The Great Gatsby Quotes
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"See!" he cried triumphantly. "It's a bona-fide piece of printed matter. It fooled me. This fella's a regular Belasco. It's a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop, too—didn't cut the pages. But what do you want? What do you expect?"
Context
We've got the full low down in our analysis of Gatsby's books, but here's the short version:
There's a dude at one of Gatsby's many parties who expects Gatsby's books to be fake—just like everything else about him. As it turns out, the books are real...BUT (big but, in fact) Gatsby has never read them. That's when the guy calls Gatsby a "regular Belasco," referring to David Belasco, a theater producer known for his super realistic sets. (Yeah, the owl-eyed man is calling Gatsby's house a set.)
Where you've heard it
Let's put it this way: it ain't a compliment—so hopefully you haven't heard it.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Condescending to someone while referencing an obscure theater director? Yeah, good luck with that one.