--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Queen Mary had a way of interrupting…" description: "\"Queen Mary had a way of interrupting tattle about elopements, duels, and play debts, by asking the tattlers, very quietly yet significantly, whether th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/406/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_asking_queen-mary-had-a-way-of-interrupting-tat_3115076.png" --- # Queen Mary had a way of interrupting tattle about… ![“Queen Mary had a way of interrupting tattle about elopements, duels, and play debts, by asking the tattlers, very quietly yet significantly, whether they had ever read her favorite sermon--Dr. Tillotson on Evil Speaking.” quote by Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/406/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_asking_queen-mary-had-a-way-of-interrupting-tat_3115076.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/406/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_asking_queen-mary-had-a-way-of-interrupting-tat_3115076.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/406/thomas-b-macaulay-1980_asking_queen-mary-had-a-way-of-interrupting-tat_3115076.png) > “Queen Mary had a way of interrupting tattle about elopements, duels, and play debts, by asking the tattlers, very quietly yet significantly, whether they had ever read her favorite sermon--Dr. Tillotson on Evil Speaking.” [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She subtly redirects gossip by probing whether listeners have engaged with a moral sermon, using quiet questioning to shift focus from scandal to reflection. **In simple terms:** She asks if they read a moral sermon to change the conversation. Key Takeaway Use quiet questions to steer talk toward deeper values. Themes communication morality social dynamics Mood thoughtful calm Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - social clubs - online forums - public debates Key Concepts gossip control ethical prompting Questions to Reflect On - How can subtle questioning reveal hidden values? - When is it appropriate to redirect gossip? A Different Perspective May not work if listeners resist introspection or lack interest in the sermon. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Scandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scandal/) [Sermons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sermons/) ## Related quotes > [“Snow crunched under the feet of three cloaked figures – a queen, her lady, and a gravedigger – as they hurried along a moonlit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kyle/snow-crunched-under-the-feet-of-three-cloaked-figures-a-queen-her/) [Barbara Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kyle/) > [The Queen Mary was the most civilized and luxurious way one could travel to America in the late 1930s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-o-hara/the-queen-mary-was-the-most-civilized-and-luxurious-way-one-could/) [Maureen O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-o-hara/) > [The difference between Everton and the Queen Mary is that Everton carry more passengers!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-shankly/the-difference-between-everton-and-the-queen-mary-is-that-everton/) [Bill Shankly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-shankly/) > [Italy, my Italy! Queen Mary's saying serves for me (When fortune's malice Lost her Calais): "Open my heart, and you will see Graved inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/italy-my-italy-queen-mary-s-saying-serves-for-me-when-fortune-s/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [“Myr, your mole is interrupting my solo”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-cunning/myr-your-mole-is-interrupting-my-solo/) [Olivia Cunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-cunning/) > [“If you have ever experienced this type of unprofessional treatment, I doubt you would even consider giving them business in the future. Interrupting, ignoring,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/if-you-have-ever-experienced-this-type-of-unprofessional-treatment-i/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/selling-to-people-who-actually-want-to-hear-from-you-is-more/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“At a small dinner with other business executives, the guest of honor spoke the entire time without taking a breath. This meant that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/at-a-small-dinner-with-other-business-executives-the-guest-of-honor/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [The fact that I am interrupting serious work to answer these questions proves that I am so stupid that I should be penalized severely.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-fact-that-i-am-interrupting-serious-work-to-answer-these/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [That's the trouble with a politician's life-somebody is always interrupting it with an election.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/that-s-the-trouble-with-a-politician-s-life-somebody-is-always/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [“Look,” said Chains. “I don’t want to spend the rest of the day interrupting your questions, so I’m going to temporarily forget how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-lynch/look-said-chains-i-don-t-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-the-day/) Scot Lynch > [“Interrupting a man when he’s discussing his profession is like telling him what he has to say isn’t important. Besides, you never learn anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dugoni/interrupting-a-man-when-he-s-discussing-his-profession-is-like/) [Robert Dugoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dugoni/) > [Writers get exactly the right amount of fame: just enough to get a good table in a restaurant but not enough so that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/writers-get-exactly-the-right-amount-of-fame-just-enough-to-get-a/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [“It is unimpressive to interrupt another person while they are talking. Interrupting someone in mid-sentence demonstrates that your focus is on yourself, not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/it-is-unimpressive-to-interrupt-another-person-while-they-are-talking/) [Susan C. 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Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [None of the modes by which a magistrate is appointed, popular election, the accident of the lot, or the accident of birth, affords, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/none-of-the-modes-by-which-a-magistrate-is-appointed-popular-election/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Our estimate of a character always depends much on the manner in which that character affects our own interests and passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/our-estimate-of-a-character-always-depends-much-on-the-manner-in/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Re: Robert Montgomery's Poems His writing bears the same relation to poetry which a Turkey carpet bears to a picture. There are colours in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/re-robert-montgomery-s-poems-his-writing-bears-the-same-relation-to/) [Thomas B. 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Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Oh, wherefore come ye forth in triumph from the north, With your hands, and your feet, and your raiment all red? And wherefore doth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/oh-wherefore-come-ye-forth-in-triumph-from-the-north-with-your-hands/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [It is, I believe, no exaggeration to say that all the historical information which has been collected in the Sanskrit language is less valuable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/it-is-i-believe-no-exaggeration-to-say-that-all-the-historical/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Ambrose Phillips . . . who had the honor of bringing into fashion a species of composition which has been called, after his name, Namby Pamby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/ambrose-phillips-who-had-the-honor-of-bringing-into-fashion-a-species/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-the-infancy-of-civilization-when-our-island-was-as-savage-as-new/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [In truth it may be laid down as an almost universal rule that good poets are bad critics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-truth-it-may-be-laid-down-as-an-almost-universal-rule-that-good/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [He had a head which statuaries loved to copy, and a foot the deformity of which the beggars in the streets mimicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/he-had-a-head-which-statuaries-loved-to-copy-and-a-foot-the-deformity/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [The Spartan, smiting and spurning the wretched Helot, moves our disgust. But the same Spartan, calmly dressing his hair, and uttering his concise jests,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/the-spartan-smiting-and-spurning-the-wretched-helot-moves-our-disgust/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) [Explore all 193 Thomas B. Macaulay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) ## More Asking quotes > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? 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And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Stop asking yourself how or why and tell yourself you can." - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/stop-asking-yourself-how-or-why-and-tell-yourself-you-can-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I'm not asking people to feel sorry for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/i-m-not-asking-people-to-feel-sorry-for-me/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. 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Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) Browse all 3,313 Asking quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Queen Mary had a way of interrupting tattle about elopements, duels, and play debts, by asking the tattlers, very quietly yet significantly, whether they had ever read her favorite sermon--Dr. Tillotson on Evil Speaking.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas B. 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