--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They may have been ugly. They may have…" description: "\"They may have been ugly. They may have been evil. But when it came to poetry in motion, the Things had all the grace and coordination of a deck-chair.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/terry-pratchett-19_chairs_they-may-have-been-ugly-they-may-have-be_611654.jpg" --- # They may have been ugly. They may have been evil. But when… ![“They may have been ugly. They may have been evil. But when it came to poetry in motion, the Things had all the grace and coordination of a deck-chair.” quote by Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/terry-pratchett-19_chairs_they-may-have-been-ugly-they-may-have-be_611654.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/terry-pratchett-19_chairs_they-may-have-been-ugly-they-may-have-be_611654.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/terry-pratchett-19_chairs_they-may-have-been-ugly-they-may-have-be_611654.jpg) > “They may have been ugly. They may have been evil. But when it came to poetry in motion, the Things had all the grace and coordination of a deck-chair.” [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even flawed or malevolent entities can exhibit elegance and coordination in motion. **In simple terms:** Flawed things can move gracefully. Key Takeaway Recognize grace in unexpected places. Themes beauty flaws motion Mood humorous philosophical Type satirical observational When to use this quote - sports - art - daily life Key Concepts grace coordination paradox Questions to Reflect On - What does grace reveal about the source? - Can elegance coexist with evil? A Different Perspective Grace may mask underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [Thus we see, too, in the world that some persons assimilate only what is ugly and evil from the same moral circumstances which supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/thus-we-see-too-in-the-world-that-some-persons-assimilate-only-what/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [ “\[W\]hat is ugly and evil is apt to change and grow milder with time.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton-mythology/w-hat-is-ugly-and-evil-is-apt-to-change-and-grow-milder-with-time/) Edith Hamilton Mythology > [It's very much related to the American tycoon. To William Randolph Hearst, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, that whole stratum of American acquisitive evil. 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Reine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-m-reine/) > [I came to poetry through the urgent need to denounce injustice, exploitation, humiliation. I know that's not enough to change the world. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahar-ben-jelloun/i-came-to-poetry-through-the-urgent-need-to-denounce-injustice/) [Tahar Ben Jelloun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahar-ben-jelloun/) > [I did not have a very literary background. I came to poetry from the sciences and mathematics, and also through an interest in Japanese…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/i-did-not-have-a-very-literary-background-i-came-to-poetry-from-the/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) > [Since the printing press came into being, poetry has ceased to be the delight of the whole community of man; it has become the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/since-the-printing-press-came-into-being-poetry-has-ceased-to-be-the/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [I came to poetry at fourteen, in the middle of a booming oil-rush town in southern Arabia without a single public library: Abu Dhabi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/i-came-to-poetry-at-fourteen-in-the-middle-of-a-booming-oil-rush-town/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) ## More by Terry Pratchett > [“This one’s mental.’ ‘Eccentric.’ ‘What’s the difference?’ ‘A bag of cash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/this-one-s-mental-eccentric-what-s-the-difference-a-bag-of-cash/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“But I did not return until half past four this morning and I distinctly remember stubbing my toe on the stairs. 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Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You can't trust folk songs. They always sneak up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-can-t-trust-folk-songs-they-always-sneak-up-on-you/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Magrat wondered what it was like, spending your whole life doing something you didn’t want to do. Like being dead, she considered, only worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/magrat-wondered-what-it-was-like-spending-your-whole-life-doing/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [A hardback's harder at Christmas time because that's a good hardback buying time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/a-hardback-s-harder-at-christmas-time-because-that-s-a-good-hardback/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There were more old people. The world was full of them,' said the wizard. 'Yes, I know. And now it's full of young people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-were-more-old-people-the-world-was-full-of-them-said-the-wizard/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Hobson was big and heavyset, but not exactly fat; he was probably what you’d get if you shaved a bear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/hobson-was-big-and-heavyset-but-not-exactly-fat-he-was-probably-what/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There is a night that never comes to an end… The clock of the world turns under its own shadow. Midnight is a moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-is-a-night-that-never-comes-to-an-end-the-clock-of-the-world/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You'd like Freedom, Truth, and Justice, wouldn't you, Comrade Sergeant?' said Reg encouragingly. 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I can't detect no trace of fear none whatsoever Roomy cranium all possible videos of all possible outcomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-are-not-apprehensive-are-you-i-can-t-detect-no-trace-of-fear-none/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Imagination, not intelligence, made us human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/imagination-not-intelligence-made-us-human/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Explore all 3,328 Terry Pratchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## More Chairs quotes > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. 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Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Keelhaul the poets in the vestry chairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-shapiro/keelhaul-the-poets-in-the-vestry-chairs/) [Karl Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-shapiro/) > [He's earned all his money himself, with his fists. He didn't steal it like the rest of our politicians. And he'll be less tempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitali-klitschko/he-s-earned-all-his-money-himself-with-his-fists-he-didn-t-steal-it/) [Vitali Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitali-klitschko/) > [Dentists tell you not to pick your teeth with any sharp metal object. 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