--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Regrets are like mistresses,\" he informed…" description: "\"“Regrets are like mistresses,\" he informed her. \"I ...\" Her hand dropped from the handle. \"What?\" \"Good men don't have them.\" She blinked at that, then..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/alissa-johnson-27899_regret_regrets-are-like-mistresses-he-informed_18354.jpg" --- # Regrets are like mistresses," he informed her. "I ..." Her… ![“Regrets are like mistresses," he informed her. "I ..." Her hand dropped from the handle. "What?" "Good men don't have them." She blinked at that, then broke into a soft laughter that sent pleasant chills along his skin. "That is the most ridiculous adage I have ever heard." "I'm foxed," he pointed…” quote by Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/alissa-johnson-27899_regret_regrets-are-like-mistresses-he-informed_18354.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/alissa-johnson-27899_regret_regrets-are-like-mistresses-he-informed_18354.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/alissa-johnson-27899_regret_regrets-are-like-mistresses-he-informed_18354.jpg) > ““Regrets are like mistresses," he informed her. "I ..." Her hand dropped from the handle. "What?" "Good men don't have them." She blinked at that, then broke into a soft laughter that sent pleasant chills along his skin. "That is the most ridiculous adage I have ever heard." "I'm foxed," he pointed out and shrugged. "I'm cleverer when ... cleverer? Is it cleverer? Or is it more clever? Whichever. I'm brilliant when I'm sober." "And less inclined to announce it, one might hope.”” [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker suggests that regrets are fleeting and inconsequential, likening them to fleeting affairs, while asserting that good people avoid them, highlighting a tension between self‑justification and reality. **In simple terms:** Regrets are trivial, good people avoid them. Key Takeaway Self‑justification vs. truth Themes self‑perception humor philosophy of regret gender dynamics communication Mood wry playful thoughtful Type dialogue aphorism humorous When to use this quote - a romantic conversation - a reflective moment after a disagreement - a comedic exchange - a philosophical debate Key Concepts regret self‑image social interaction language play Practical Applications - exploring character motivations in fiction - illustrating irony in dialogue Questions to Reflect On - Does denying regret help or hinder personal growth? - How does humor affect the seriousness of a claim? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) ## Related quotes > [“If you are much cleverer than your enemy, you can even help your enemy to stay alive and not to harm himself!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-are-much-cleverer-than-your-enemy-you-can-even-help-your-enemy/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The cleverer I am at miniaturizing the world, the better I possess it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-cleverer-i-am-at-miniaturizing-the-world-the-better-i-possess-it/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [This woman is beautiful and clever: but how much cleverer she would have become if she were not beautiful!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/this-woman-is-beautiful-and-clever-but-how-much-cleverer-she-would/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“I have considered myself cleverer than any of the people surrounding me, and sometimes, would you belive it, have been positively ashamed of it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/i-have-considered-myself-cleverer-than-any-of-the-people-surrounding/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Will suspected Jem was in fact cleverer than he was himself - but he lacked Will's tendency to assume the absolute worst about people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/will-suspected-jem-was-in-fact-cleverer-than-he-was-himself-but-he/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“Sitacuisses philosaphus mansisses' If you had kept your mouth shut, we may have thought you were cleverer!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latin/sitacuisses-philosaphus-mansisses-if-you-had-kept-your-mouth-shut-we/) [Latin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latin/) > [“I've been an idiot." 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"I just know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/she-s-from-your-world-your-presence-might-well-put-her-at-ease-we/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) > [“He'd become so accustomed to having her there, right there next to him, that he found he could no longer go the day without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/he-d-become-so-accustomed-to-having-her-there-right-there-next-to-him/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) > [“Much of how a person defined himself was through his interactions with the world. When that world was very small, it probably felt as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/much-of-how-a-person-defined-himself-was-through-his-interactions/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) > [“Perhaps we might start again?" she suggested. It was never truly possible to start over, of course. 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I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/i-wasn-t-about-to-admit-to-the-lady-i-was-hoping-to-impress-that-i/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) [Explore all 20 Alissa Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) ## More Clever quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. 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They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. 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