"It's better to have loved and lost than to have to do forty pounds of laundry a week"
About this Quote
The intent isn’t to deny the value of love; it’s to puncture the way we mythologize it. By introducing an absurdly specific domestic burden, Peter shifts the frame from grand emotional suffering to the unglamorous logistics of care. The subtext is sly: relationships aren’t just feelings, they’re labor. If you’ve “loved and lost,” at least you’ve escaped the relentless maintenance that comes with keeping a household (and, implicitly, keeping a person) running. It’s a joke with a dull ache inside it.
Context matters: Peter, best known for skewering workplace competence and modern institutions, treats everyday life as a system that quietly grinds people down. Laundry becomes a symbol of the hidden economy of time, often gendered, often taken for granted. The wit works because it’s not abstract. “Forty pounds” is a receipt, not a metaphor, and that’s why the punchline feels true even as it’s ridiculous.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Peter, Laurence J. (n.d.). It's better to have loved and lost than to have to do forty pounds of laundry a week. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/its-better-to-have-loved-and-lost-than-to-have-to-87883/
Chicago Style
Peter, Laurence J. "It's better to have loved and lost than to have to do forty pounds of laundry a week." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/its-better-to-have-loved-and-lost-than-to-have-to-87883/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"It's better to have loved and lost than to have to do forty pounds of laundry a week." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/its-better-to-have-loved-and-lost-than-to-have-to-87883/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
