Daily Inspiration Quote by Mae West

Mae West turns arithmetic into a flirtation with a knife edge: crisp, obvious, and suddenly accusatory. The joke lands because it pretends to be a childlike definition, then reveals itself as a moral audit. “Subtraction” isn’t math here; it’s what happens when someone with power decides the terms of an exchange and calls it normal. West’s genius is that she doesn’t argue. She itemizes. One hundred becomes two, and the listener is forced to feel the brutality of the difference.

The intent is classic West: make a dirty, worldly point without ever saying the “dirty” part. In her world, men flash money and women are expected to smile gratefully at whatever crumbs remain after a night, a deal, a relationship. By framing exploitation as a simple equation, she mocks the pretense that romance or “generosity” can disguise a lopsided transaction. It’s a punchline that doubles as a survival manual.

Context matters: West built a career in an era that policed women’s speech, especially sexual candor. So she smuggled critique through comedy, playing the provocateur who seems unserious until you notice she’s narrating the economics of desire. The line also nudges at capitalism’s everyday grift: the boss, the landlord, the middleman - all experts in calling extraction “business.” West’s persona laughs, but the subtext is unsparing: if someone leaves you with two dollars, they didn’t “take care of you.” They took you.