What does it mean?
When we are in the middle of a problem it feels terrible, but seen from a distance or years later it often looks funny. Close-up and long-shot are film terms for near and far camera views.
Key vocabulary
- close-up
- a film shot taken from very near
- long-shot
- a film shot taken from far away
Who said it?
Charlie Chaplin: English comic actor and filmmaker (1889–1977).
These exact words are widely credited to Charlie Chaplin, but they don’t appear in their known work. They may be a later paraphrase or a misattribution.