Letter to F. W. Wile (1918), quoted in Reginald Pound and Geoffrey Harmsworth, Northcliffe (1959), p. 662
“
All that cricket reference is nonsense. The national game of Great Britain is Association Football. Cricket was nearly dead before the war. It died of the disease of elaboration, whereby a simple two hours' game was extended to a three-days' game.
— Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "All that cricket reference is nonsense. The national game of Great Britain is Association Football. Cricket was nearly dead before the war. It died of the disease of elaboration, whereby a simple two hours' game was extended to a three-days' game." in the context of "Letter to F. W. Wile (1918), quoted in Reginald Pound and Geoffrey Harmsworth, Northcliffe (1959), p. 662" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe
Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror, he was an early developer of popular journalism, and he exercised vast influence over British popular opinion during the Edwardian era. Lord Beaverbrook said he was "the greatest figure who ever strode down Fleet Street." About the beginning of the 20th century there were increasing attempts to develop popular journalism intended for the working class and tending to emphasize sensational topics. Harmsworth was the main innovator.
About Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe
Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror, he was an early developer of popular journalism, and he exercised vast influence over British popular opinion during the Edwardian era. Lord Beaverbrook said he was "the greatest figure who ever strode down Fleet Street." About the beginning of the 20th century there were increasing attempts to develop popular journalism intended for the working class and tending to emphasize sensational topics. Harmsworth was the main innovator.
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