In Los Angeles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/in-san-francisco-vulgarity-bad-taste-ostentation-are-regarded-as-a/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [One is born with good taste. It's very hard to acquire. You can acquire the patina of taste. But what Elsie Mendl had was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/one-is-born-with-good-taste-it-s-very-hard-to-acquire-you-can-acquire/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [I believe that bad taste is vulgar. It's like cursing. I think the world can be saved through design, because what is the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/i-believe-that-bad-taste-is-vulgar-it-s-like-cursing-i-think-the/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [You can't say you're going to ban something in the name of good taste, because then you have directed someone to play the role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-can-t-say-you-re-going-to-ban-something-in-the-name-of-good-taste/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“When you have dinner with the Devil, you learn that either you have good taste or that you have bad taste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-suggs/when-you-have-dinner-with-the-devil-you-learn-that-either-you-have/) [Lionel Suggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-suggs/) > [Good taste is better than bad taste, but bad taste is better than no taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/good-taste-is-better-than-bad-taste-but-bad-taste-is-better-than-no/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) ## More by Russell Lynes > [Friends never make assumptions about you. They never expect a reason to go out with you. In fact friends only expect you to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/friends-never-make-assumptions-about-you-they-never-expect-a-reason/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [Wasting time is negative, but there is something positive about idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/wasting-time-is-negative-but-there-is-something-positive-about/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [When it gets dark enough you can see the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/when-it-gets-dark-enough-you-can-see-the-stars/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [No author dislikes to be edited as much as he dislikes not to be published.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/no-author-dislikes-to-be-edited-as-much-as-he-dislikes-not-to-be/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [Are you always this stupid or are you making a special effort today?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/are-you-always-this-stupid-or-are-you-making-a-special-effort-today/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [Improvisation was the blood and bone of jazz, and in the classic, New Orleans jazz it was collective improvisation in which each performer, seemingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/improvisation-was-the-blood-and-bone-of-jazz-and-in-the-classic-new/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [What we are headed for is a sort of social structure in which the highbrows are the elite, the middlebrows are the bourgeoisie and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/what-we-are-headed-for-is-a-sort-of-social-structure-in-which-the/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [Hi there, I'm a human being! What are you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/hi-there-i-m-a-human-being-what-are-you/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [The bungalow had more to do with how Americans live today than any other building that has gone remotely by the name of architecture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/the-bungalow-had-more-to-do-with-how-americans-live-today-than-any/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [The shaping of taste is essentially the science of merchandising, whether of detergents or cars or books or objects of fine and decorative art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/the-shaping-of-taste-is-essentially-the-science-of-merchandising/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [It is always well to accept your own shortcomings with candor but to regard those of your friends with polite incredulity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/it-is-always-well-to-accept-your-own-shortcomings-with-candor-but-to/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [The true snob never rests; there is always a higher goal to attain, and there are, by the same token, always more and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/the-true-snob-never-rests-there-is-always-a-higher-goal-to-attain-and/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [The Good Quality Snob, or wearer of muted tweeds, cut almost exactly the same from year to year, often with a hat of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/the-good-quality-snob-or-wearer-of-muted-tweeds-cut-almost-exactly/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/every-journalist-has-a-novel-in-him-which-is-an-excellent-place-for-it/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [A lady is a woman who makes a man behave like a gentleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/a-lady-is-a-woman-who-makes-a-man-behave-like-a-gentleman/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) [Explore all 47 Russell Lynes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) ## More Bad taste quotes > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [The Derby experience had not been good for me and the way it finished left a very bad taste in my mouth so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-pearson/the-derby-experience-had-not-been-good-for-me-and-the-way-it-finished/) [Nigel Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-pearson/) > [Good taste is better than bad taste, but bad taste is better than no taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/good-taste-is-better-than-bad-taste-but-bad-taste-is-better-than-no/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [“Others praise ceremonial Magic, and are supposed to suffer much Ecstasy! Our asylums are crowded, the stage is over-run! Is it by symbolizing we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare-2/others-praise-ceremonial-magic-and-are-supposed-to-suffer-much/) [Austin Osman, Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare-2/) > [Salvador Dali has been called kitsch, but, although some of this work may be grotesque, its brazenly self-conscious bad taste saves it from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-dutton/salvador-dali-has-been-called-kitsch-but-although-some-of-this-work/) [Denis Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-dutton/) > [“Bryan gaped, as though that was more than he'd been expecting. "Oh. Okay. Well, um, there's a silent film festival downtown next week. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/bryan-gaped-as-though-that-was-more-than-he-d-been-expecting-oh-okay/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“lack, or loutish and crass kollective is a program dedicated to the proposition that vulgarity and bad taste are an inalienable right. the lackies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/lack-or-loutish-and-crass-kollective-is-a-program-dedicated-to-the/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [It's not about doing over the living room of someone who has bad taste in color. This is about restoring historic buildings and instilling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-gorder/it-s-not-about-doing-over-the-living-room-of-someone-who-has-bad/) [Genevieve Gorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-gorder/) > [The kind of people who always go on about whether a thing is in good taste invariably have very bad taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-orton/the-kind-of-people-who-always-go-on-about-whether-a-thing-is-in-good/) [Joe Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-orton/) > [“Life is too short for bad taste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-russell/life-is-too-short-for-bad-taste/) [Glenn Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-russell/) > [If you give a little credit to the concept of the artist, I think you ought to indulge excesses a bit, because that reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/if-you-give-a-little-credit-to-the-concept-of-the-artist-i-think-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [The line between humor and bad taste is your audience, in which some people will find everything offensive, and some people will find nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mankoff/the-line-between-humor-and-bad-taste-is-your-audience-in-which-some/) [Robert Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mankoff/) > [This is going to leave a bad taste in a lot of people's eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-day-hicks/this-is-going-to-leave-a-bad-taste-in-a-lot-of-people-s-eyes/) [Louise Day Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-day-hicks/) > [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/) > ['Bad Taste' was - it was, in many respects, my sort of, my, I guess, my single-minded desire to want to break into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/bad-taste-was-it-was-in-many-respects-my-sort-of-my-i-guess-my-single/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) [Browse all 230 Bad taste quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-taste/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In my estimation, the only thing that is more to be guarded against than bad taste is good taste.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Russell Lynes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/in-my-estimation-the-only-thing-that-is-more-to-be-guarded-against/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad taste" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/in-my-estimation-the-only-thing-that-is-more-to-be-guarded-against/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/russell-lynes-14222_bad-taste_in-my-estimation-the-only-thing-that-is_1814752.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/russell-lynes-14222_bad-taste_in-my-estimation-the-only-thing-that-is_1814752.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/russell-lynes-14222_bad-taste_in-my-estimation-the-only-thing-that-is_1814752.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In my estimation, the only thing that is more to be guarded against than bad taste is good taste.” — Russell Lynes", "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": "Russell Lynes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In my estimation, the only thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/in-my-estimation-the-only-thing-that-is-more-to-be-guarded-against/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/in-my-estimation-the-only-thing-that-is-more-to-be-guarded-against/#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 } } ] } ```