QuoteProject
Nobody ever completely means what they say. Even when they think they're telling the truth, there's always something hidden behind their words.
Orson Scott Card
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

People often have underlying meanings or intentions behind their words.

This quote suggests that communication is complex, and individuals may not fully express their true thoughts or feelings when they speak. Even in moments of honesty, there may be hidden nuances or motivations that influence what is conveyed, indicating that understanding others requires more than just taking words at face value.

Themes

CommunicationTruthMeaningWordsUnderstanding

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion about honesty in relationships.

More from Orson Scott Card

And enough for me that when my hand touched your shoulder, you leaned on me; and when you felt me slip away, you called my name.
Orson Scott CardRead
The world is always a democracy in times of flux, and the man with the best voice will win.
Orson Scott CardRead
Never mind that the story had turned out to be lies and foolishness—there was always folks stupid enough to say, Where there's smoke there's fire, when the saying should have been, Where there's scandalous lies there's always malicious believers and spreaders-around, regardless of evidence.
Orson Scott CardRead
The lives of all people flow through time, and, regardless of how brutal one moment may be, how filled with grief or pain or fear, time flows through all lives equally.
Orson Scott CardRead
You take a step, then another. That's the journey. But to take a step with your eyes open is not a journey at all, it's a remaking of your own mind.
Orson Scott CardRead
I've had your tears with mine, and you've had mine with yours. I think that's more intimate even than a kiss.
Orson Scott CardRead

Similar quotes

There needs to be a thorough examination, by Muslims everywhere, of why it is that the faith they love breeds so many violent mutant strains.
Salman RushdieRead
Maybe I don't need a relationship after all, she thought. Maybe thinking about these conversations was just as good as having them. She could sit in her Honda in the dark and experience whatever kind of life she wanted. Sometimes you think, Hey, maybe there's something else out there. But there really isn't. This is what being alive feels like, you know? The place doesn't matter. You just live.
Chuck KlostermanRead
When everyone is determined to present someone as a monster, there are two possibilities: either he’s a saint or they themselves are not telling the whole story.
Carlos Ruiz ZafonRead
to have faith is precisely to lose one's mind so as to win God.
Soren KierkegaardRead
Man hath still either toys or care: But hath no root, nor to one place is tied, but ever restless and irregular, about this earth doth run and ride. He knows he hath a home, but scarce knows where; He says it is so far, that he has quite forgot how to go there.
Henry VaughanRead
These young people naturally grow up with ideas different from ours, for they are born for times when we shall no longer be here
Emile ZolaRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.