"Epitaph for a dead waiter - God finally caught his eye"

George S. Kaufman’s aphorism “Epitaph for a dead waiter – God finally caught his eye” offers a wry, layered commentary through the lens of dark humor. The concise form echoes the brevity typical of an epitaph, a summation of a life distilled into a single observation. Naming the subject as a “waiter” immediately draws on the familiar trope of waiters in restaurants who expertly avoid making eye contact with customers who seek their attention. The implication is that waiters, whether from being overworked or simply wanting a moment’s respite, become adept at not meeting the gaze of those who want service.

By stating that “God finally caught his eye,” Kaufman flips this professional evasiveness into the metaphysical realm. Death, typically metaphorized as “God calling,” is presented as a customer who cannot be ignored or avoided. However skillfully the waiter sidestepped others’ gazes in life, ultimately, the universal finality ensures that no one can evade God’s attention forever; every person must finally meet their end.

The humor emerges from the incongruous juxtaposition of workplace behavior and the inevitability of mortality. The evocative punchline treats life as an extended shift and implies that the waiter’s symbolic skill of dodging responsibility or engagement becomes futile in the face of the ultimate reckoning. Kaufman’s wit not only comments on the experience of service workers but also comments on humanity’s broader attempts to duck responsibility or avoid uncomfortable confrontations, using the waiter as an emblem for all people who delay or defer the inescapable.

Stylistically, the phrase is both playful and poignant, merging satire with existential reflection. It implies a gentle mockery of both the waiter’s wiles and the larger human tendency to procrastinate the inevitable, reminding us that, regardless of craftiness, God (or fate) will eventually "catch our eye" and demand acknowledgment.