Daily Inspiration Quote by Alexander Woollcott

The line lands like a perfectly timed door-slam: not merely that the man was offended, but that offense became his vehicle. Woollcott’s brilliance is how he turns a mood into a mode of transportation. A “huff” is usually fleeting, childish, dissipating in seconds; here it “arrived,” with the pomp of a guest making an entrance, and then the subject “departed in it,” as if climbing into a cab. The joke is grammatical as much as social: Woollcott promotes petulance to something with timetable and luggage.

Intent-wise, it’s a critic’s kill shot, the kind designed to be repeated at dinner parties. Woollcott isn’t arguing with the person’s position; he’s canceling their seriousness. By depicting the exit as powered by pique rather than principle, he suggests the subject’s public self is basically reactive theater. The subtext is contempt for people who weaponize indignation as a personality, who treat social spaces as stages for sulk-and-flounce performance.

Context matters because Woollcott’s era prized the epigram as social currency, especially in New York’s literary and theatrical circles where he held court. Critics then weren’t just reviewers; they were gatekeepers and stylists, shaping reputation with a sentence. “Arrived” and “departed” echo stage directions, making the person a character in a farce. Woollcott’s cynicism isn’t abstract; it’s practical. He’s telling you that some people don’t enter rooms, they make entrances - and their exits are equally rehearsed.