QuoteProject
The British soldier can stand up to anything except the British War Office.
George Bernard Shaw
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote humorously highlights the struggles of soldiers with bureaucratic military structures.

George Bernard Shaw's quote reflects the ironic predicament faced by British soldiers who exhibit great strength and resilience on the battlefield yet find themselves vulnerable to the inefficiencies and decisions of the military bureaucracy, represented by the British War Office. It underscores the contrast between the valor of individual soldiers and the sometimes obstructive nature of authoritative institutions.

Themes

SoldierBureaucracyWarMilitaryHumor

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech about military life, one might quote Shaw to illustrate the irony of soldiering.

More from George Bernard Shaw

What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
Marriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
George Bernard ShawRead
Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
George Bernard ShawRead
Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
George Bernard ShawRead
Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
George Bernard ShawRead
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
George Bernard ShawRead

Similar quotes

There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won't, and that's a wife who can't cook and will.
Robert FrostRead
If you've got a cat and a leg, you've got a happy cat. If you've got a cat and two legs, you've got a party.
George CarlinRead
Comedy is learning to be funny, and you learn to be funny in small rooms with young audiences.
Joan RiversRead
I don't approve of political jokes; I have seen too many of them get elected.
Jon StewartRead
All these jokes have been pre-approved as funny by me.
Mitch HedbergRead
So in our pride we ordered for breakfast an omelet, toast and coffee and what has just arrived is a tomato salad with onions, a dish of pickles, a big slice of watermelon and two bottles of cream soda.
John SteinbeckRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.