---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once, when the minibar boy saw me…"
description: "\"“Once, when the minibar boy saw me promptly dump my receipt in the ashtray, he warned me that I was legally obliged to retain it for the duration of my..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/tim-parks-22093_quote_once-when-the-minibar-boy-saw-me-promptl_1215346.jpg"
---

#  Once, when the minibar boy saw me promptly dump my receipt…

![“Once, when the minibar boy saw me promptly dump my receipt in the ashtray, he warned me that I was legally obliged to retain it for the duration of my journey, as if it was a sort of ticket without which my digestive processes might be subject to sanction.” quote by Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/tim-parks-22093_quote_once-when-the-minibar-boy-saw-me-promptl_1215346.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/tim-parks-22093_quote_once-when-the-minibar-boy-saw-me-promptl_1215346.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/tim-parks-22093_quote_once-when-the-minibar-boy-saw-me-promptl_1215346.jpg)

> ““Once, when the minibar boy saw me promptly dump my receipt in the ashtray, he warned me that I was legally obliged to retain it for the duration of my journey, as if it was a sort of ticket without which my digestive processes might be subject to sanction.””

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A humorous anecdote about a hotel staff member reminding the narrator of a bureaucratic rule regarding receipts, likening it to a ticket for digestion.

**In simple terms:** A staff member jokes about receipt rules like a ticket.

Key Takeaway

Follow rules, but keep humor.

Themes

bureaucracy humor travel

Mood

lighthearted ironic

Type

anecdotal humorous

When to use this quote

- hotel stays
- travel paperwork
- daily interactions

Key Concepts

legal obligations social norms

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you ever notice absurd rules in everyday life?
- How does humor help accept bureaucracy?

A Different Perspective

The rule may be absurd, yet it highlights hidden expectations.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [“Just another day in my life. This was one of those days when I thought that maybe a new life, a different life, wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/just-another-day-in-my-life-this-was-one-of-those-days-when-i-thought/)

[Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/)

> [I know every day is a gift, but where's the receipt for Mondays? I want to exchange it for another Friday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-every-day-is-a-gift-but-where-s-the-receipt-for-mondays-i-want/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“supplies he’d acquired during his eighteen months in Henrietta. Rumpled maps, computer printouts, ever-present journal, flashlight, willow stick. When Gansey plucked a digital recorder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/supplies-he-d-acquired-during-his-eighteen-months-in-henrietta/)

[Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/)

> [Talk is cheap, knew I should've kept the receipt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wale/talk-is-cheap-knew-i-should-ve-kept-the-receipt/)

[Wale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wale/)

> [“We fought over the bill when it came. By fought I mean: I insisted loudly on paying half and he responded with beleaguered silence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid/we-fought-over-the-bill-when-it-came-by-fought-i-mean-i-insisted/)

[Penny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-reid/)

> [You go back and tell Brigham Young that I'll give up the Lord's money when he sends me a receipt signed by the Lord,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-brannan/you-go-back-and-tell-brigham-young-that-i-ll-give-up-the-lord-s-money/)

Samuel Brannan

> [I dont know where you got your looks from, but I hope you kept the receipt!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugs-bunny/i-dont-know-where-you-got-your-looks-from-but-i-hope-you-kept-the/)

[Bugs Bunny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bugs-bunny/)

> [Karma is not a receipt of a physical experience, because of what someone has done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/karma-is-not-a-receipt-of-a-physical-experience-because-of-what/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [To acknowledge the receipt of letters is always proper, to remove doubts of their miscarriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/to-acknowledge-the-receipt-of-letters-is-always-proper-to-remove/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [“It isn't a club," I said calmly. "It's a walking stick." "Six feet long." "It's traditional Ozark folk art." "With dents and nicks all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/it-isn-t-a-club-i-said-calmly-it-s-a-walking-stick-six-feet-long-it-s/)

[Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/)

