The Bad Beginning Language and Communication Quotes

Sunny was at an age where one mostly speaks in a series of unintelligible shrieks. Except when she used the few actual words in her vocabulary, like "bottle," "mommy," and "bite," most people had trouble understanding what it was that Sunny was saying. For instance, this morning she was saying "Gack!" over and over, which probably meant, "Look at that mysterious figure emerging from the fog!" (1.5)

"'Perished,'" Mr. Poe said, "means 'killed.'"

"We know what the word 'perished' means," Klaus said, crossly. He did know what the word "perished" meant, but he was still having trouble understanding exactly what it was that Mr. Poe had said. It seemed to him that Mr. Poe must somehow have misspoken. (1.25-26)

"Yeeka!" Sunny shrieked, which appeared to mean "How interesting!" although of course there is no way that Sunny could understand what was being said.

Justice Strauss looked down at Sunny and laughed. "Yeeka indeed," she said, and reached down to pat the child on the head. Sunny took Justice Strauss's hand and bit it, gently.

"That means she likes you," Violet explained. "She bites very, very hard if she doesn't like you, or if you want to give her a bath." (3.27-29)

Mr. Poe sighed, and looked at each of the three children. His face was kind, but it didn't look like he really believed what the Baudelaire orphans were saying. "Are you familiar with the Latin term 'in loco parentis'?" he asked.

Violet and Sunny looked at Klaus. The biggest reader of the three, he was the most likely to know vocabulary words and foreign phrases.

"Something about trains?" he asked. Maybe Mr. Poe was going to take them by train to another relative.

Mr. Poe shook his head. "'In loco parentis' means 'acting in the role of parent,'" he said. (5.36-38)

"Now, I hate to usher you out posthaste, but I have very much work to do."

The children just sat there, stunned. Mr. Poe looked up, and cleared his throat. "'Posthaste,'" he said, "means—"

"—means you'll do nothing to help us," Violet finished for him. (5.41-43)

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's 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. The Baudelaire orphans walked back to Count Olaf's neighborhood and stopped at the home of Justice Strauss, who welcomed them inside and let them choose books from the library. Violet chose several about mechanical inventions, Klaus chose several about wolves, and Sunny found a book with many pictures of teeth inside. They then went to their room and crowded together on the one bed, reading intently and happily. Figuratively, they escaped from Count Olaf and their miserable existence. They did not literally escape, because they were still in his house and vulnerable to Olaf's evil in loco parentis ways. But by immersing themselves in their favorite reading topics, they felt far away from their predicament, as if they had escaped. In the situation of the orphans, figuratively escaping was not enough, of course, but at the end of a tiring and hopeless day, it would have to do. (5.48)

"I'm afraid I may have acted a bit standoffish."

The word "standoffish" is a wonderful one, but it does not describe Count Olaf's behavior toward the children. It means "reluctant to associate with others," and it might describe somebody who, during a party, would stand in a corner and not talk to anyone. It would not describe somebody who provides one bed for three people to sleep in, forces them to do horrible chores, and strikes them across the face. There are many words for people like that, but "standoffish" is not one of them. Klaus knew the word "standoffish" and almost laughed out loud at Olaf's incorrect use of it. (6.14-15)

Klaus took his glasses off, which he often did when he was thinking hard. "How could we find out about the law without Olaf's knowledge?"

"Book!" Sunny shouted suddenly. She probably meant something like "Would somebody please wipe my face?" but it made Violet and Klaus look at each other. Book. They were both thinking the same thing: Surely Justice Strauss would have a book on inheritance law. (6.41-42)

All in all, the Baudelaire orphans had encountered catastrophe after catastrophe, and Violet found their situation lamentably deplorable, a phrase which here means "it was not at all enjoyable." (11.10)

"You and I will stand here for the duration of the act. That means the whole thing."

"I know what the word 'duration' means," Klaus said.

"No nonsense," the bald man said. Klaus watched his sister in her wedding gown take her place next to Count Olaf as the curtain rose. (12.31-33)