“I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?”
Ernest Hemingway · widely attributed
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I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
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About this quote
Meaning
The joke here turns on a familiar phrase. Saying you enjoy long walks is usually a warm, leisurely sentiment, but the punchline flips it into a wish that irritating people would simply go away, preferably on a very long walk from which they take their time returning. The humor comes from the contrast between the gentle, pleasant image of a long walk and the barely concealed desire to be rid of someone entirely. It is a socially acceptable way of expressing a very uncharitable thought.
Context
This line is widely attributed to Fred Allen, an American comedian who was most prominent in the mid-twentieth century and known for his sharp, satirical wit. His humor tended toward the dry and the cutting, often skewering institutions, celebrities, and the absurdities of everyday life. A line like this fits comfortably within that tradition of polished, slightly mean-spirited wordplay delivered with a perfectly straight face. The exact origin is difficult to pin down with a specific source, as with many of his most quoted remarks.
About the author
Fred Allen was an American comedian, writer, and radio personality whose career flourished primarily during the 1930s and 1940s. He became one of the most celebrated comedic voices of his era, known for a wit that was both erudite and accessible. His radio program attracted enormous audiences, and his verbal sparring, including a famous long-running mock feud with Jack Benny, kept listeners entertained for years. He was widely admired by other writers and comedians, and his influence on American comedy extended well beyond his own time.
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