It is conceivable that someone perusing this node on this site might not know the historical context of moeyz’s excellent and thought-provoking writeup above. So allow me to be Mistress of the Obvious for a moment and give context.

The title of this node is a famous quote from Captain Lawrence Edward Grace "Titus" Oates, a British army officer who accompanied Robert Falcon Scott on the Terra Nova expedition through Antarctica in search of the South Pole. Oates, who had contracted frostbite and gangrene, said these last words as he walked out of a tent into a blizzard, committing suicide in order to prevent the expedition from spending further resources on keeping him alive.

The apparent casual tone of the quote was chosen by Oates in order to forestall anyone from attempting to search for him while he was still alive.

As a result of this strategy, Oates is sometimes considered a classic example of the “stiff upper lip” supposed British philosophy, and noble in his self-sacrifice.

Brevity Quest 2019 entry, 169 words