---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The man that gets drunk is little else…"
description: "\"The man that gets drunk is little else than a fool, And is in the habit, no doubt, of advocating for Home Rule; But the best Home Rule for him, as far ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-topaz-mcgonagall-85563_abolition_the-man-that-gets-drunk-is-little-else-t_2477158.jpg"
---

#  The man that gets drunk is little else than a fool, And is…

![“The man that gets drunk is little else than a fool, And is in the habit, no doubt, of advocating for Home Rule; But the best Home Rule for him, as far as I can understand, Is the abolition of strong drink from the land.” quote by William Topaz McGonagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-topaz-mcgonagall-85563_abolition_the-man-that-gets-drunk-is-little-else-t_2477158.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-topaz-mcgonagall-85563_abolition_the-man-that-gets-drunk-is-little-else-t_2477158.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-topaz-mcgonagall-85563_abolition_the-man-that-gets-drunk-is-little-else-t_2477158.jpg)

> “The man that gets drunk is little else than a fool, And is in the habit, no doubt, of advocating for Home Rule; But the best Home Rule for him, as far as I can understand, Is the abolition of strong drink from the land.”

William Topaz McGonagall

## About This Quote

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

He criticizes drunkenness as foolishness and suggests that eliminating alcohol would be the best solution for those who support Home Rule while intoxicated.

**In simple terms:** Drunk people are foolish; banning alcohol would help.

Key Takeaway

Avoid alcohol to think clearly.

Themes

foolishness politics alcohol social reform

Mood

critical reflective

Type

satirical political

When to use this quote

- political rallies
- personal decision to
- community health campaigns
- legislative debates

Key Concepts

Temperance political satire public health

Questions to Reflect On

- What personal habits impair your judgment?
- How can societies address substance abuse without moralizing?

A Different Perspective

Alcohol may not be the sole cause of poor judgment; other factors exist.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Abolition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Home rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-rule/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Strong drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-drink/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/)

## Related quotes

> [Sometimes I get a little drunk, sometimes I get a little out of it, sometimes I get out of tune onstage, but that's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-stills/sometimes-i-get-a-little-drunk-sometimes-i-get-a-little-out-of-it/)

[Stephen Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-stills/)

> [When Ron gets drunk, hes single.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jersey-shore/when-ron-gets-drunk-hes-single/)

Jersey Shore

> [the parties are no fun until everyone gets drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/the-parties-are-no-fun-until-everyone-gets-drunk/)

[Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/)

> [Everybody gets too drunk sometimes; and even if everybody didn't, I have gotten too drunk sometimes. I haven't hurt anybody. In Ireland we drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-corr/everybody-gets-too-drunk-sometimes-and-even-if-everybody-didn-t-i/)

[Andrea Corr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-corr/)

> [“When Ruth spots a man she likes, she gets him drunk, strips off his clothes, and hops into bed with him. When he wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-torode/when-ruth-spots-a-man-she-likes-she-gets-him-drunk-strips-off-his/)

[Sam Torode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-torode/)

> [“Picking oranges in Florida. Pushing a broom in New Orleans. Mucking out horse-stalls in Lufkin, Texas. Handing out real estate brochures on street corners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/picking-oranges-in-florida-pushing-a-broom-in-new-orleans-mucking-out/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“When a man gets drunk he gets sentimental. That's what I wanted to avoid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/when-a-man-gets-drunk-he-gets-sentimental-that-s-what-i-wanted-to/)

[Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/)

> [Everyone gets drunk and makes out with the wrong guy sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/everyone-gets-drunk-and-makes-out-with-the-wrong-guy-sometimes/)

[RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/)

> [Thus it amounts to the same thing whether one gets drunk alone or is a leader of nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/thus-it-amounts-to-the-same-thing-whether-one-gets-drunk-alone-or-is/)

[Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/)

> [I got drunk when I was five. Everybody gets drunk before they're 21.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-apple/i-got-drunk-when-i-was-five-everybody-gets-drunk-before-they-re-21/)

[Fiona Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-apple/)

> [Ivory's the kind of girl who gets drunk and immediately starts slurring. I have a lot of friends like that, and I think it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/ivory-s-the-kind-of-girl-who-gets-drunk-and-immediately-starts/)

[Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/)

> [To involve young people and make sure that the system is more relevant to them in Scotland, we have a clear obligation to implement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kennedy/to-involve-young-people-and-make-sure-that-the-system-is-more/)

[Charles Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kennedy/)

> [“The Mahatma’s singular insight was that self-government would never be achieved by the resolutions passed by a self-regarding and unelected elite pursuing the politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/the-mahatma-s-singular-insight-was-that-self-government-would-never/)

[Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/)

> [In our home we have a rule: You can disagree with a man's position as much as you want - after you have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-irwin-miller/in-our-home-we-have-a-rule-you-can-disagree-with-a-man-s-position-as/)

