"Scratch a Yale man with both hands and you'll be lucky to find a coast-guard. Usually you find nothing at all"

This quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a humorous jab at the viewed lack of substance of Yale graduates. Fitzgerald indicates that if one were to scratch a Yale guy, they would be hard-pressed to discover any significant qualities. He suggests that the most one might wish to discover is a coast-guard, which is a recommendation to the Yale-educated Coast Guard officers of the time. However, Fitzgerald indicates that the majority of the time, one would discover absolutely nothing at all. This quote is a commentary on the perceived lack of substance of Yale graduates, and the idea that they are more concentrated on their social status than their real achievements. It is a humorous way of mentioning the lack of compound of Yale graduates, and the idea that they are more focused on their social status than their real achievements.