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Daily Inspiration Quote by John Forsythe

"The only way to quieten me is to invite me to a tennis match"

About this Quote

A little flirtation, a little self-mythology: Forsythe’s line turns “being quiet” into a social problem with a sporty solution. It isn’t a demand to be silenced so much as a sly bid to be included. The verb “invite” does the real work here. He’s not claiming tennis makes him meek; he’s suggesting that attention, community, and a bit of ritual are what settle his restlessness. The joke lands because it reframes talkativeness or agitation as energy that needs a channel, not a flaw that needs correcting.

Coming from an actor, the subtext is almost occupational. Performers are trained to fill space: with voice, with presence, with story. “Quieten me” reads like the complaint of a spouse, a friend, a publicist, maybe even the inner critic that tells entertainers they’re “on” too often. Tennis, then, is a socially acceptable off-switch: structured, physical, competitive, and crucially, shared. You can’t monologue your way through a rally.

There’s also a class-coded wink. Tennis matches conjure country-club ease, polite rivalries, weekend invitations - the kind of environment where a mid-century screen star could be “ordinary” without actually being anonymous. Forsythe’s intent feels less like a manifesto than a charming boundary: if you want less noise from me, don’t scold me. Give me a court, a schedule, a reason to trade chatter for motion.

Quote Details

TopicWitty One-Liners
SourceHelp us find the source
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Forsythe, John. (2026, January 15). The only way to quieten me is to invite me to a tennis match. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-only-way-to-quieten-me-is-to-invite-me-to-a-158688/

Chicago Style
Forsythe, John. "The only way to quieten me is to invite me to a tennis match." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-only-way-to-quieten-me-is-to-invite-me-to-a-158688/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The only way to quieten me is to invite me to a tennis match." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-only-way-to-quieten-me-is-to-invite-me-to-a-158688/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

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John Forsythe (January 29, 1918 - April 1, 2010) was a Actor from USA.

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