--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Vaguely, as when you are studying a…" description: "\"Vaguely, as when you are studying a foreign language and read a page which at first you can make nothing of, till a word or a sentence gives you a clue..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ee/w-somerset-maugham-237_clue_vaguely-as-when-you-are-studying-a-forei_873993.jpg" --- # Vaguely, as when you are studying a foreign language and… ![“Vaguely, as when you are studying a foreign language and read a page which at first you can make nothing of, till a word or a sentence gives you a clue; and on a sudden suspicion, as it were, of the sense flashes across your troubled wits, vaguely she gained an inkling into the workings of…” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ee/w-somerset-maugham-237_clue_vaguely-as-when-you-are-studying-a-forei_873993.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ee/w-somerset-maugham-237_clue_vaguely-as-when-you-are-studying-a-forei_873993.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ee/w-somerset-maugham-237_clue_vaguely-as-when-you-are-studying-a-forei_873993.jpg) > “Vaguely, as when you are studying a foreign language and read a page which at first you can make nothing of, till a word or a sentence gives you a clue; and on a sudden suspicion, as it were, of the sense flashes across your troubled wits, vaguely she gained an inkling into the workings of Walter's mind. It was like a dark and ominous landscape seen by a flash of lightning and in a moment hidden again by the night. She shuddered at what she saw.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding another mind can suddenly click when a small clue unlocks a larger picture, turning confusion into insight. **In simple terms:** A small clue can reveal a larger truth. Key Takeaway Seek clues and be patient for insight. Themes perception insight empathy learning Mood curious reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading foreign texts - studying complex ideas - solving puzzles - teaching - personal growth Key Concepts cognitive resonance literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - What small clue could unlock your current confusion? - How do you handle sudden insights that fade quickly? A Different Perspective Insights may be fleeting and require sustained effort to fully grasp. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Foreign language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-language/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Lightning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lightning/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Suspicion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicion/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [Obama can't change his cool disposition, though it would be nice if he lost the vaguely grudging air he gives off that problems of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-brown/obama-can-t-change-his-cool-disposition-though-it-would-be-nice-if-he/) [Tina Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-brown/) > [“struck him as vaguely familiar: “Do you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-riddle/struck-him-as-vaguely-familiar-do-you/) [A.G. Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-riddle/) > [People had always vaguely mentioned that when you have children, how part of your life would stop. But they don't say that some other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/people-had-always-vaguely-mentioned-that-when-you-have-children-how/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [At my advanced age, I know I am not an anti-Semite, not even vaguely or remotely, but others would seem to know better, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/at-my-advanced-age-i-know-i-am-not-an-anti-semite-not-even-vaguely-or/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [If parents are the fixed stars in the child's universe, the vaguely understood, distant but constant celestial spheres, siblings are the dazzling, sometimes scorching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/if-parents-are-the-fixed-stars-in-the-child-s-universe-the-vaguely/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [“I would rather be vaguely right than precisely wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/i-would-rather-be-vaguely-right-than-precisely-wrong/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [I have vaguely entertained the idea of learning how to use the Internet and email. It looks easy, but I'm sure it's harder than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-freud/i-have-vaguely-entertained-the-idea-of-learning-how-to-use-the/) [Bella Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-freud/) > [The thing I hate most is false modesty. The artists who are, like, 'Oh, you know, I'm really not that good. Oh, I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/the-thing-i-hate-most-is-false-modesty-the-artists-who-are-like-oh/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I was vaguely aware that people used to hijack planes to Cuba. But I didn't know much about how often it happened and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-i-koerner/i-was-vaguely-aware-that-people-used-to-hijack-planes-to-cuba-but-i/) [Brendan I. Koerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-i-koerner/) > [I'm vaguely embarrassed by myself sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-vaguely-embarrassed-by-myself-sometimes/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“I'd always vaguely expected to outgrown my limitations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/i-d-always-vaguely-expected-to-outgrown-my-limitations/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [If I go anywhere where there are people who vaguely look like me, there is always that feeling of, 'Actually I do look quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjeev-bhaskar/if-i-go-anywhere-where-there-are-people-who-vaguely-look-like-me/) [Sanjeev Bhaskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjeev-bhaskar/) > [Thoughts there are, that need no embodying, no form, no expression. 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Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. 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It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. 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Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Clue quotes > [If people in Indonesia look 'different', they are afraid. Racist insults fly if someone does not look like part of the majority. Indonesia is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/if-people-in-indonesia-look-different-they-are-afraid-racist-insults/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [There's too many people in seats of power who just haven't got a clue what they're doing. They're bean counters, and it just pisses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/there-s-too-many-people-in-seats-of-power-who-just-haven-t-got-a-clue/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [Think you figured it out, but you don't have a clue. 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That’s a clue to what you should be doing and of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-vitale/ask-yourself-what-you-would-do-even-if-you-were-never-paid-that-s-a/) [Joe Vitale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-vitale/) Browse all 627 Clue quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Vaguely, as when you are studying a foreign language and read a page which at first you can make nothing of, till a word or a sentence gives you a clue; and on a sudden suspicion, as it were, of the sense flashes across your troubled wits, vaguely she gained an inkling into the workings of Walter's mind. It was like a dark and ominous landscape seen by a flash of lightning and in a moment hidden again by the night. She shuddered at what she saw.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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