> [I bought a doughnut and they gave me a receipt for the doughnut... I don't need a receipt for the doughnut. I give you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-bought-a-doughnut-and-they-gave-me-a-receipt-for-the-doughnut-i-don/)

[Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/)

> [I remember the first time I had sex - I kept the receipt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/i-remember-the-first-time-i-had-sex-i-kept-the-receipt/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [I don't need a receipt for a doughnut. I'll just give you the money, and you give me the doughnut. End of transaction! We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-need-a-receipt-for-a-doughnut-i-ll-just-give-you-the-money/)

[Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/)

> [Some people pay a compliment as if they expected a receipt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/some-people-pay-a-compliment-as-if-they-expected-a-receipt/)

[Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/)

> [No, I did not want the receipt, but now that you've asked, I'm getting suspicious. So yes please I want it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/no-i-did-not-want-the-receipt-but-now-that-you-ve-asked-i-m-getting/)

[Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/)

## More by Tim Parks

> [“It was to be, and still is, an absolute staple of the Italian railways, whether public or private, that in some way or other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/it-was-to-be-and-still-is-an-absolute-staple-of-the-italian-railways/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [“A big gloomy space was piled with bags, boxes, suitcases, parcels, umbrellas. There were a few shelves but no apparent order. Some of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/a-big-gloomy-space-was-piled-with-bags-boxes-suitcases-parcels/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [“Government and unions have negotiated a minimum service to be maintained during strikes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/government-and-unions-have-negotiated-a-minimum-service-to-be/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [“And when Deirdre Bair went to interview Beckett for the biography the first thing he said was, ‘So you’ve come to demonstrate that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/and-when-deirdre-bair-went-to-interview-beckett-for-the-biography-the/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [“It makes the nation possible and allows it to remain fragmented, allows people to live double lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/it-makes-the-nation-possible-and-allows-it-to-remain-fragmented/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [“Your ticket says via Pordenone,” he told me. “Don’t you read your documento di viaggio?” I was fascinated. What kind of man is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/your-ticket-says-via-pordenone-he-told-me-don-t-you-read-your/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [Italy is not a country for beginners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/italy-is-not-a-country-for-beginners/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [“In America the lack of investment in train travel speaks eloquently of a country always ready to appear righteous but pathologically averse to surrendering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/in-america-the-lack-of-investment-in-train-travel-speaks-eloquently/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [“It took Descartes to deduce that God would not wish to deceive us. The world must be as it appears to be, the Frenchman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/it-took-descartes-to-deduce-that-god-would-not-wish-to-deceive-us-the/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [ “\[T\]hese three days of meditation have revealed to me that every thought I think is, in one way or another, an ugly, fatuous form… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/t-hese-three-days-of-meditation-have-revealed-to-me-that-every/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [“All writing is a sin against speechlessness,’ Beckett had said. He would have stopped, I thought, if he could.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/all-writing-is-a-sin-against-speechlessness-beckett-had-said-he-would/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [“it was through constructing a network of railways across some of Europe’s most arduous terrain that the newly formed Italian nation won a reputation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/it-was-through-constructing-a-network-of-railways-across-some-of/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [“Prepare for surprises in the second part, where everything changes so that much can remain the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/prepare-for-surprises-in-the-second-part-where-everything-changes-so/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [“However reluctant Italians are to embrace a multiracial society, the old antipathy to government and authority works in favor of the illegal alien.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/however-reluctant-italians-are-to-embrace-a-multiracial-society-the/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

> [Any time one seeks to produce for a larger public one inevitably has to drop material that would only be understood by a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/any-time-one-seeks-to-produce-for-a-larger-public-one-inevitably-has/)

[Tim Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

[Explore all 26 Tim Parks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/)

## More Receipt quotes

> [“Just another day in my life. This was one of those days when I thought that maybe a new life, a different life, wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/just-another-day-in-my-life-this-was-one-of-those-days-when-i-thought/)

[Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/)

