Four smooth malachite and coral game tokens, with one larger polished token among three smaller ones

Original artwork, not a still

Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar · 1894

Mark Twain

When angry, count four; when very angry, swear.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Anger gets a countdown here, and the bigger the anger, the wilder the fix. Count to four first, the speaker says. If that fails, swear, which is the joke: cursing is the honest release valve when counting can't cope.

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