“Back in the late '90s, a writer named Daniel Handler decided that kids books were too cheerful. I mean, all the "Harry Potter" series did was occasionally kill off major characters. Thus was born "A Series Of Unfortunate Events" and its mysterious author, Lemony Snicket. "A Series Of Unfortunate Events" is now a great new series on Netflix.” MeanBookCharacterKidsBornEventsLateMajorsDecidedSeriesMysteriousUnfortunateHarry PotterCheerfulPottersNetflixBooks For KidsHarry Potter SeriesSnicketUnfortunate EventsSeries Of Unfortunate Events Author:Daniel Handler
“But one type of book that practically no one likes to read is a book about the law. Books about the law are notorious for being very long, very dull, and very difficult to read. This is one reason many lawyers make heaps of money. The money is an incentive - the word "incentive" here means "an offered reward to persuade you to do something you don't want to do - to read long, dull, and difficult books.” WantMeanLongBookReasonLawDifficultTypeRewardsLawyerLikesDullIncentivesNotoriousLaw Books Author:Daniel Handler
“They didn't understand it, but like so many unfortunate events in life, just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it isn't so.” LifeMeanUnderstandingEventsLife PhilosophyMusicianUnfortunateAspects Of LifeEvents In LifeUnfortunate Events Author:Daniel Handler
“Desperate times call for desperate measures" is an aphorism which here means "sometimes you need to change your facial expression in order to create a workable disguise." The quoting of an aphorism, such as "It takes a village to raise a child," "No news is good news," and "Love conquers all," rarely indicates that something helpful is about to happen, which is why we provide our volunteers with a disguise kit in addition to helpful phrases of advice.” LoveNeedsMeanChildrenSometimesHappensOrderAdviceExpressionNewsAnd LoveRaisesConquerPhrasesDesperateHelpfulVillageAphorismDisguiseVolunteerGood NewsNeed A ChangeFacialQuotingFacial ExpressionLove Conquers AllYou Need To ChangeIt Takes A VillageDesperate MeasuresDesperate TimesDesperate Times Call For Desperate MeasuresIt Takes A Village To Raise A ChildVillage To Raise A Child Author:Daniel Handler
“To hear the phrase "our only hope" always makes one anxious, because it means that if the only hope doesn't work, there is nothing left.” IfsMeanHopeLeftAnxietyPhrasesAnxious Author:Daniel Handler
“Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it isn't so.” MeanTruthUnderstandingKnowledgeUnfortunate Events Author:Daniel Handler
“As I am sure you know, when people say 'It's my pleasure,' they usually mean something along the lines of, 'There's nothing on Earth I would rather do less.' [...]” PeopleKnowsMeanEarthLinesPleasure Author:Daniel Handler
“For obvious reasons, I never told you about my notebook, with a cover as green as mansions long ago, which I use as a commonplace book, a phrase which here means 'place where I have collected passages from some of the most important books I have read.” MeanLongImportantBookReasonUseGreenObviousPhrasesPassagesLong AgoCommonplaceNotebookMansions Author:Daniel Handler
“Xenial' is a word which refers to the giving of gifts to strangers. . . . I know that having a good vocabulary doesn't guarantee that I'm a good person. . . . But it does mean I've read a great deal. And in my experience, well-read people are less likely to be evil.” PeopleKnowsGivingWellsMeanPersonsDoeEvilDealsStrangerGuaranteesVocabularyGood PersonGuarantees That Author:Daniel Handler
“Just because something is typed-whether it is typed on a business card or typed in a newspaper or book-this does not mean that it is true.” WritingMeanDoeBookTruthBusinessNewspapersCardsJournalismTypographyBusiness Card Author:Daniel Handler
“If you are a student you should always get a good nights sleep unless you have come to the good part of your book, and then you should stay up all night and let your schoolwork fall by the wayside, a phrase which means 'flunk'.” IfsShouldMeanBookNightFallSleepStudentsPhrasesAll NightGood NightUp All NightGood Night SleepSchoolwork Author:Daniel Handler
“Every night I give a violin recital for six hours, and attendance is mandatory. The word 'mandatory' means that if you don't show up, you have to buy me a large bag of candy and watch me eat it.” IfsGivingMeanShowsNightHoursWatchesSixBagsEvery NightCandyViolinWatch MeAttendanceRecitals Author:Daniel Handler
“It is very frustrating not to be understood in this world. If you say one thing and keep being told that you mean something else, it can make you want to scream. But somewhere in the world there is a place for all of us, whether you are an electric form of decoration, peppermint-scented sweet, a source of timber, or a potato pancake.” IfsWorldWantMeanFormOne ThingThis WorldSweetSourceUnderstoodScreamElectricFrustratingPotatoesDecorationPancakesTimberPeppermint Author:Daniel Handler
“It is very useful, when one is young, to learn the difference between "literally" and "figuratively." If something happens literally, it actually happens; if something happens figuratively, it feels like it is happening. If you are literally jumping for joy, for instance, it means you are leaping in the air because you are very happy. If you are figuratively jumping for joy, it means you are so happy that you could jump for joy, but are saving your energy for other matters.” IfsFeelsMeanMatterHappensYoungJoyEnergyDifferencesAirHappeningsInstanceSavingVery HappyJumping Author:Daniel Handler