> [Some people pay a compliment as if they expected a receipt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/some-people-pay-a-compliment-as-if-they-expected-a-receipt/)

[Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/)

> [I don't need a receipt for a doughnut. I'll just give you the money, and you give me the doughnut. End of transaction! We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-need-a-receipt-for-a-doughnut-i-ll-just-give-you-the-money/)

[Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/)

> [I remember the first time I had sex - I kept the receipt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/i-remember-the-first-time-i-had-sex-i-kept-the-receipt/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [I bought a doughnut and they gave me a receipt for the doughnut... I don't need a receipt for the doughnut. I give you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-bought-a-doughnut-and-they-gave-me-a-receipt-for-the-doughnut-i-don/)

[Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/)

> [“It isn't a club," I said calmly. "It's a walking stick." "Six feet long." "It's traditional Ozark folk art." "With dents and nicks all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/it-isn-t-a-club-i-said-calmly-it-s-a-walking-stick-six-feet-long-it-s/)

[Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/)

> [To acknowledge the receipt of letters is always proper, to remove doubts of their miscarriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/to-acknowledge-the-receipt-of-letters-is-always-proper-to-remove/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [Karma is not a receipt of a physical experience, because of what someone has done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/karma-is-not-a-receipt-of-a-physical-experience-because-of-what/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [I dont know where you got your looks from, but I hope you kept the receipt!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugs-bunny/i-dont-know-where-you-got-your-looks-from-but-i-hope-you-kept-the/)

[Bugs Bunny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bugs-bunny/)

> [You go back and tell Brigham Young that I'll give up the Lord's money when he sends me a receipt signed by the Lord,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-brannan/you-go-back-and-tell-brigham-young-that-i-ll-give-up-the-lord-s-money/)

Samuel Brannan

> [“We fought over the bill when it came. By fought I mean: I insisted loudly on paying half and he responded with beleaguered silence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid/we-fought-over-the-bill-when-it-came-by-fought-i-mean-i-insisted/)

[Penny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-reid/)

> [Talk is cheap, knew I should've kept the receipt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wale/talk-is-cheap-knew-i-should-ve-kept-the-receipt/)

[Wale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wale/)

> [“supplies he’d acquired during his eighteen months in Henrietta. Rumpled maps, computer printouts, ever-present journal, flashlight, willow stick. When Gansey plucked a digital recorder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/supplies-he-d-acquired-during-his-eighteen-months-in-henrietta/)

[Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/)

> [I know every day is a gift, but where's the receipt for Mondays? I want to exchange it for another Friday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-every-day-is-a-gift-but-where-s-the-receipt-for-mondays-i-want/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [No, I did not want the receipt, but now that you've asked, I'm getting suspicious. So yes please I want it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/no-i-did-not-want-the-receipt-but-now-that-you-ve-asked-i-m-getting/)

[Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/)

Browse all 29 Receipt quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Once, when the minibar boy saw me promptly dump my receipt in the ashtray, he warned me that I was legally obliged to retain it for the duration of my journey, as if it was a sort of ticket without which my digestive processes might be subject to sanction.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Tim Parks"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/once-when-the-minibar-boy-saw-me-promptly-dump-my-receipt-in-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Receipt"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/once-when-the-minibar-boy-saw-me-promptly-dump-my-receipt-in-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/tim-parks-22093_quote_once-when-the-minibar-boy-saw-me-promptl_1215346.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/tim-parks-22093_quote_once-when-the-minibar-boy-saw-me-promptl_1215346.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/tim-parks-22093_quote_once-when-the-minibar-boy-saw-me-promptl_1215346.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Once, when the minibar boy saw me promptly dump my receipt in the ashtray, he warned me that I was legally…” — Tim Parks",
                "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": "Tim Parks",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-parks/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Once, when the minibar boy saw...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/once-when-the-minibar-boy-saw-me-promptly-dump-my-receipt-in-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-parks/once-when-the-minibar-boy-saw-me-promptly-dump-my-receipt-in-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```