[J. Irwin Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-irwin-miller/)

> [“Consequential to the election outcome were the many private contacts in the capital between southern Democrats and Hayes’s northern Republican supporters. At Wormley’s Hotel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/consequential-to-the-election-outcome-were-the-many-private-contacts/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

## More by William Topaz McGonagall

> [Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ryTay! Alas! I am very sorry to say That ninety lives have been taken away On the last Sabbath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-topaz-mcgonagall/beautiful-railway-bridge-of-the-silv-rytay-alas-i-am-very-sorry-to/)

William Topaz McGonagall

> [Ye lover of the picturesque, if ye wish to drown your grief, take my advice and visit the ancient town of Crieff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-topaz-mcgonagall/ye-lover-of-the-picturesque-if-ye-wish-to-drown-your-grief-take-my/)

William Topaz McGonagall

Explore all 3 William Topaz McGonagall quotes

## More Abolition quotes

> [Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/unpleasant-questions-are-being-raised-about-mother-s-day-is-this-day/)

[Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/)

> [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/)

[Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/)

> [Anarchism as a political philosophy seeks to dissolve all forms of authority and power, and if possible, wishes their complete abolition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/anarchism-as-a-political-philosophy-seeks-to-dissolve-all-forms-of/)

[Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/)

> [“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/i-am-aware-that-many-object-to-the-severity-of-my-language-but-is/)

[William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/)

> [It seems like cloud cuckoo land. If anyone is suggesting that I would go to Parliament and suggest the abolition of the Pound Sterling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/it-seems-like-cloud-cuckoo-land-if-anyone-is-suggesting-that-i-would/)

[Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/)

> [We invite people working for peace to span generations and national boundaries, and gather together to communicate. Let us firmly join hands and foster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iccho-itoh/we-invite-people-working-for-peace-to-span-generations-and-national/)

[Iccho Itoh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iccho-itoh/)

> [Insofar as we may at all claim that slavery has been abolished today, we owe its abolition to the practical consequences of science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/insofar-as-we-may-at-all-claim-that-slavery-has-been-abolished-today/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [ You have not been mistaken in supposing my views and feeling to be in favor of the abolition of war. Of my dispos\[i\]tion to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/you-have-not-been-mistaken-in-supposing-my-views-and-feeling-to-be-in/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [On this International Day for the Abolition of Slavery let us reaffirm the inherent dignity of all men, women and children. And let us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/on-this-international-day-for-the-abolition-of-slavery-let-us/)

[Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/)

> [Capitalism as a social order and as a creed is the expression of the belief in economic progress as leading toward the freedom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/capitalism-as-a-social-order-and-as-a-creed-is-the-expression-of-the/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [“What is, so to speak, the object of abolition? Not so much the abolition of prisons but the abolition of a society that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-moten-and-stefano-harney/what-is-so-to-speak-the-object-of-abolition-not-so-much-the-abolition/)

Fred Moten and Stefano Harney

> [I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/i-can-only-say-that-there-is-not-a-man-living-who-wishes-more/)

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

> [As a long-termist, I acknowledge there are more pressing causes than the abolition of private property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sarkar/as-a-long-termist-i-acknowledge-there-are-more-pressing-causes-than/)

[Ash Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sarkar/)

> [Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended African-Americans should be encouraged - or required, in some people's view - required to leave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/colonization-was-the-idea-that-once-slavery-ended-african-americans/)

[Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/)

> [I am for socialism, disarmament, and, ultimately, for abolishing the state itself... I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-nash-baldwin/i-am-for-socialism-disarmament-and-ultimately-for-abolishing-the/)

[Roger Nash Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-nash-baldwin/)

[Browse all 229 Abolition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The man that gets drunk is little else than a fool, And is in the habit, no doubt, of advocating for Home Rule; But the best Home Rule for him, as far as I can understand, Is the abolition of strong drink from the land.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Topaz McGonagall"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-topaz-mcgonagall/the-man-that-gets-drunk-is-little-else-than-a-fool-and-is-in-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Abolition"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-topaz-mcgonagall/the-man-that-gets-drunk-is-little-else-than-a-fool-and-is-in-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-topaz-mcgonagall-85563_abolition_the-man-that-gets-drunk-is-little-else-t_2477158.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-topaz-mcgonagall-85563_abolition_the-man-that-gets-drunk-is-little-else-t_2477158.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/william-topaz-mcgonagall-85563_abolition_the-man-that-gets-drunk-is-little-else-t_2477158.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The man that gets drunk is little else than a fool, And is in the habit, no doubt, of advocating for Home…” — William Topaz McGonagall",
                "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": "William Topaz McGonagall",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-topaz-mcgonagall/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The man that gets drunk is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-topaz-mcgonagall/the-man-that-gets-drunk-is-little-else-than-a-fool-and-is-in-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-topaz-mcgonagall/the-man-that-gets-drunk-is-little-else-than-a-fool-and-is-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
