--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Saturday afternoon, although occurring at…" description: "\"Saturday afternoon, although occurring at regular and well-foreseen intervals, always takes this railway by surprise.\" — W. S. Gilbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/w-s-gilbert-8102_afternoon_saturday-afternoon-although-occurring-at_1139454.jpg" --- # Saturday afternoon, although occurring at regular and… ![“Saturday afternoon, although occurring at regular and well-foreseen intervals, always takes this railway by surprise.” quote by W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/w-s-gilbert-8102_afternoon_saturday-afternoon-although-occurring-at_1139454.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/w-s-gilbert-8102_afternoon_saturday-afternoon-although-occurring-at_1139454.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/w-s-gilbert-8102_afternoon_saturday-afternoon-although-occurring-at_1139454.jpg) > “Saturday afternoon, although occurring at regular and well-foreseen intervals, always takes this railway by surprise.” [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even routine events can surprise when expectations are fixed. **In simple terms:** Predictable things can still catch you off guard. Key Takeaway Expect the unexpected. Themes routine surprise expectation Mood lighthearted ironic Type literary humorous When to use this quote - daily commute - project planning - weather forecasts Key Concepts literature irony Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay adaptable? - What routines need regular review? A Different Perspective Surprises may stem from complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) [Afternoon Occurring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon-occurring-3169302/) [Foreseen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreseen/) [Intervals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intervals/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Railway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/railway/) [Railway Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/railway-surprise-3169300/) [Saturday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saturday/) [Saturday afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saturday-afternoon/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Takes Railway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/takes-railway-3169301/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [I first learnt to program a computer when I was nine, when my dad got a ZX80, but I think I would have had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suw-charman-anderson/i-first-learnt-to-program-a-computer-when-i-was-nine-when-my-dad-got/) [Suw Charman-Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suw-charman-anderson/) > [And he will manage the cure best who has foreseen what is to happen from the present state of matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/and-he-will-manage-the-cure-best-who-has-foreseen-what-is-to-happen/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [The future of nations cannot be frozen . . . cannot be foreseen. If we are going to accomplish anything in our time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/the-future-of-nations-cannot-be-frozen-cannot-be-foreseen-if-we-are/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [A lot of Democrats have said that raising the minimum wage is both good economics and good politics. The nonpartisan CBO issued a report…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-cupp-2/a-lot-of-democrats-have-said-that-raising-the-minimum-wage-is-both/) [S. E. Cupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-cupp-2/) > [A short story relies on those values that make poetry and jazz what they are: tension, rhythms, inner beat, into unforeseen within foreseen parameters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/a-short-story-relies-on-those-values-that-make-poetry-and-jazz-what/) [Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [In creativity the way will be found for subject to pass into object, the identity of subject with object will be restored. All the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/in-creativity-the-way-will-be-found-for-subject-to-pass-into-object/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [Election is an act of God before creation in which He chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-grudem/election-is-an-act-of-god-before-creation-in-which-he-chooses-some/) [Wayne Grudem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-grudem/) > [Notwithstanding all the care and anxiety of the persons who frame Acts of Parliament to guard against every event, it frequently turns out that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/notwithstanding-all-the-care-and-anxiety-of-the-persons-who-frame/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [O visions ill foreseen! Better had I Liv'd ignorant of future, so had borne My part of evil only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/o-visions-ill-foreseen-better-had-i-liv-d-ignorant-of-future-so-had/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [I came to fantasy fairly late. For some ten years, I had been happily writing fiction and non-fiction for adults. But I always loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/i-came-to-fantasy-fairly-late-for-some-ten-years-i-had-been-happily/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [A lot of people complain in the year 2003 that it's not the world of tomorrow as foreseen in the 1950s. 