A wax-sealed envelope rests beside a rose, scattered petals and a wrapped gift with a gold ribbon.

Original artwork, not a still

Robert Frost

A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The joke defines a diplomat through a useful kind of memory. He remembers a birthday as a chance to be kind, but forgets an age that might be unwelcome. Knowing what to leave unsaid becomes part of the skill of pleasing people.

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