“Just because something is traditional is no reason to do it, of course. Piracy, for example, is a tradition that has been carried on for hundreds of years, but that doesn't mean we should all attack ships and steal their gold.” ShouldYearsMeanHas BeensReasonCoursesExampleTraditionGoldStealingShipsTraditionalNo ReasonPiracy Author:Daniel Handler
“A long time ago, there was no such thing as school, and children spent their days learning a trade, a phrase which here means "standing around doing tedious tasks under the instruction of a bossy adult." In time, however, people realized that the children could be allowed to sit, and the first school was invented.” PeopleFirstsMeanChildrenLongSchoolLong TimeAdultsStandingTasksTradePhrasesInstructionLong Time AgoTediousBossy Author:Daniel Handler
“Composer” is a word which here means “a person who sits in a room, muttering and humming and figuring out what notes the orchestra is going to play.” This is called composing. But last night, the Composer was not muttering. He was not humming. He was not moving, or even breathing. This is called decomposing.” MeanPersonsPlayLastsMovingNightRoomsNotesBreathingComposerOrchestraLast NightComposingHummingMuttering Author:Daniel Handler
“What happens in a certain place can stain your feelings for that location, just as ink can stain a white sheet. You can wash it, and wash it, and still never forget what has transpired - a word which here means 'happened, and made everybody sad'.” MeanMadeStillsFeelingsHappensCertainWhiteForgetHappenedNever ForgetLocationSheetsInkStains Author:Daniel Handler
“In the time since the Baudelaire parents' death, most of the Baudelaire orphans' friends had fallen by the wayside, an expression wich here means "they stopped calling, writing, and stopping by to see any of the Baudelaires, making them lonely". You and I, of course, would never do this to any of our grieving acquaintances, but it is a sad truth that when someone has lost a loved one, friends sometimes avoid the person, just when the presence of friends is most needed.” WritingMeanPersonsSometimesCoursesLostParentExpressionNeededCallingLonelyFallenGrievingLoved OnesStoppingAcquaintanceOrphanSad TruthOne FriendBaudelaire Author:Daniel Handler
“An apocryphal story - the word "apocryphal" here means "obviously untrue" - tells of two people, long ago, who were very bored, and that instead of complaining about it they sat up all night and invented the game of chess so that everyone else in the world, on evenings when there is nothing to do, can also be bored by the perplexing and tedious game they invented.” PeopleWorldMeanLongTwoStoriesNightGamesComplainingChessEveningBoredSatLong AgoAll NightTediousUntrueUp All Night Author:Daniel Handler
“Nobody wants to fall into a safety net, because it means the structure in which they've been living is in a state of collapse and they have no choice but to tumble downwards. However, it beats the alternative.” WantMeanStatesChoicesFallBeatsSafetyStructureAlternativesCollapseSafety Net Author:Daniel Handler
“The expression "following suit" is a curious one, because it has nothing to do with walking behind a matching set of clothing. If you follow suit, it means you do the same thing somebody else has just done. If all of your friends decided to jump off a bridge into the icy waters of an ocean or river, for instance, and you jumped in right after them, you would be following suit. You can see why following suit can be a dangerous thing to do, because you could end up drowning simply because somebody else thought of it first.” IfsFirstsMeanEndsDoneWould BeWaterBehindsDangerousExpressionWalkingOceanRiversDecidedFollowingInstanceSuitsCuriousBridgesThings To DoClothingsDrowningDangerous ThingsIcyMatchingSuits You Author:Daniel Handler
“The whole thing of what I’ve been trying,” you said, “is that you’re different, and you keep asking about the other girls, but what I mean is that I don’t think about them, because of the way you are.” ThinkingWayTryingMeanSaidDifferentWholeGirlAskingOther Girl Book:Why We Broke Up Source: Why We Broke Up
“There are some things we might not know,but that doesnt mean we should give up.We can find out what we need to know.We can find out everything” KnowsNeedsGivingShouldMeanMightGiving Up Author:Daniel Handler
“We are all told to ignore bullies. It's something they teach you, and they can teach you anything. It doesn't mean you learn it. It doesn't mean you believe it. One should never ignore bullies. One should stop them.” ShouldBelieveMeanTeachBully Author:Daniel Handler
“How wrong to think I was anyone else, like thinking grass stains make you a beautiful view, like getting kissed makes you kissable, like feeling warm makes you coffee, like liking movies makes you a director. How utterly incorrect to think it any other way, a box of crap is treasures, a boy smiling means it, a gentle moment is a life improved.” ThinkingWayMeanMomentsFeelingsBeautifulViewsBoysDirectorsBoxesWarmCoffeeTreasureGentleGrassCrapStains Book:Why We Broke Up Source: Why We Broke Up
