Famous quote by Ogden Nash

"I would live all my life in nonchalance and insouciance, Were it not for making a living, which is rather a nouciance"

About this Quote

Ogden Nash’s witty epigram draws energy from its playful language and gentle irony. He muses on a longing for a carefree existence, invoking the French-derived words “nonchalance” and “insouciance,” both connoting a state of easygoing calm, unaffected by worry or stress. Nash fantasizes about a life bathed in such undisturbed serenity, a dream of perpetual leisure and cheerful disregard for the world’s demands. The use of the word “would” introduces an unrealized possibility, suggesting that his natural inclination is to inhabit this realm of effortless ease.

However, the poet confronts the imposition of practical reality, the necessity “for making a living.” This obligation is what interrupts his blissful idleness. Nash’s juxtaposition between his ideal and the unavoidable responsibility introduces a note of gentle resentment; the demands of earning an income intrude upon and undercut his preferred mode of being. The humor rests in his characterization of this necessity as “rather a nouciance,” a playful neologism echoing both the English “nuisance” and the structure of the French terms previously used.

By adopting this invented word, Nash not only reinforces the sonic pattern established with “nonchalance” and “insouciance” but also lightens the mood of complaint, turning it from grim protest to wry amusement. The rhyme accentuates the comic effect, suggesting that while work disturbs his peace, he approaches this frustration with good-natured resignation rather than bitter anguish.

The poem resonates because it distills a universal tension: the friction between our desire for freedom and the necessity to contend with life’s practicalities. Nash’s light verse reminds us that humor can be a coping mechanism for life’s inevitable compromises. He gently mocks both his own wishful thinking and the realities that anchor us, creating a moment of shared recognition and sly camaraderie with the reader.

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USA Flag This quote is written / told by Ogden Nash between August 19, 1902 and May 19, 1971. He/she was a famous Poet from USA. The author also have 36 other quotes.
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