What all this adds up to is a disease at the very centre of language, so that language becomes a permanent masquerade, a tapestry of lies." - Meaning and context.">
"Oh, Superman", Opinion (Channel 4, 31 May 1990), reprinted in Various Voices: Prose, Poetry, Politics 1948-2005, rev. ed. (1998; London: Faber and Faber, 2005), p. 198-99.
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I suggest that US foreign policy can still be defined as "kiss my ass or I'll kick your head in." But of course it doesn't put it like that. It talks of "low intensity conflict..."
What all this adds up to is a disease at the very centre of language, so that language becomes a permanent masquerade, a tapestry of lies.

— Harold Pinter

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I suggest that US foreign policy can still be defined as "kiss my ass or I'll kick your head in." But of course it doesn't put it like that. It talks of "low intensity conflict..."
What all this adds up to is a disease at the very centre of language, so that language becomes a permanent masquerade, a tapestry of lies." in the context of ""Oh, Superman", Opinion (Channel 4, 31 May 1990), reprinted in Various Voices: Prose, Poetry, Politics 1948-2005, rev. ed. (1998; London: Faber and Faber, 2005), p. 198-99." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Harold Pinter" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Harold Pinter

About Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter (10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, actor and theatre director. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005.