“Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level. It's cheaper.”

— Quentin Crisp, book The Naked Civil Servant

Source: The Naked Civil Servant (1968), Ch. 1
Context: Keeping up with the Joneses was a full-time job with my mother and father. It was not until many years later when I lived alone that I realized how much cheaper it was to drag the Joneses down to my level.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Oct. 27, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level. It's cheaper." by Quentin Crisp?

Quentin Crisp66

writer, Actor 1908–1999

Related quotes

“Keeping up with the Joneses was a full-time job with my mother and father. It was not until many years later when I lived alone that I realized how much cheaper it was to drag the Joneses down to my level.”

Quentin Crisp book The Naked Civil Servant

Source: The Naked Civil Servant (1968), Ch. 1

“You have a chance to move in far better society than the Joneses. Why worry about keeping up with the Joneses? Keep up with the Angels and you'll be far wiser and happier.”

Fulton J. Sheen (1895–1979) Catholic bishop and television presenter

Angels http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3r701k2dx8 <br class="br">Life Is Worth Living (1951–1957)

“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist

Variant: Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

“A drawing is always dragged down to the level of its caption.”

James Thurber (1894–1961) American cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright

The New Yorker (2 August 1930)
From other writings

“The dog has seldom been successful in pulling Man up to its level of sagacity, but Man has frequently dragged the dog down to his.”

James Thurber (1894–1961) American cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright

"An Introduction", The Fireside Book of Dog Stories (Simon and Schuster, 1943); reprinted in Thurber's Dogs (1955)
From other writings

“Sir, your levellers wish to level down as far as themselves; but they cannot bear levelling up to themselves.”

Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer

1763
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919), Life of Johnson (Boswell)

“The writing of a novel or short story or poem or whatever should elevate the audience, not drag the writer down to some level beneath herself.”

Caitlín R. Kiernan (1964) writer

(10 January 2005)
Unfit for Mass Consumption (blog entries), 2005
Context: The writing of a novel or short story or poem or whatever should elevate the audience, not drag the writer down to some level beneath herself. And she — the author — should fight always to prevent that dragging down, especially when the only possible benefit of allowing it to happen is monetary.