Daily Inspiration Quote by Edgar Watson Howe

Nothing scrambles discretion like impending matrimony. Howe’s line lands because it pretends to offer practical etiquette while quietly skewering the romantic idea of the wedding as a moment of heightened wisdom or adult readiness. His “never” sounds like a moral rule, but the punch is sociological: brides and grooms are temporarily unreliable narrators. They’re flooded with attention, nerves, and a brand-new alliance that changes what counts as private.

The intent is less anti-marriage than anti-sentimentality. Howe, an editor by trade, understands how information moves: secrets aren’t broken by malice so much as by pressure and context. Newlyweds are under maximum social scrutiny, asked to perform togetherness, surrounded by family politics and friends who want inside access. In that setting, a secret becomes conversational currency, or worse, a test of loyalty. The subtext: once you marry, your confidences are no longer yours alone. Tell the groom, and you’ve effectively told “the couple,” because the marriage contract quietly rewrites the rules of disclosure.

“Wait until they have been married longer” is the most cutting part. It implies that time doesn’t just deepen love; it hardens boundaries. After the honeymoon glow and the wedding’s public theater, a couple learns what to share, what to shield, and how to survive the social crossfire. Howe’s newsroom cynicism peeks through: trust isn’t a mood, it’s a practiced skill, and it takes a few anniversaries to develop the muscle.