"I am rather like a mosquito in a nudist camp; I know what I ought to do, but I don't know where to begin"
About this Quote
The specific intent is to satirize a particular kind of modern stuckness: not ignorance of what to do, but an inability to choose where to apply oneself. It’s a tight metaphor for the person with ambition, libido, appetite, or a to-do list, staring at an open field of targets and freezing. “I know what I ought to do” nods to moral language - duty, obligation, maybe even guilt - but the follow-up punctures any self-importance. We’re not talking about a grand ethical crisis; we’re talking about comically mismanaged agency.
The subtext is sharper than the punchline: too many choices can neuter action. The nudist camp detail isn’t just shock seasoning; it suggests exposure and vulnerability. Everyone’s out in the open, everything available, and that very openness becomes disorienting. It also implicates the speaker: like the mosquito, they’re a little predatory, a little opportunistic, not entirely admirable. Self-deprecation keeps it from sounding like a TED Talk about productivity.
Contextually, even if Bayne isn’t a marquee satirist, the line fits a late-20th-century sensibility: abundance, permissiveness, and decision fatigue packaged as a one-liner. It’s comedy as diagnosis: sometimes the problem isn’t motivation. It’s triage.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bayne, Stephen. (2026, January 14). I am rather like a mosquito in a nudist camp; I know what I ought to do, but I don't know where to begin. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-am-rather-like-a-mosquito-in-a-nudist-camp-i-116093/
Chicago Style
Bayne, Stephen. "I am rather like a mosquito in a nudist camp; I know what I ought to do, but I don't know where to begin." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-am-rather-like-a-mosquito-in-a-nudist-camp-i-116093/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I am rather like a mosquito in a nudist camp; I know what I ought to do, but I don't know where to begin." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-am-rather-like-a-mosquito-in-a-nudist-camp-i-116093/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.





