# Why did you laugh when I said, "Man delights not me"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862 "2008-02-08T22:52:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/1 "2008-02-08T22:52:30Z")
I’m an entirely straight guy and I’ve often, often been mistaken for gay. Not sure why. Guess some people can’t distinguish gay from nerdy. Any guys this has happened to? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/2 "2008-02-08T22:53:30Z")
I would laugh, but mostly because few people would phrase it that way and it would strike me as funny. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/3 "2008-02-09T01:03:40Z")
I used to get this all the time (prior to dating my now-wife). I always found it weird – while I’m a _total_ geek, I don’t think I fit any gay stereotypes. Rather, when I was younger I suffered from an unhealthy lack of self-confidence, combined with an overblown sense of propriety. Yeah, I was (quietly) one of those “nice guys” who always wondered when I would get the girl. Oh, and **Antinor01** – the phrase is a quote from Hamlet. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/4 "2008-02-09T01:10:02Z")
[QUOTE=Digital Stimulus] Oh, and **Antinor01** – the phrase is a quote from Hamlet. [/QUOTE] No matter where it’s from I would still laugh if someone said that line with a straight face. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/5 "2008-02-09T01:30:17Z")
[QUOTE=FatBaldGuy] No matter where it’s from I would still laugh if someone said that line with a straight face. [/QUOTE] So to speak. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/6 "2008-02-09T01:34:33Z")
It’s originally from Hamlet, but was also featured prominently in [Withnail & I](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withnail_and_I), which makes repeated reference to Hamlet and is one of the most-quoted cult comedies of the '80’s. So maybe they think you’re quoting Richard E. Grant’s Withnail, and expect to see you swilling booze straight from the bottle posthaste. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/7 "2008-02-09T01:42:15Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I’m an entirely straight guy and I’ve often, often been mistaken for gay. Not sure why. Guess some people can’t distinguish gay from nerdy. Any guys this has happened to? [/QUOTE] I’ve never been mistaken for gay to my knowledge. Given my background in theater and my current profession, it’s really only a matter of time before someone just assumes. I went through some adolescent worries about my image in that regard, but had them reassured away by a good female friend who reassured me with such absolute confidence that I basically never gave it a second thought. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/8 "2008-02-09T03:49:47Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] It’s originally from Hamlet, but was also featured prominently in [Withnail & I](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withnail_and_I), which makes repeated reference to Hamlet and is one of the most-quoted cult comedies of the '80’s. So maybe they think you’re quoting Richard E. Grant’s Withnail, and expect to see you swilling booze straight from the bottle posthaste. 🙂 [/QUOTE] No, nor women either! No, nor women either! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/9 "2008-02-09T04:02:53Z")
Nitpick: it’s “neither” and “neither”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/10 "2008-02-09T17:11:27Z")
heh I was a gay nerd in college and was told by a staunch Republican that I was very straight seeming. The simple truth is this mental equation, while not a true representation of reality, is subconsciously found in many people: straight = macho straight ≠ gay gay ≠ macho nerd ≠ macho therefore nerd = gay add in the possibility of said nerd being especially intelligent and/or emotionally sensitive, subtract the slim likelihood that nerd has any fashion sense… ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/11 "2008-02-10T01:08:17Z")
Hell, I’m gay and even _I_ have trouble telling whether a geek is gay or just a geek. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/12 "2008-02-10T19:17:53Z")
I’m straighter than the Washington Monument, and every now and then someone might mistake me for gay. I’ve always chalked it up to my slighter ways, my taste in clothes and things, or maybe because of my artistic sensibilities… but I never even thought that my geekiness (in which I have gobs) would lend itself to that perception. Since when has a geeky appearance been associated with gayness?! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/13 "2008-02-10T19:40:21Z")
Well, _this_ explains a lot. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/14 "2008-02-10T19:58:38Z")
[QUOTE=cmyk] Since when has a geeky appearance been associated with gayness?! [/QUOTE] Does _geeky_ include Seinfeld’s trio of “thin, single, and neat”? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/15 "2008-02-10T20:07:54Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Does _geeky_ include Seinfeld’s trio of “thin, single, and neat”? [/QUOTE] If you were to take a look at me, it would be a resounding no. But alas, I am but one vector in this equation. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/16 "2008-02-10T20:23:52Z")
[QUOTE=FatBaldGuy] No matter where it’s from I would still laugh if someone said that line with a straight face. [/QUOTE] [Here’s Withnail saying it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zEVZGuU3BU) in context, in the rain, in a park, to a bunch of wolves, slugging wine from a bottle, as his life collapses. ---
**Author:** ![evangelinagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@evangelinagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evangelinagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-laugh-when-i-said-man-delights-not-me/436862/17 "2008-02-10T22:18:33Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Does _geeky_ include Seinfeld’s trio of “thin, single, and neat”? [/QUOTE] Isn’t this an allusion to Felix from the Odd Couple? Why is it people assume someone who is neat in appearance, rather learned and concerned with environmental maintenance (i.e. clean freak) is gay? And incidentally, if this is the case, then logically wouldn’t that mean that sloppiness, ignorance and filth be the hallmarks of someone straight? Ewwwww. Thank God for neat, intelligent and clean men. Woohoo!