People · 1860
The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson ‧ The Conduct of Life
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The speaker connects increasingly loud claims of honour with an increasingly hurried count of the spoons. The listeners apparently suspect that their possessions need watching. The joke sets a declaration of virtue against a small domestic act of mistrust, making the response more telling than a direct accusation.
Context reviewed