---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No one's mouth is big enough to utter the…"
description: "\"No one's mouth is big enough to utter the whole thing.\" — Alan Watts"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/alan-watts-587_bigs_no-one-s-mouth-is-big-enough-to-utter-th_1983452.jpg"
---

#  No one's mouth is big enough to utter the whole thing.

![“No one's mouth is big enough to utter the whole thing.” quote by Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/alan-watts-587_bigs_no-one-s-mouth-is-big-enough-to-utter-th_1983452.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/alan-watts-587_bigs_no-one-s-mouth-is-big-enough-to-utter-th_1983452.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/alan-watts-587_bigs_no-one-s-mouth-is-big-enough-to-utter-th_1983452.jpg)

> “No one's mouth is big enough to utter the whole thing.”

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Language is limited; it cannot fully capture the vastness of experience.

**In simple terms:** Words can’t express everything.

Key Takeaway

Accept the limits of language.

Themes

communication language philosophy

Mood

thoughtful philosophical

Type

inspirational reflective

When to use this quote

- public speaking
- writing
- teaching
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

semantic limits ineffability expression

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you convey unspoken feelings?
- When do you trust silence over speech?

A Different Perspective

Overreliance on words may hinder understanding.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [The public's appetite for famous people is a mouth as big as a mountain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/the-public-s-appetite-for-famous-people-is-a-mouth-as-big-as-a/)

[Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/)

> [Too many coaches have too big a mouth and not big enough ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kessel/too-many-coaches-have-too-big-a-mouth-and-not-big-enough-ears/)

[John Kessel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kessel/)

> [I'll bet my autopsy reveals my mouth is too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-ll-bet-my-autopsy-reveals-my-mouth-is-too-big/)

[Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/)

> [“If it’s too big for your mouth, it’s too big for your hands.” Meaning, if you don’t speak prosperity, you’ll never have prosperity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-shuttlesworth/if-it-s-too-big-for-your-mouth-it-s-too-big-for-your-hands-meaning-if/)

[Jonathan Shuttlesworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-shuttlesworth/)

> [When chimps threaten, they open their mouth and show their teeth. It's a little like waving a knife in front of you. It's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/when-chimps-threaten-they-open-their-mouth-and-show-their-teeth-it-s/)

[Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/)

> [Your day usually follows the direction of the corners of your mouth. So SMILE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-dickow/your-day-usually-follows-the-direction-of-the-corners-of-your-mouth/)

[Gregory Dickow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-dickow/)

> [I do have a mouth - I will say. I speak up when I see things I don't care for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-bishop/i-do-have-a-mouth-i-will-say-i-speak-up-when-i-see-things-i-don-t/)

[Kelly Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-bishop/)

> [I act as the tongue of you, ... tied in your mouth . . . . in mine it begins to be loosened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-act-as-the-tongue-of-you-tied-in-your-mouth-in-mine-it-begins-to-be/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [That, who keeps his mouth, keeps his Soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon/that-who-keeps-his-mouth-keeps-his-soul/)

[Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon/)

> [Your day will go the way the corners of your mouth turn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-day-will-go-the-way-the-corners-of-your-mouth-turn/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Me and my big mouth! I'd get rid of it, only it's such a handy place to keep my teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-durante/me-and-my-big-mouth-i-d-get-rid-of-it-only-it-s-such-a-handy-place-to/)

[Jimmy Durante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-durante/)

> [Say me aye," he whispered against her mouth. "Say me aye." How could she say anything else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-kurland/say-me-aye-he-whispered-against-her-mouth-say-me-aye-how-could-she/)

[Lynn Kurland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-kurland/)

> [Ninety-eight percent of the things that come out of my mouth are intended to be harmless or even charming. They're not ever intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/ninety-eight-percent-of-the-things-that-come-out-of-my-mouth-are/)

[Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/)

> [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/)

[Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/)

## More by Alan Watts

> [“The self-conscious feedback mechanism of the cortex allows us the hallucination that we are two souls in one body -a rational soul and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-self-conscious-feedback-mechanism-of-the-cortex-allows-us-the/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it becomes. It is like trying to clutch water in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-more-we-try-to-catch-hold-of-the-present-moment-the-more-elusive/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [The Universe is the game of the self, which plays hide and seek forever and ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-universe-is-the-game-of-the-self-which-plays-hide-and-seek/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/if-my-happiness-at-this-moment-consists-largely-in-reviewing-happy/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [...mysticism and empiricism go together in opposition to scholasticism...they base themselves on the non-linear world of experience rather than the linear world of letters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/mysticism-and-empiricism-go-together-in-opposition-to-scholasticism/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [The hallucination of being a separate ego will not stand up to biological tests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-hallucination-of-being-a-separate-ego-will-not-stand-up-to/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [Although profoundly "inconsequential," the Zen experience has consequences in the sense that it may be applied in any direction, to any conceivable human activity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/although-profoundly-inconsequential-the-zen-experience-has/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [Everything is perpetually becoming new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/everything-is-perpetually-becoming-new/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [The psychotherapist ... tries to help the individual to be himself and to go it alone without giving unnecessary offense to his community, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-psychotherapist-tries-to-help-the-individual-to-be-himself-and-to/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [“As you make more and more powerful microscopic instruments, the universe has to get smaller and smaller in order to escape the investigation. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/as-you-make-more-and-more-powerful-microscopic-instruments-the/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [We are at the moment looking at space as something to be entered by the tremendous thrust of a rocket because that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-are-at-the-moment-looking-at-space-as-something-to-be-entered-by/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [A philosopher is a sort of intellectual yokel who gawks at things that sensible people take for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-philosopher-is-a-sort-of-intellectual-yokel-who-gawks-at-things/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [The best way to convince someone is by making him realize that what you speak came from his own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-best-way-to-convince-someone-is-by-making-him-realize-that-what/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [The myths underlying our culture and underlying our common sense have not taught us to feel identical with the universe, but only parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-myths-underlying-our-culture-and-underlying-our-common-sense-have/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [To feel that life is meaningless unless “I” can be permanent is like having fallen desperately in love with an inch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/to-feel-that-life-is-meaningless-unless-i-can-be-permanent-is-like/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

[Explore all 460 Alan Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

## More Bigs quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/)

[Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/)

[Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/)

> [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/)

[Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/)

> [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/)

[Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/)

> [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/)

[Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/)

> [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/)

[Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/)

> [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/)

[Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/)

> [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/)

[Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/)

> [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/)

[Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/)

> [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/)

[Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/)

> [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/)

[Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/)

> [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/)

[Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/)

Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "No one's mouth is big enough to utter the whole thing.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alan Watts"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/no-one-s-mouth-is-big-enough-to-utter-the-whole-thing/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bigs"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/no-one-s-mouth-is-big-enough-to-utter-the-whole-thing/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/alan-watts-587_bigs_no-one-s-mouth-is-big-enough-to-utter-th_1983452.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/alan-watts-587_bigs_no-one-s-mouth-is-big-enough-to-utter-th_1983452.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/alan-watts-587_bigs_no-one-s-mouth-is-big-enough-to-utter-th_1983452.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“No one's mouth is big enough to utter the whole thing.” — Alan Watts",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Alan Watts",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "No one's mouth is big enough...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/no-one-s-mouth-is-big-enough-to-utter-the-whole-thing/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/no-one-s-mouth-is-big-enough-to-utter-the-whole-thing/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