'Where are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hardwick/a-lot-of-people-complain-in-the-year-2003-that-it-s-not-the-world-of/) [Chris Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hardwick/) > [The modern world needs people with a complex identity who are intellectually autonomous and prepared to cope with uncertainty; who are able to tolerate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-havighurst/the-modern-world-needs-people-with-a-complex-identity-who-are/) [Robert J. Havighurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-havighurst/) > [In a virtuous government, and more especially in times like these, public offices are what they should be - burdens to those appointed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-a-virtuous-government-and-more-especially-in-times-like-these/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“I can foreseen the fulfillment of my the visions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/i-can-foreseen-the-fulfillment-of-my-the-visions/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [But, on more accounts than one, I had had enough of moose-hunting. I had not come to the woods for this purpose, nor had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/but-on-more-accounts-than-one-i-had-had-enough-of-moose-hunting-i-had/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by W. S. Gilbert > [The Law is the true embodiment of everything that's excellent; it has no kind of fault or flaw and I, my Lords, embody the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/the-law-is-the-true-embodiment-of-everything-that-s-excellent-it-has/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [A man is but an ass Who fights in a cuirass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/a-man-is-but-an-ass-who-fights-in-a-cuirass/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [I love my fellow creatures - I do all the good I can - yet everybody says I'm such a disagreeable man!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/i-love-my-fellow-creatures-i-do-all-the-good-i-can-yet-everybody-says/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [The idiot who praises, with enthusiastic tone, All centuries but this, and every country but his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/the-idiot-who-praises-with-enthusiastic-tone-all-centuries-but-this/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [And that singular anomaly, the lady novelist-- I don't think she'd be missed--I'm sure she'd not be missed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/and-that-singular-anomaly-the-lady-novelist-i-don-t-think-she-d-be/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [I am the Captain of the Pinafore ; And a right good captain too! . . . . And I'm never, never sick at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/i-am-the-captain-of-the-pinafore-and-a-right-good-captain-too-and-i-m/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [There's a fascination frantic in a ruin that's romantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/there-s-a-fascination-frantic-in-a-ruin-that-s-romantic/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [Utopia's quite another land; In her enterprising movements, She is England--with improvements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/utopia-s-quite-another-land-in-her-enterprising-movements-she-is/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [Is life a boon? If so, it must befall That Death, whene'er he call, Must call too soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/is-life-a-boon-if-so-it-must-befall-that-death-whene-er-he-call-must/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [every Jack He must study the knack If he wants to make sure of his Jill!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/every-jack-he-must-study-the-knack-if-he-wants-to-make-sure-of-his/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [If I can wheedle A knife or a needle, Why not a Silver Churn?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/if-i-can-wheedle-a-knife-or-a-needle-why-not-a-silver-churn/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [All bayonets are bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/all-bayonets-are-bad/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [The happiest hour a sailor sees Is when he's down At an inland town, With his Nancy on his knees, yo ho! And his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/the-happiest-hour-a-sailor-sees-is-when-he-s-down-at-an-inland-town/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [For duty, duty must be done; The rule applies to everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/for-duty-duty-must-be-done-the-rule-applies-to-everyone/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [Then a sentimental passion of a vegetable fashion must excite your languid spleen, An attachment a la Plato for a bashful young potato, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/then-a-sentimental-passion-of-a-vegetable-fashion-must-excite-your/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) [Explore all 84 W. S. Gilbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) [Ban Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-johnson/) > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Saturday afternoon, although occurring at regular and well-foreseen intervals, always takes this railway by surprise.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. S. Gilbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/saturday-afternoon-although-occurring-at-regular-and-well-foreseen/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afternoon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/saturday-afternoon-although-occurring-at-regular-and-well-foreseen/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/w-s-gilbert-8102_afternoon_saturday-afternoon-although-occurring-at_1139454.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/w-s-gilbert-8102_afternoon_saturday-afternoon-although-occurring-at_1139454.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/w-s-gilbert-8102_afternoon_saturday-afternoon-although-occurring-at_1139454.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Saturday afternoon, although occurring at regular and well-foreseen intervals, always takes this railway by…” — W. S. Gilbert", "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": "W. S. Gilbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Saturday afternoon, although occurring at regular...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/saturday-afternoon-although-occurring-at-regular-and-well-foreseen/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/saturday-afternoon-although-occurring-at-regular-and-well-foreseen/#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 } } ] } ```