"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary"

This quote by Booker T. Washington is a humorous method of explaining how English has actually embraced words from other languages. It recommends that English has actively sought out other languages and taken words from them, nearly as if it were a burglar in the night. This is a smart way of highlighting the fact that English has obtained words from numerous other languages, consisting of Latin, French, and German. It also suggests that English has been rather successful in its pursuit of new words, as it has actually been able to "beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets". This quote is a humorous way of stressing the truth that English has had the ability to take words from other languages and integrate them into its own.