On BBC Booktalk in 2006 quoted in (27 January 2022), Why Boris Johnson is coming out fighting, publisher: BBC News

I've got a brilliant new strategy, which is to make so many gaffes that nobody knows which one to concentrate on. [...] They cease to be newsworthy, you completely out-general the media in that way, and they despair. [...] You shell them, you pepper the media... you've got to pepper their positions with so many gaffes that they're confused. It's like a helicopter throwing out chaff, and then you steal on quietly and drop your depth charges wherever you want to drop them.

— Boris Johnson

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I've got a brilliant new strategy, which is to make so many gaffes that nobody knows which one to concentrate on. [...] They cease to be newsworthy, you completely out-general the media in that way, and they despair. [...] You shell them, you pepper the media... you've got to pepper their positions with so many gaffes that they're confused. It's like a helicopter throwing out chaff, and then you steal on quietly and drop your depth charges wherever you want to drop them." in the context of "On BBC Booktalk in 2006 quoted in (27 January 2022), Why Boris Johnson is coming out fighting, publisher: BBC News" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Boris Johnson" (Quotes, 2000s, 2006–2007) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Boris Johnson

About Boris Johnson

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, journalist, and popular historian. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from July 2019 until September 2022.